Using animated GIFs in an email

Best practices and tips for using animated GIF images to grab attention in an email

Adding a little animation to your email is attention-grabbing. It's easy to upload an animated GIF to the Library and then insert it into your email. You can even add links to them to make them clickable images!

• Ways to use an animated GIF
• Tips for creating an animated GIF
• Troubleshooting an animated GIF

Some of our templates have animated GIFs already built in to make it even easier for you - just search "animated" or look for the "GIF" tag in the upper right-hand corner of the template thumbnail.

Be a better marketer: Find out more about how to use animated gifs in your emails!

Ways to use an animated GIF

To get the most from your animated GIFs, it's best to use them sparingly and really think about what you're trying to accomplish with your email. Use an animated GIF to:

• Support the subject - The above image would work perfectly in an email for a Black Friday sale or for an end-of-the-work-week happy hour, because it's implying that something great is happening specifically on a Friday. An animated GIF may look great, but if you have to justify or explain why you're using it, it's probably not the right image to support your content.
• Be the call-to-action - Give brief directions for what you want your reader to accomplish by reading your email.
• Preview a video - Create an animated GIF of a portion of your video, then insert the image and add a clickable image link that points to the full video.
• Invoke an emotion - Perfect for seasonal events! Gently falling snow can get you thinking about the holiday season the same way blooming flowers can put Spring on your mind.
• Demonstrate how to do something or how something works - An animated GIF can help to clarify complicated steps or eliminate the need for extra descriptive text.
• Show personality or humor - If your image makes your readers smile, it may encourage them to keep reading! Humorous images work best when they're still relevant to your content or your organization in some way.
• Save space - Change the text that appears in the image to entice your contacts to keep reading while taking up less space in the body of your email. Just be careful to include important details in the body of your email and in the image description so that those who can't see images will still get the information.

If your animated GIF seems to serve no purpose other than being an animation, rethink why you're using it and maybe save it for a future email.
 

Join the conversation: Want a second opinion? Our Community can help! Just submit your email to the "Template Feedback" forum for some feedback before you send it out to your contacts.

Tips for creating an animated GIF

An animated GIF is a series of still images that have been strung together to create continuous movement - like a flip book. There are many tools, like Adobe Photoshop or online GIF creators, that can help you create the perfect animation for your email's purpose. You can also purchase animated GIFs from various sources online. Keep in mind:

• Keep the file size small - For the best quality when you upload the image to your Library, image files should be under 5MB and 600 pixels wide or less. Smaller images are less likely to trigger spam filters too.
• Less is more - Adding too many animations to your email or using them too often becomes distracting and takes away from your main message.
• Use subtle animation - Too much movement can appear jarring and can make your reader want to look away instead of read more. Remember that the image repeats itself in a continuous loop, so it's a good idea to watch it a couple of times to see if it is more distracting than helpful.

Important: It's a violation of our terms and conditions to use copyrighted material without permission of the owner. It's never a good idea to use images provided by search results in your email browser unless you've obtained permission from the owner, or you're positive they're considered open source and free for commercial use.

Troubleshooting an animated GIF

Not all email clients, notably Outlook, support animated GIFs:

• Sometimes only the first frame of a GIF will display in the email. Make sure that the first image still accomplishes your goal if the rest of the animation doesn't play.
• Think about what your email will look like to those contacts who can't see images in their emails and make sure to add a caption or include an image description.
• Make sure your image file size and resolution are optimized before uploading it to your Library to avoid display issues.

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