How to Build a Video-First Cold Outreach Workflow
Most sales teams treat video as an add-on — something they throw into their outreach occasionally when they have time. The result? Inconsistent usage, sporadic results, and the eventual conclusion that "video doesn't work for us."
The teams seeing 85% higher open rates and 3.2x more responses aren't using video occasionally. They're building their entire outreach around it. Video-first isn't about recording a Loom now and then. It's about designing a complete workflow where personalized video is the centerpiece, supported by strategic text follow-ups, multi-channel touches, and intelligent automation.
This guide walks you through building that workflow from scratch — step by step.
The Video-First Framework
A video-first outreach workflow follows this core structure:
Research → Personalized Video → Email Delivery → Engagement-Based Follow-Up → Multi-Channel Expansion
Each step builds on the previous one. The video does the heavy lifting of capturing attention and building connection. Everything else converts that attention into meetings.
Let's break down each step.
Step 1: Define and Build Your Audience
Before you create a single video, you need to know who you're reaching out to and why they should care.
Audience Sources
- Website visitors — People who've already shown interest by visiting your site. MarketBetter's visitor identification reveals who they are, turning anonymous traffic into actionable leads.
- Intent signals — Companies researching topics related to your solution. These prospects are already in-market.
- Account lists — Your target account list or ICP-matched companies from your CRM.
- Trigger events — Companies that just raised funding, hired a new VP of Sales, or expanded into new markets.
Segmentation Matters
Don't send the same video to everyone. Segment your audience by:
- Persona — VP of Sales gets a different message than a Marketing Director
- Industry — A fintech company has different pain points than a healthcare company
- Stage — A website visitor who checked your pricing page is warmer than a cold list import
- Company size — Enterprise messaging differs from SMB messaging
Each segment gets its own script template with relevant variables. The more targeted your segmentation, the more relevant your videos feel, and the higher your conversion rates. Effective lead generation campaigns always start with sharp segmentation.
Step 2: Research and Enrich
Before generating personalized videos, you need the data that makes them personal.
Automatic Enrichment
A modern outreach platform enriches your prospect data automatically:
- Contact information — Verified email, phone number, LinkedIn
- Company data — Industry, size, revenue, technology stack
- Role context — Job title, department, seniority level
- Recent activity — Website visits, content downloads, social engagement
This enrichment feeds directly into your video scripts. Instead of generic "Hi there" messages, your videos reference specific, relevant details about each prospect.
Manual Research for Top Accounts
For your highest-value targets, supplement automated enrichment with manual research:
- Recent press releases or news mentions
- LinkedIn posts or activity
- Specific challenges mentioned in interviews or podcasts
- Competitive positioning or market moves
This extra context can be added to your video scripts as custom variables, making the outreach feel even more personal and thoughtful.
Step 3: Generate Personalized AI Videos
With your audience defined and data enriched, it's time to create videos.
Script Configuration
Write a dynamic script using the personalization variables from your enrichment:
"Hey {{first_name}}, I noticed {{company_name}} has been growing fast in {{industry}} — congrats on the momentum. I work with companies like yours that are looking to scale outbound without scaling headcount. We're seeing teams get 3x more meetings using AI-personalized video outreach. I'd love to show you exactly how it works for {{industry}} companies. Got 15 minutes this week?"
Avatar and Style Selection
Choose your avatar configuration:
- Avatar — Select from the library or use a custom photo of your rep
- Frame style — Circle for casual, normal for professional, close-up for high-impact
- Background — Brand color, custom image, or the prospect's company website
- Voice — Match the voice to the avatar and your brand tone
Batch Generation
Launch the generation. Your platform should handle:
- Processing the entire audience in batches
- Creating unique videos for every prospect
- Generating animated GIF thumbnails for email embedding
- Handling retries for any failures
- Storing completed videos for fast delivery
With MarketBetter's HeyGen integration, this entire process is a single node in your workflow. Configure it once, and it runs automatically for every prospect who enters the play.
Step 4: Send the Video Email
The email is the delivery vehicle for your video. It needs to make the prospect open, see the video thumbnail, and click.
Email Composition
Subject line: Signal that there's a video inside. "Quick video for you, {{first_name}}" or "Made this for {{company_name}}."
Email body: Keep it short. The video does the talking. Your email text should:
- Set context (1-2 sentences)
- Present the video (GIF thumbnail)
- Reinforce the CTA (1 sentence)
Example:
Hi {{first_name}},
I put together a quick 30-second video about how {{company_name}} could 3x your outbound response rates.
[Animated GIF Thumbnail]
Worth a quick watch — would love your feedback.
Best, [Your name]
GIF Thumbnail Embedding
The animated GIF thumbnail embeds directly in the email body. When the prospect opens the email, they see a moving image of the avatar speaking — in a sea of static text emails, this is a showstopper.
The GIF links to the full video on a hosted page. Click → watch → engage.
For more on why this works so well, read our article on why GIF thumbnails outperform static images in sales emails.
