# How to Insert Gifs Into Emails Effectively

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## Table of contents

- What are GIFs?
- What are the benefits of using GIFs in emails?
- Understanding GIF Compatibility
- How to insert GIFs into emails
- Best practices for using GIFs in email
- Final takeaway

Do you remember those moving portraits and images in Harry Potter?

  

![GIF of moving portraits in Harry Potter](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724392374/strapi/1_c0586a054d.gif)

They are magical and elevate Hogwart's charm to another level. Imagine having such magical moving images inside your emails too. 

GIFs are exactly like that. They help you show your brand's personality, engage recipients and make them want to know more your brand.

  

So, if you use email marketing and want to know how to incorporate **GIFs into emails**, keep reading. We'll tell you everything you need to know to start using GIFs in your email.

## What are GIFs?

  

**GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap image format (like PNG or JPEG) created by [CompuServe in 1987](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-gif-early-internet-innovation-ubiquitous-relic-180963543/). They are short voiceless animations created from video clips or images played in a sequence repeatedly every few seconds.**

  

There are mainly three types of GIFs:

  

**1. Video-based**: Video-based GIFs are short, looping clips extracted from movies, TV shows, soap operas or other video content, capturing memorable moments or reactions.

  

![video-based gif](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1741679016/strapi/Comp4_ezgif_com_video_to_gif_converter_87740a935b.gif)




  

**2. Animation-based**: Animation-based GIFs feature original, animated illustrations crafted by artists, offering creative and visually engaging designs.

![animation-based gif](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1741679014/strapi/Comp3_ezgif_com_video_to_gif_converter_703df18acd.gif)

  

**3. Stickers**: Stickers are animated GIFs with transparent backgrounds, allowing them to be easily overlaid on other content to enhance messages with playful or expressive visuals.

  

![sticker-based gif](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1741679014/strapi/Comp2_ezgif_com_video_to_gif_converter_fa5e696433.gif)

  

## What are the benefits of using GIFs in emails?

  

GIFs can be a fun way to express your thoughts and feelings, but that's not all they can do. There are several ways in which GIFs, when used in emails, can benefit your [email campaign](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-marketing-campaign/). Here they are:

  

-   **Help grab the reader's attention and make the email engaging:** GIFs are eye-catching and can capture your subscriber's attention and make them want to read through the email. They can also help guide the viewer's eyes towards the [CTA](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-call-to-action/) placed below or near it, which helps increase the [click-through rate](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/good-email-open-rate/).

  

-   **Can be a replacement for embedded videos:** More email clients support GIFs as compared to [embedded videos](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/video-email-marketing/). Gifs also have a much smaller in file size, allowing them to load faster and providing a good reading experience.
    

  

-   **Reduce the amount of text:** They help you explain or showcase a concept without using a lot of words. It can help paint a picture in their mind about the idea, which might be challenging to do using just text.
    

  

## Understanding GIF Compatibility

  

GIFs are a popular choice, but their compatibility varies across different email clients. Knowing where and how your GIFs will display can help you avoid issues and ensure a seamless experience for your recipients. Here’s a breakdown of GIF support across various email platforms:

  

Here is a table showing which desktop clients do or don't support GIFs in emails:

  

**Desktop clients** | **Supported or not**
:-------------------|:-------------------:
Outlook 2000-2003 | ✅
Outlook 2007-2019 | ❌
Outlook for Mac | ✅
Apple Mail | ✅
Windows 10 Mail | ✅
Office365 | ✅

  
  

Here is a table showing which webmail clients do or don't support GIFs in emails:

  

**Webmail clients** | **Supported or not**
:------------------ |:-------------------:
Gmail | ✅
G Suite | ✅
Yahoo! Mail | ✅
AOL | ✅
Outlook.com | ✅
Office365 | ✅
Comcast | ✅
Orange.fr | ✅
SFR.fr | ✅
GMX.de | ✅
Web.de | ✅
T-Online.de | ✅
Freenet.de | ✅
Mail.ru | ✅

  
  

Here is a table showing which mobile clients support GIFs in emails:

  

**Mobile clients** | **Supported or not**
:----------------- |:-------------------:
iOS Mail | ✅
Gmail | ✅
Gmail IMAP | ✅
Samsung Mail | ✅
Outlook | ✅
Yahoo | ✅
AOL | ✅

  
  

## How to insert GIFs into emails

  

As seen above, most email clients support GIFs, but the insertion process may vary depending on the email clients you’re using.

