Video inside an email? Technically not natively supported by major email clients. The recommended approach: a clickable thumbnail that redirects to the hosted video.
Avoid: <video> and iframe tags are stripped by Gmail, Outlook and most clients. The result? An empty area in your newsletter.
The recommended method (3 steps)
- Host the video on YouTube, Vimeo or your site
- Create an attractive thumbnail with a "Play" button overlay
- Insert the image in Mailpro and link it to the video URL
Bonus: animated GIF
For a livelier teaser, create an animated GIF (3-5 seconds max) from the video. It plays in most clients:
- Gmail / Yahoo / Apple Mail: ✅ animation visible
- Outlook: ❌ first frame frozen
Keep weight under 1 MB to preserve loading time.
Thumbnail-creation tools
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| Canva | Thumbnail + Play button in a few clicks |
| Figma | Custom thumbnail design |
| Ezgif | Animated GIF creation |
Best practices
- Include the video duration in the alt text
- Point to a dedicated landing page with UTM tracking
- Use click stats to measure interest
Bring your newsletters to life. Start free with Mailpro and host unlimited thumbnails.