How to Embed a Video in Email (Gmail & Outlook Guide)

Can you embed a video in an email? The short answer is: not directly — but there are several ways to make it work, and some of them are surprisingly effective.

Most email clients don’t support inline video playback. But with the right approach, you can get your recipients to click through to your video just as easily.

And it’s worth doing: according to GetResponse’s 2024 benchmarks, emails containing video see open rates jump by 4–12 percentage points and click-through rates improve by up to 2 percentage points.

Despite this, only 12% of marketers currently include video in their emails — which means there’s a real opportunity to stand out.

In this guide, we’ll walk through 5 methods — from simple hyperlinks to animated GIFs — and show you which one works best for Gmail, Outlook, and bulk email campaigns.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Can you embed a video in an email?
• Method 1 — Link to your video
• Method 2 — Use a clickable thumbnail
• Method 3 — Embed with Mailmeteor
• Method 4 — Turn your video into a GIF
• Method 5 — HTML5 video tag
• Which method should you use?

Sounds good? Then let’s dive in.

Can you embed a video in an email?

Not exactly. Most major email clients — including Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail — don’t support inline video playback. If you try to embed a video file directly, it will either be blocked, stripped out, or replaced with a broken image.

The workaround is to use a clickable thumbnail or a GIF that links to the video hosted elsewhere (YouTube, Loom, Vimeo, etc.). Done well, this performs just as well as a true embed — and in some cases better, since the video opens in its native player.

The one exception is HTML5 video, which technically works in a handful of email clients. We’ll cover that in Method 5.

Method 1 — Link to your video

The simplest method. Add a hyperlink to your video URL inside the body of your email. When recipients click the link, they’re taken straight to the video.

Here’s how to do it in Gmail:

1. Compose your email as normal.
2. Select the anchor text (e.g. “Watch the video here”).
3. Click the Insert link icon (or press Ctrl+K / Cmd+K). .
4. Paste your video URL.
5. Click OK.

And voilà. Gmail will sometimes auto-generate a preview thumbnail below the link — but placement and appearance vary, so don’t rely on it.

Here’s how the auto-generated preview looks in Gmail ⤵️

✅ Pros: Works everywhere. Zero technical knowledge needed.

❌ Cons: Looks like any other link. Easy to miss.

Method 2 — Use a clickable thumbnail

A better-looking version of Method 1. Instead of a plain text link, you insert a thumbnail image of your video and link it to the video URL. Recipients see a visual preview and click it to watch.

Here’s how to get the thumbnail from YouTube:

1. Go to your video on YouTube and click Share
2. Select Embed — YouTube will show you the video thumbnail
3. Take a screenshot of the thumbnail

Or create a custom thumbnail in Canva:

1. Open Canva, click Create a design and search for YouTube Thumbnail.
2. Click Uploads → Upload files and select your image.
3. Go to Elements, search YouTube, and add a play button overlay.
4. Click Share → Download to save your thumbnail.

Here’s how to add it to Gmail:

1. Compose your email and paste your thumbnail image.
2. Click on the image, then click the hyperlink icon.
3. Click Change and paste your video URL.

And voilà. Recipients click the thumbnail and land directly on your video.

✅ Pros: Visually engaging. Works in all email clients.

❌ Cons: Requires a little setup. Static image only.

Method 3 — Embed with Mailmeteor

If you’re sending a video as part of a bulk email campaign, Mailmeteor’s embed feature is the cleanest option. It automatically generates a clickable thumbnail from any YouTube video, Loom recording, blog post, or any URL that uses the Open Graph Protocol — no image editing required.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Log in to the Mailmeteor Dashboard (it’s free!).
2. Click New campaign.
3. In your email body, insert the following variable: {{ embed https://… }}
4. Replace https://... with your video URL. For example: {{ embed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YX65-kywOE }}
5. Click Show preview to see exactly how the thumbnail will appear before sending.

Mailmeteor replaces the variable with a clickable thumbnail automatically. If tracking is enabled on your campaign, clicks on embedded content are tracked just like any other link.

✅ Pros: Fully automated. Works for YouTube, Loom, and any OGP-compatible URL. Tracked clicks. No image editing.

❌ Cons: Requires a Mailmeteor account. Best suited for campaigns rather than one-off emails.

Method 4 — Turn your video into a GIF

A GIF adds movement to your email without requiring video playback support. It’s more eye-catching than a static thumbnail, and it works in virtually every email client.

Here’s how to create a GIF from your video:

1. Go to giphy.com and sign in or create a free account.
2. Click Create.
3. Upload your video file or paste a YouTube URL.
4. Trim the GIF to 3–5 seconds — keep it short or the file size will balloon.
5. Add a play button overlay using Stickers → YouTube.
6. Click Continue to Upload, then download the finished GIF.

Here’s how to add it to Gmail:

1. Compose your email.
2. Click Insert photo and upload your GIF.
3. Click on the GIF, then click the hyperlink icon.
4. Paste your video URL so recipients can click through to watch the full video.

✅ Pros: Eye-catching. Works everywhere. Adds movement without video playback.

❌ Cons: File size can be large if not trimmed carefully. Loops indefinitely, which can be distracting.

Method 5 — HTML5 video tag

Technically, it’s possible to embed a playable video using the HTML5 <video> tag. But support is very limited — Gmail and Outlook don’t support it, and most recipients will see a broken image or nothing at all.

Here’s what the code looks like:

<video poster="path/to/thumbnail.jpg" width="480" height="270" controls>
  <source src="path/to/video.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
</video>

The poster attribute sets a fallback image for clients that can’t play the video. Without it, unsupported clients show nothing.

Which email clients support HTML5 video?

Given that Gmail and Outlook together account for the majority of email opens, this method isn’t recommended for most use cases. Use it only if you know your audience is predominantly on Apple Mail or iOS.

✅ Pros: True inline video playback for supported clients.

❌ Cons: Not supported by Gmail or Outlook. Requires coding. Poor fallback experience without extra work.

Which method should you use?

Not sure which method fits your situation? Here’s a quick guide ⤵️

Make your video emails work harder

A great video thumbnail gets the click. But what happens before that — the subject line, the personalisation, the follow-up — determines whether your email gets opened at all.

✍️ Write better email copy faster with Mailmeteor’s AI email assistant

📬 Send personalised video emails at scale with mail merge — every recipient gets their own thumbnail

🔁 Set up automatic follow-ups for recipients who didn’t click

📊 Track opens and clicks to see which videos are actually getting watched

⏰ Schedule your campaign to land at the right time

Try Mailmeteor for Gmail today (it’s free!) and start sending video emails that actually get clicked.

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