Below, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process for inserting GIFs in two major email clients – Outlook and Gmail.

  

### The inline method

  

The inline method works for both Gmail and Outlook email client. You basically copy the gif and paste it into the email body. Here’s the step-by-step on how to do it.

  

**Step 1**: Locate the GIF you want to use.

  

**Step 2:** Right-click on the GIF and select "**Copy image**" (or use the keyboard shortcut, usually Ctrl+C or Cmd+C).

  

**Step 3**: Paste the GIF directly into the email body where you want it to appear (usually with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V). This is how it would look.

  
  

![An image showing how to insert inline gif](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1741679014/strapi/email_gifs_1_af624b81b8.png)


  

But there’s another way of adding gifs to your emails too. Let’s see how you can do it for each client.

  

### How to insert GIFs in Outlook

  

Make sure you have the GIF downloaded on your computer before you start. You can then start with the steps as shown below:

  

**Step 1**: In the new email page, click on the "**Insert**" tab in the ribbon.

  

**Step 2:** Choose "**Attach file**" from the options.

  

**Step 3:** Browse to find your GIF file, select it, and click "Insert." The GIF will be attached to your email.



  

**Step 4:** Now, you can hover on the image, click on the down arrow and choose to move the image to the message body. Now, you can resize or reposition the GIF within your email.

  
![An image showing how to insert  gif as an attachment in Outlook](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1741679014/strapi/email_gifs_2_8d54dd328c.png)

  

### How to insert a GIF in Gmail

  

In Gmail, you can add your GIF the way you would add any other image in your email.

  

**Step 1:** In the email composition window, click on the "**Insert photo**" icon (a small picture icon) located at the bottom of the email toolbar.

  

![13.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724392891/strapi/13_f28e851947.png)

  

**Step 2**: A pop-up window will appear. Select the “**Upload**” tab to upload a GIF from your computer.

**Step 3**: After it’s uploaded, the image will appear directly in the body of the email. Here, you can resize or adjust its position within the email.

  

![14.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724392931/strapi/14_a7081ca3eb.png)

  
  

### How to insert a GIF in Mailmodo

Mailmodo allows you to not just add gifs in your email but also allows you to format it to align it better with the rest of the email. Here's how you do all of it:
  

  

**Step 1**: Head to the template editor with a pre-existing template that you want to add the gif to or create a new template from scratch.

  

**Step 2**: Under the layout tab, drag the image block and drop it where you want it in the email template.

**Step 3**: Click on ”**Add image**” and choose how you want to add the image.

If you already have the image on your computer, choose the GIF file and click “**Upload**” to add it to your email.

  

![15.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724392970/strapi/15_9c9ea5ee70.png)
  

Here you can now:

  

- Drag the GIF to move it around within the email.

  

- Tweak the image by resizing, adding borders, padding, defining alignment, etc., as per your requirement to fit your email design.

  

![16.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724393001/strapi/16_0aae20cabe.png)

  
  

So, you can see how you get a variety of options to tweak the placement and appearance of your gifs when you've added them in your email template in Mailmodo. This makes your emails look better and perform better if you're using it for email marketing. Mailmodo also offers other features like:
- Interactive AMP emails
- A/B testing
- AI email writer
- AI subject line generator
- Email automation
- Email analytics
- Send-time optimization



<div class="inline_cta"><div class="ctaBox"><div class="leftdiv"><p>Create and send interactive emails in minutes</p><div class="button_container"><a href="https://manage.mailmodo.com/auth/signup?utm_content=inline-cta-s&utm_term=/guides/gif-in-email/"><button class="primary_button">Try Mailmodo for free</button></a></div></div><div class="rightdiv"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/v1712747193/strapi/Group_1110165064_1_57b7027899.png" width="290" height="230" alt="cta-img"/></div></div><div class="gradient"></div></div>

  
  
## Best practices for using GIFs in email
By following the given best practices, you can effectively use GIFs to make your emails more engaging and visually appealing.
   

