In this article, we'll cover how to embed videos in emails so they play right in email.
Before we dive in, it's important to understand the nuances of video email. Here are the most frequently asked questions about embedding video emails.
Will Embedded Videos Always Play In Email?
Even if you embed a video perfectly in email, it still might not play in email depending on the email client it is being viewed on.
To play in email, a video must (1) be embedded in the HTML of your email (we'll cover how to do this), and (2) must be viewed on an email client that supports video.
Apple Mail, Superhuman, and Outlook for Mac support video in email, but many popular email clients, like Gmail and Outlook for Windows do not support native video. (See all email clients that support video).
For this reason, it's important to provide a "fallback" option for recipients who receive your video, but cannot view it natively in their email client. We will also cover how to do this here.
Can Video Emails Autoplay with Sound?
No, you cannot make your videos autoplay with sound.
Email clients block this — for a good reason! Imagine you are checking your email from the library, a public location, or a meeting you are supposed to be paying attention in, and all of the sudden a video starts playing out loud. This would be embarrassing!
That being said, you can get the desired effect of standing out & capturing attention by using an animated GIF as the cover for your video in email.
This way, your viewer opens the email, sees something moving (exciting!), and can click to watch the full video.
How to Embed a Video In Email Using Sendspark
Below, we are going to go through the steps to embed a video in email. This will work in nearly all email marketing platforms, as long as they have a way to add HTML snippets into your email.
Note: Sendspark also supports direct integrations with popular platforms such as Mailchimp, Hubspot, Klaviyo, and more. The benefits of using the direct integrations are...
Detailed Analytics — you'll be able to see exactly who is watching your videos and what percentage of the video they have watched.
Personalization at Scale — you'll be able to customize your video thumbnails & landing pages with contact properties from your email sending platform. For example, you can add their name to the video thumbnail to increase engagement.
We recommend using these integrations when possible, although you will need to be on a Rapid or higher plan to use them (you can start a 7-day free trial to try before you buy).
In the cases that either we do not have a direct integration with your email platform or you are on a Sendspark Free or Starter plan, please follow the steps below to embed your video in email.
1. Create Video in Sendspark
You can either record a new video, upload an existing video, or request a video from someone else using a video request link.
2. Customize Video Landing Page (Optional)
The video landing page is important only for the cases when your video does NOT play in email. In these situations, when viewers click to play the video, instead of playing in email, the video will open into a "landing page" on their web browser.
You can customize this in a few ways to make sure your viewer has an awesome experience:
Edit page content — Add text and a call-to-action to ensure your viewer takes the desired action after watching your video
Set global styles — Upload your logo and set a color theme to ensure you're deliverable a cohesive brand experience
Use a custom domain — Take your branding to the next level with whitelabel and a custom domain.
3. Customize Video Thumbnail (Optional)
The video thumbnail is important for maximizing engagement in email. You can use this as a hook to entice viewers to watch your video.
Select "Share"
On the top left of your view thumbnail, click "Customize"
Enjoy all of the options to edit your video thumbnail to make it stand out and capture viewer attention.
4. Copy Email Embed Code From Sendspark
From your video in Sendspark...
Select "Share"
Click into the "Embed" tab
Under "Email Platforms," click "Copy Code Snippet"
This will copy an HTML snippet to your clipboard that you can use in the next step.
5. Paste Into Your Email
In your email sending platform, get to a spot where you are able to edit the HTML of your email. In some email platforms, you can add an "HTML block" into your emails, and in other platforms you will be clicking a "HTML" or "Source" button to switch your editor into HTML mode.
Once you are able to edit the HTML, simply paste the snippet copied to your clipboard into your email.
That's it! You can send yourself a sample of your video email and open it on a few email clients to see how it