Why and How To Add GIFs in Emails: A Step-by-Step Guide

GIFs, memes, reals. Short visual communication is nowadays a key to grabbing people's attention. No one wants to read full pages of text. Email marketing doesn't get left behind and moves with time by accepting short and straightforward communication, such as GIFs. Learn how and when to use them effectively.

GIF stands for “Graphical Interchange Format”. Translating to human language it means moving graphics that remind a video running on a loop - without pressing a play button. 

GIF has been a trendy graphic in the last couple of years. However, its origin is a bit older. GIF was invented in 1987 by Steve Wilhite, an American computer scientist, who was looking for a way to animate images in the smallest size.

Memes and GIFs both work on the same principle of visual communication. However, the concepts differ and each is suited for different use cases.

GIFs are animated pictures, playing on the loop. A meme can be a static image or even a text-based material. They both deliver a different message. GIF usually represents a single emotion, but memes are designed to share a broader message or idea. Memes usually have a deeper meaning that can overcome language barriers and cultural differences.

GIFs are ideal for giving a sense of fun to your message, responding to a situation or comment, and engaging your audience. Memes are strong when you need to highlight a certain message and connect with your audience through fun. 

Do you have doubts if GIFs are appropriate to use in email marketing? Don't worry, they are. They were not appropriate decades ago, but the age is changing. GIFs have been fully accepted and can even help make your messages more engaging. Of course, you need to think carefully about what kind of message you send. We will get to this part later. Now, let's discuss the benefits of GIFs to your emails.

GIFS (or memes) have the potential to:

• Support email personalization.

• Capture the interest of your subscribers.

• Encourage your subscribers to interact with your content. 

• Easily explain a complex concept. 

• Save time.

• Help your email to stand out. 

• Improve your email graphics and UX. 

• Promote a video (a GIF from an actual video).

Remember to ensure that the GIFs are optimized for fast loading, relevant to the content, and aligned with your brand's overall tone and style.

As mentioned above, you need to carefully consider, if using email GIFs is appropriate in the given situation. Some types of emails are more appropriate for GIFs than others.

You can use GIFs in: 

• Newsletters

• Promotional emails

• Welcome emails

• Event invitations and reminders

• Product demonstrations

• Seasonal Campaigns and holiday greetings

• Re-engagement emails

• Transactional emails

• Surveys and feedback requests

• Milestone celebrations

You should not use GIFs in a formal email. It is more suitable for friendly discussions and marketing campaigns rather than business proposals, official announcements, legal communications, cold outreach, or any other business emails requiring a certain level of formality.

Everything is black and white, and so comes using GIFs in emails with its drawbacks. Here are a few points you should pay attention to.

• Larger email size: GIFs are known for their low size. This is also a reason why they can replace a video. However, using a couple of GIFs in your email can significantly increase your email's size - leading to a slow loading and therefore to a poor user experience. 

• Incompatibility with some email clients: Some older email clients may not support GIFs. Some people might have trouble viewing your message. 

• Email size limits: Some clients may also have trouble opening emails overcoming certain size limits. 

• Experiment: Including GIFs in your email can either have a beneficial effect or the contrary. To make sure, it's good to gather feedback from the audience on how they perceive such kinds of visuals. 

• Key Message: When using too many GIFs or irrelevant GIFs, it may distract the reader from your key message. 

• Time: Adding GIFs is more time-consuming than simple text without much design. If you don't have time and resources for that, you can use email builders allowing you to create outstanding email graphics in minutes and add GIFs in seconds.

After reading the previous paragraphs you know why to use GIFs in email marketing and what aspects to consider. Now, it's time to discuss how to send email GIFs.

In general, there are two ways, how you can put GIF into your email. 

1. Via link 

• All you need to do is to right-click the gif and copy its address. 

• After that go to your email platform, click “Insert photo” and add the copied address into the URL field. 

2. Upload from your computer

• Save your GIF on your computer.

• Make sure you save it in GIF format. 

• Click “Insert photo” in your email platform and go to “Upload”.

• Choose the desired GIF from your computer and your GIF will be uploaded to your message.

Let's have a look at specific email platforms and how to add GIFs there.

1. Draft your email.

2. Save the desired GIF to your computer and make sure it is in GIF format.

3. Drag and drop the GIF to your email. 

4. You are ready:)

1. Draft your email.

2. Find an “Insert” field and click it. You will be required to upload your file.

3. Find your GIF on your computer and choose it. Make sure the file is in the gif format. 

4. Click “Insert” and add it to your email.

5. Resize your GIF if needed. Click on the GIF and you'll see handles to adjust the size. 

6. Done:)

If you want to upgrade your email to the next level, it's good to pay attention to an email design. Email editors are offering various pre-built templates and and drag-and-drop working environment, where you can build your email design. Topol editor is one of them. It helps you to create beautiful and interactive emails, and you can add GIFs to your template easily. Let's have a look at how:

1. Sign in to your Topol account or create a new one.

2. Click “New template”. You can either choose from already pre-built templates and adjust them to your audience, or click “Start new template from scratch” and you can build email design on your own.

3. Both of the options will lead you to the email editor platform. Check the menu on the left side. You will see a “Content” section, offering various content blocks. Choose a GIF content block. Drag and drop it to the desired place in your email.

4. Click on the new content block in the email and you'll see a GIF settings option for your graphics.

5. Now, you have two options, depending on the source of your graphics. You can either use Giphy Gallery or use any other custom source.

If you decide to use Giphy Gallery, just type in a desired topic and search for the best GIF result. Simply choose the image you like. There is no need to copy any URL.

If you have a custom source, you need to right-click on the GIF, copy the graphics URL address and paste it to the desired field in the settings.

6. Adjust the image size, alignments with text, image margins, etc. to your liking.

Done. You are ready!

• Countdown - Countdown is a great way to create a sense of urgency in your communication. You can use it in several use cases. For example when inviting to a certain event (e.g., webinar, meetup), before launching a new product, with notification customer's plan is expiring soon, informing about the end of a sale - and many more.  

• Product/service - Sending a product update? Create an animated GIF video showing key features of the product. You can approach it as a tutorial and short “how to video”.

Or, showcase multiple products you are offering. This is best for situations where you offer similar products in multiple colors, shapes, etc.

• Discounts - People get emails with discounts every day. Make sure they will notice your email using a GIF to promote your discount offer.

• Achievements, anniversaries - Do you have any company achievements or anniversaries to celebrate? Highlight it. Add a celebrating GIF to your email. Similarly, did you organize a competition? Congratulate the winner by sending a “congratulations GIF”.

• Seasonal campaigns, holiday greetings - Use a themed GIF to catch the reader's attention.

• Order confirmation - People like to get an email confirming an order. But it is usually quite bland. Make it different. Add a GIF showing a product purchased.

• GIF as an alternative to video - Videos can't be played in your email. GIF can. Use a GIF animation with a “play button” overlaying the image to preview a short part from your actual video and promote it.

GIF enhances email graphics. Use a professional email editor to make your email graphics outstanding without spending more time and additional resources. Topol Platform is an embeddable editor designed to create beautiful and responsive emails. Drag&drop ensures an intuitive user experience for end-users, supporting team collaboration. Try to build your email and insert a GIF with our free trial and see for yourself!