 - **Group the GIFs you use with a CTA:** Use GIFs in such a way that they encourage people to click on the CTA button in the email. Make sure the GIF you use is related to the call to action.
 - **Create custom GIFs for your brand:** Create your own GIFs using animation to keep all aspects of the email on-brand and create cohesiveness. 

 - **Only animate part of the GIF:** You can keep it exciting without going overboard by animating only a portion of your GIF. It also helps keep the file size smaller and easy to load.

 -  **Include alt text for the GIF:** By including alt text for the images or GIFs in your email, you are making sure that the email is still readable and [accessible](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-accessibility/) to users who use screen readers. It can also be helpful for the readers to make sense of the email if the image fails to load.

  

 - **Keep your emails accessible:** Flashing images in GIFs can cause harm to readers who have photosensitive epilepsy. So, make sure your GIFs have smooth transitions and have a lower rate of frames per second to create a pleasant experience for all your readers.

  

 - **Test across different devices and clients:** Test your GIFs across various email clients and devices to ensure consistent display and performance. 
 

 - **Use GIFs sparingly:** Use GIFs strategically to enhance your message rather than distract from it. Too many GIFs can dilute their impact and potentially overwhelm readers.

 - **Improve with user feedback:** Sometimes, your audience doesn't respond well to using GIFs and might even think they are unprofessional and view them as poor quality. In such cases, it is up to you to decide if you want to continue, experiment, and [A/B test](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-ab-testing/) with different GIFs or scrap the idea and cut out GIFs entirely from your campaign.

  

 - **Optimize your GIF’s performance :** Keep the file size under 1 MB with a resolution that maintains clarity. Also, configure GIFs to loop only few times, as endless looping can be distracting for recipients. 


 
## Final takeaway

  

In conclusion, incorporating **GIFs into email** communications can be a powerful tool for engagement and creativity. They offer a dynamic way to capture attention and convey messages.

  

However, it's essential to use them judiciously and consider the recipient's preferences and the context of the communication. By following the best practices mentioned in this guide, Email GIFs can enhance your email strategy, making your messages more impactful.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is an email GIF?

An email GIF is an animated image file included in an email to capture attention and convey a message or emotion dynamically. Unlike static images, GIFs use multiple frames to create a looping animation, making them more engaging.

### How can GIFs enhance email marketing campaigns? 

GIFs can enhance email marketing by increasing engagement and making content more eye-catching and memorable. They can be used to demonstrate products, highlight promotions, or add a fun element that encourages recipients to interact with the email.

### Are there any limitations to using GIFs in emails? 


Yes, limitations include potential compatibility issues with some email clients, which might not support animations, and increased file sizes that can affect loading times. It's also important to ensure that GIFs are optimized for mobile devices to avoid slow performance.


### What are the best practices for using GIFs in email campaigns? 

Best practices include keeping GIFs short and relevant to avoid distractions, ensuring they are optimized for quick loading, testing across different email clients and devices for compatibility, and balancing GIFs with static content to maintain a professional look.

### Can GIFs impact email deliverability? 

GIFs themselves typically do not impact deliverability, but larger file sizes can lead to longer loading times or potential clipping in some email clients. To avoid these issues, ensure your GIFs are optimized for size and performance, and test how they appear across various platforms.

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---

**Author: Aquibur Rahman**

Aquibur is the CEO and co-founder of Mailmodo. He has assisted various tech companies in setting up their email marketing infrastructure.

