Email Sequences
🧠 In a “regular” email sequence, the goal of every touchpoint is to book a meeting. That’s a huge ask for someone who doesn’t know you and knows that they may need to part with 💸 at the end of the call.
In a Windsor email sequence, the goal of every touchpoint is to get someone to open and watch the video. That’s a much easier ask. Lean into it and let the video do the talking (no pun intended).
Subject Lines
For a good A/B test, we typically recommend using your best existing subject line. If you’ve already mastered the art of getting recipients to open your emails with relevant subject lines, then don’t let videos change that.
If you’re starting from scratch or are unhappy with your own subject lines, then here are some tips you can try:
Use the word “Video” in your subject line. Numerous articles have shown improvements in open rates and clickthrough rates when done right.
Examples:
“ACME + Windsor.io | Video for you”
“Video about ACME, response rates, and 2022”
“Rebecca, seeing is believing - made this video for you”
“You have (1) new video from Pranay at Windsor.io”
“[VIDEO] 2022 is the year for ACME’s Sales team”
Body
All the examples include a line that reads:
[GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
Insert a good animated thumbnail form your video here. Windsor can generate a good GIF for you.
However, some software won't allow you to use custom properties as the link in a GIF (HubSpot is a good example). Even if it does, sometimes these images can affect your email deliverability..
In these cases, skip out on the GIF and do this:
It will look like > https://video.yourdomain.com/v/abcdef < in your emails and are known to drive clicks
First Touch
If you’re using Windsor in your first touchpoint, here are our recommendations:
Remember that in a Windsor sequence, you have a much simpler ask. Your email asks them to watch the video, and the video asks them to book a meeting. Lean into it and make the task at hand as simple as possible
Try to address common concerns ahead of time
I don’t want to open a link from a stranger. Who are you?
Is this safe to click?
How much time will this take?
Did they really take the time to make this video for me?
Let’s look at some examples.
Hey Rebecca This will only take 30 seconds. I noticed you recently got a promotion at ACME. Congratulations! VP of Marketing is a big step and I’m really happy for you 🙂 I’m Pranay, the CEO at Windsor. We’ve built Mailmerge for Video. You record a single video - which takes 5 minutes - and we can personalize to every lead you’d like to reach out to. Instead of talking about it, check out this 30-second video I made for you. Seeing is believing [GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
WATCH VIDEO (A link below the GIF that also goes to the video). Thanks Pranay
Hey David,
Instead of writing a long intro email that I know you’re going to ignore, I made this personal, short, and painless video just for you.
[GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
WATCH VIDEO (A link below the GIF that also goes to the video)
If you like what you see (or don’t), let me know. There’s also a link in the video to grab a time with me if you want to jump straight into
bedbusiness.Cheers Pranay
Hey David,
I was just on ACMES’s website and noticed your use of video! I wanted to make a video for you to explain how our customer EMCA uses their existing video content to generate 40% more educated leads and how your team can do the same.
Here’s the brief video: (42 sec.)
[GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
WATCH VIDEO (A link below the GIF that also goes to the video)
Feel free to book 15 minutes with me right at the end of the video!
Cheers Pranay
Follow Up
A typical Windsor sequence has 2 follow-ups related to the video, which we’ll cover below. After the first 3 touch points, we still recommend having another 2-3 touch points (5 - 6 touch points in total), although you should choose what’s best for your own industry and strategy.
Regarding timing and cadence, you can follow a standard email cadence. Best practices with days of the week, and times of day, still apply. Videos don’t change that. Here’s a good blog from Hubspot on this topic
Your first follow-up can be a really simple one. Really. Simple. A simple text reminder.
Hey, did you have any thoughts on that video I recorded for you? It’s only 30 seconds if you haven’t watched it yet
Just wondering if you had a chance to watch the video. I’d love your thoughts.
I thought a short personal video might be easier than a long email, but let me know if you’d like a tl;dr instead
Your second follow-up is where you’d use the follow-up video if you recorded one. If you haven’t (we recommend you do), you can also reuse the first video, or skip this step entirely and move back to a text-based sequence.
If you have a video, here are some good templates that still follow the recommendations above.
Hey Rebecca,
I noticed you didn’t get a chance to check out the video I sent over. I realize time is important to you, and I respect that. Here’s a much shorter 20-second video that gets straight to the point:
[GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
WATCH VIDEO (A link below the GIF that also goes to the video)
Reps can create a single video on our platform, and we’ll personalize and send them, en-masse, to your prospects. Every video looks and sounds like it was made for them ;)
Do you have time to connect this Thursday?
Yours, Pranay
Hey David,
You’re now the VP of Marketing, so, I know your time is really important. I respect that and I wouldn’t reach out if I didn’t think Windsor would help you. Most companies either increase your revenue, or save you time - we do both. The next 20 seconds could be a game changer for ACME. It’s a really short video -
[GIF] (Make the GIF clickable and link to the video)
WATCH VIDEO (A link below the GIF that also goes to the video)
If you agree with me, please let me know and we can plan next steps - be it a free trial, a demo, or just more information.
Cheers, Pranay
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