Sending Strategy
- Send during business hours — Tuesday through Thursday, 8-10 AM in the prospect's time zone, tends to perform best
- Warm up first — If you're using a new email domain, warm it up before sending video emails at scale
- Start small — Send to 50 prospects first, measure results, then scale
- Respect frequency — Don't send more than 1 video email per week to the same prospect
Step 5: Engagement-Based Follow-Up
This is where workflow automation shines. Instead of guessing when to follow up, you use engagement data to trigger the right message at the right time.
Scenario 1: Opened, Clicked, Watched
The prospect opened the email, clicked the GIF, and watched the video. This is a warm lead.
Follow-up (Day 2, text email):
"Hi {{first_name}}, saw you watched the video I sent yesterday. What did you think? I can walk you through a live demo — does [day/time] work for you?"
Scenario 2: Opened, Didn't Click
They saw the email but didn't watch the video. Maybe they were busy, or the email didn't compel them to click.
Follow-up (Day 3, text email):
"Hey {{first_name}}, I sent you a quick video message on [day]. In case it got buried — we're helping {{industry}} companies like {{company_name}} get 3x more responses from their outbound. Worth 30 seconds of your time. [Video link]"
Scenario 3: Didn't Open
The email didn't get opened. Try a different subject line or time.
Follow-up (Day 4, re-send with new subject):
Subject: "{{first_name}}, this will take 30 seconds"
Scenario 4: Watched but No Reply
They're interested enough to watch but not ready to commit. Keep nurturing.
Follow-up (Day 7, value-add email):
Share a relevant case study, industry report, or article. Don't ask for the meeting again yet — build credibility first.
Follow-up (Day 14, second video):
Send a new video with a different angle — maybe a customer success story or a specific use case relevant to their industry.
Step 6: Multi-Channel Expansion
Video email is your lead channel, but the best workflows incorporate multiple touchpoints:
LinkedIn
- Send a connection request after the first email (Day 1 or 2)
- Reference the video in your connection note: "I sent you a quick video about [topic] — thought we should connect here too"
- Engage with their LinkedIn content to stay visible
Phone
- Call prospects who watched the video but didn't reply (Day 3-5)
- Reference the video: "Hi {{first_name}}, I sent you a video earlier this week about [topic]. Did you get a chance to watch it?"
- The video gives you a natural conversation starter
Additional Email
- Continue the text email sequence between video touches
- Share relevant content, case studies, and social proof
- Vary your messaging angle with each touch
The complete sequence might look like:
| Day | Channel | Type | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Video | Personalized AI avatar video with GIF thumbnail | |
| 2 | Connection | Connection request referencing the video | |
| 3 | Text | Short follow-up referencing the video | |
| 5 | Phone | Call | Call warm leads who watched the video |
| 7 | Text | Value-add email (case study, report) | |
| 10 | Message | Direct message with a different angle | |
| 14 | Video | Second video with new messaging angle | |
| 18 | Text | Final touch / break-up email |
Putting It All Together: The Automated Play
In MarketBetter's Play Builder, this entire workflow becomes an automated play — a sequence of actions that runs for every prospect who enters it.
Here's how it maps:
- Audience Node — Define who enters the play (website visitors, account list, intent matches)
- Enrichment Node — Automatically enrich prospect data
- Video Generation Node — Generate personalized AI avatar video
- Email Node — Send the video email with GIF thumbnail
- Wait + Condition Node — Wait for engagement, branch based on behavior
- Follow-Up Nodes — Trigger different follow-ups based on engagement
- Multi-Channel Nodes — Add LinkedIn, phone, and additional touches
You build this once. Then every prospect who matches your criteria automatically enters the play and receives the complete sequence — video, follow-ups, multi-channel touches, everything.
No manual steps. No tool-switching. No prospects falling through the cracks.
This is the power of video-first outreach built on top of workflow automation — it's not just about making great videos, it's about operationalizing them into a repeatable, scalable system.
Measuring and Optimizing Your Workflow
Key Metrics to Track
- Video generation rate — Are all videos generating successfully?
- Email open rate — Are your subject lines working?
- GIF click-through rate — Are prospects engaging with the video thumbnail?
- Video watch rate — How much of the video are they watching?
- Reply rate — Are they responding?
- Meeting conversion — Are replies turning into booked calls?
- Pipeline influence — How much revenue can be attributed to the video workflow?
Optimization Tactics
- A/B test scripts — Try different opening lines, value propositions, and CTAs
- Test avatar styles — Circle vs. close-up, different backgrounds
- Optimize send times — Test different days and times for your audience
- Refine follow-up timing — Adjust the delays between touches based on engagement data
- Segment performance — Which personas, industries, or company sizes respond best to video?
The teams that iterate relentlessly on these variables see the biggest improvements over time. Start with the fundamentals, then optimize your way to exceptional results.
Ready to build your video-first workflow?
Book a demo and see how MarketBetter's Play Builder automates personalized video outreach from end to end. No credit card required.
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