2011
Good Subject Lines
Good subject lines are key to getting your emails opened. Without prompting someone to open your email, it’s impossible for them to see your content.
There are a few different ways to create catchy subject lines that will grab the recipient’s attention.
Most obviously, if you know what the recipient is interested in, create a subject that is related to that subject. For example, if you sell fruit and you know your recipients are all interested in fresh apples, make the subject “Fresh Apples.” Splitting recipients in groups according to their interest and tailoring the subject lines to suit them will also increase the chance that the email will be read. For example, “Fresh Apples” to those interested in fresh apples and “Fresh Oranges” to those interested in fresh oranges. Read more >>
2011
How to Embed Video in an Email
Before you get too excited, the short answer is this: There is a way, but it’s not ideal.
As video becomes more and more prolific on the web, and as email marketing continues to grow, people are becoming increasingly interested in the idea of embedding videos in emails. Campaign Monitor wrote a great article on The Current State of Video in Email.
In an effort to increase security, many email clients have restricted the content that can be embedded. According to the study, Apple Mail is the only program that allows embedding of multiple media types, and Lotus Notes is the only client that allows Java Applets.
All the clients tested, barring Windows Mobile 5, supported embedding animated GIFs. Unfortunately there are many downsides, including lack of sound, large file size, no playback control, and heavy CPU load to name a few.
Looking at the information, the best bet is still to link to content on a webpage. That way you know that the end user will be able to access your videos.