In the fast-evolving landscape of digital communication, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage their subscribers. As we step into 2025, two powerful formats are competing for the attention of audiences: the traditional email newsletter and the increasingly popular video newsletter. Each has its advantages, but which one delivers better results in today’s attention-driven digital economy? Let’s dive into the pros, cons, and real-world effectiveness of both.
Traditional Newsletters: Timeless but Tested
Traditional newsletters, typically sent via email in text or HTML format, have long been a pillar of content marketing. Their strength lies in simplicity and familiarity. Whether it’s promoting new blog posts, upcoming events, or product updates, email newsletters offer consistency and direct communication with the target audience.
Benefits of Traditional Newsletters:
- Ease of Creation: Text-based newsletters are relatively easy to create and distribute using popular email marketing tools.
- Trackable Metrics: Open rates, click-throughs, and conversion statistics are easy to measure and analyze.
- High Compatibility: Traditional emails are accessible on virtually all devices and email clients.
However, traditional newsletters may struggle to hold readers’ attention in today’s fast-paced media environment. With inboxes flooded with promotional content, messages can be overlooked or ignored entirely.
Video Newsletters: Rising Engagement in Motion
In contrast, video newsletters leverage visual storytelling to connect with audiences. These can take many forms—from embedded videos in an email or linked to a page, to video clips summarizing updates or delivering messages directly from founders and marketers.
According to a 2024 study by Digital Inbox Insights, video content in emails increased open rates by 19% and boosted click-through rates by 65% compared to text-only content. This form of communication speaks to younger audiences and busy professionals who prefer consuming quick, visual content over reading paragraphs of text.
Advantages of Video Newsletters:
- Higher Engagement: Video is naturally engaging and can capture attention more effectively than text.
- Stronger Emotional Connection: Seeing a face or hearing a voice can humanize the message and build stronger trust with subscribers.
- More Memorable: Viewers retain 95% of a message when watched in a video compared to 10% when read in text.
Despite these advantages, video newsletters come with a few caveats. They require more time and resources to produce, and compatibility varies depending on the email client. Some platforms may not support embedded video, requiring click-through to external platforms—adding an extra step for users.
What Works in 2025?
As digital habits evolve, the demand for interactive and visually-rich content continues to grow. In 2025, audiences are more inclined towards content that is quick, engaging, and easy to consume on-the-go. Video newsletters align perfectly with these preferences. However, this doesn’t mean traditional newsletters are obsolete. Instead, the most effective newsletters of 2025 are those that blend text and video strategically.
Successful brands use traditional newsletters for in-depth updates, supported by short video snippets for key highlights. Interactive elements like GIFs, call-to-action buttons, and embedded video thumbnails improve click-through rates without sacrificing compatibility.
Ultimately, the “better” format depends on the audience. A B2B audience may value concise, skimmable text, while a DTC brand might thrive on the personality-driven storytelling in video newsletters. The key lies in testing, audience segmentation, and continuous optimization.
FAQ: Video Newsletter vs Traditional Newsletter
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Q: Are video newsletters effective for all types of businesses?
A: While video newsletters are especially effective for eCommerce, lifestyle, and consumer-facing brands, even B2B companies are seeing strong results with them—especially when paired with data insights or demos. -
Q: What tools can help with creating a video newsletter?
A: Platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and BeeFree now support video thumbnails and GIFs linking to videos. For video creation, tools like Canva, Loom, and Adobe Premiere Rush are widely used. -
Q: Can video affect email deliverability?
A: Embedding large video files can impact deliverability. It’s best to use play-button overlays on images linked to platforms like YouTube or Vimeo to improve performance and compatibility. -
Q: How do I know which format is performing better?
A: Use A/B testing. Create one version of your newsletter with text and another enhanced with video, then compare open and click-through rates to see what resonates.
In summary, both video and traditional newsletters have a place in 2025’s communication strategies. Those who skillfully blend the two are most likely to keep subscribers informed, engaged, and loyal.
