Email marketers have been asking the same question for years: does adding video actually improve open rates, or is it mostly a tactic that sounds better in theory than it performs in practice? The answer is more nuanced than many headlines suggest. Video can help email campaigns perform better, but not always in the way people assume. It can influence open rates in some cases, yet its strongest effect is often felt after the open, through improved engagement, stronger click-through behavior, and a more compelling overall message.

To understand the issue, it helps to separate two different ideas that are often mixed together. The first is whether mentioning video in an email makes more people open it. The second is whether including video content makes the email campaign more effective overall. These are related, but they are not identical. Open rate is driven mainly by the inbox decision. A recipient sees the sender name, the subject line, and sometimes preview text, then decides whether the message seems worth opening. Video matters at that stage only if it affects that quick judgment.

That is why many marketers focus on the word “video” in the subject line. The logic is straightforward: video suggests speed, clarity, and ease. It implies that the email may be more interesting or less demanding than a text-heavy message. For some audiences, that can absolutely improve open rates. A subject line that signals a product demo, a personal walkthrough, a webinar recap, or a visual explanation can create more curiosity than a generic promotional line. When the promise of video matches what the audience actually wants, the open can improve.

But that improvement is not automatic. Simply adding the word “video” to a subject line does not create magic. If the audience does not care about the topic, if the sender relationship is weak, or if the subject line feels gimmicky, the effect may be small or even negative. Recipients are experienced enough to recognize when marketers are using a tactic rather than offering something genuinely useful. If “video” looks like clickbait, it stops helping very quickly.

This is where context becomes important. Video tends to help more when the email has a clear reason to be visual. A product demonstration, feature announcement, personalized sales explanation, onboarding guide, event teaser, testimonial, or how-to walkthrough all make intuitive sense as video-led messages. In these cases, mentioning video can improve the perceived value of the open because the recipient understands why watching will be easier or more useful than reading. The subject line feels relevant, not forced.

Audience expectations also matter. In some industries, recipients are highly responsive to visual communication. Ecommerce, software, education, coaching, media, events, and creator-led businesses often benefit more from video framing because the audience is already accustomed to watching content in those categories. In other settings, especially more formal or transactional email environments, a video mention may do less for open rates because the recipient is looking for clarity and efficiency more than novelty.

Another important point is that many marketers overestimate open rate as the main measure of success. Open rates matter, but they are only the first step. A higher open rate is not especially valuable if the email itself does not create action. This is where video often proves its worth more clearly. A strong video thumbnail, clear call to action, or visually appealing video-led layout can improve click behavior, time spent engaging, understanding of the offer, and eventual conversion. In many campaigns, the real power of video is not that it gets the email opened, but that it gives the open more value.

That distinction matters because inbox behavior has become more difficult to influence over time. People receive too many emails, skim rapidly, and make decisions fast. Improving open rates often depends more on trust, list quality, timing, subject line relevance, and sender reputation than on any single content tactic. Video can support those factors, but it cannot replace them. A weak list does not become strong because the email mentions a video. A poor sender reputation does not disappear because a thumbnail is attractive. Video works best when the campaign fundamentals are already healthy.

There is also the technical side to consider. Most email clients do not handle embedded video in a smooth, universal way. That means many email marketers are not sending a true playable video directly inside the message. Instead, they are usually using a thumbnail image, a play button overlay, an animated preview, or a linked screenshot that sends the recipient to a landing page, website, or hosted player. In other words, the “video email” experience is often really a video invitation. This setup can still work very well, but it changes how video influences results.

Because of that, what often improves performance is not the mere presence of video, but the clarity of the visual promise. The email tells the reader, in effect, “Open this and you will quickly understand something.” If the subject line and preview text communicate that clearly, the open may improve. If the thumbnail and body design reinforce that promise, the click may improve. If the landing page delivers smoothly, conversion may improve. Video becomes valuable not as a decorative asset, but as a structured path from curiosity to understanding.

In campaign reviews, many teams compare results against latest video marketing benchmarks to decide whether video is improving subject-line appeal, click behavior, and downstream conversion enough to justify the added production effort.

That last part is important: production effort. Video can be powerful, but it is not free in terms of time, planning, and creative energy. Brands need a real reason to use it. If a quick written email would communicate the message more efficiently, then forcing a video into the campaign may add friction rather than reduce it. Video is strongest when it simplifies understanding, adds personality, demonstrates something visual, or creates a stronger emotional connection than text alone could manage.

Personalization is one area where video can influence open rates and overall performance more meaningfully. A sales rep sending a personalized video walkthrough, a founder sending a short direct message, or a customer success manager explaining a specific recommendation can make the email feel more human. In these cases, the promise of video is not only about content format. It is about attention. The recipient feels that the sender created something more direct and tailored. That can absolutely lift open behavior, especially in smaller lists or higher-value relationship-driven email programs.

Still, there are several reasons video may fail to improve open rates. The first is poor positioning. If the subject line mentions video but does not communicate a clear benefit, the mention may feel empty. The second is mismatch. A recipient may not want to watch something at that moment, especially in work contexts where reading quickly is easier than clicking through to another experience. The third is overuse. If every campaign leans on “video” as a subject-line trick, the novelty disappears and performance can flatten.

There is also a psychological factor. Not everyone experiences video as lower effort. Some recipients see a video and think it will take longer than reading a short email. Others may not be in a setting where they can watch easily, especially on the go, in meetings, or in quiet spaces. That means video can improve opens for one audience segment and reduce them for another. Marketers who assume a universal effect usually miss the real lesson, which is that audience behavior has to be tested rather than guessed.

Testing is therefore essential. The best way to answer whether video improves open rates for a specific business is to compare subject lines, audience segments, content types, and campaign contexts over time. A launch email may behave differently from a nurture email. A B2B prospect may respond differently from a consumer subscriber. A webinar audience may love video framing while a transactional audience ignores it. The truth is often more situational than general.

So do open rates actually improve with video in email marketing? Sometimes, yes. But the improvement usually depends on relevance, audience fit, and how naturally video supports the message. Video is not a guaranteed open-rate booster, and treating it like one often leads to disappointment. Where it truly shines is in making the email more compelling once opened, improving clarity, creating stronger click paths, and helping the recipient understand the offer faster.

That is the most useful conclusion. Video can improve open rates, but its biggest value in email marketing often lies beyond the open. It works best when it gives the recipient a better reason to care, not just a different format. Marketers who understand that tend to use video more strategically and get better results from it overall.