Captivate Your Subscribers With GIFs: Best Practices for Effective Email Newsletters

The very first GIF was created in 1987, which was a clipart airplane soaring through a pixelated sky. GIFs rocked the internet scene, revolutionizing how we express ourselves. They became the go-to for sharing emotions, reactions, and actions in a neat, bite-sized package.

Soon, with their integration into meme culture, they also became the ultimate way to bring humor and pop culture references online. And now, GIFs have also made their way into email newsletters.

Using GIFs in your newsletter is one of the best things you can do to grab people’s attention and share what you’ve got to say. This gives you a different approach to stand out from the crowd.

This blog answers all your questions about using GIFs in your newsletter. From deliverability to engagement, we’ve covered it all 👇

Do GIFs Work in Email Newsletters?

GIFs are highly effective in email newsletters. They add a dynamic and engaging element to your content, capturing subscribers' attention and conveying messages concisely and visually. Ponderer on beehiiv does it flawlessly.

beehiiv has now also integrated with Giphy and Unsplash to build its new media library, so you can get all the gifs and photos you need, everything on one platform.

Here are some reasons why GIFs work well in email campaigns:

Grabbing Subscribers' Attention

GIFs have the power to capture your subscribers' attention instantly. The repetitive motion and visual appeal of GIFs can make your emails stand out in crowded inboxes, ensuring that your message gets noticed and understood.

Telling Your Story

Humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, making visuals an essential component of effective storytelling. Conveying a lot of information in a short amount of time, they can help capture readers’ attention. Visuals also help you create a strong brand image, cultivating a memorable and engaging experience for customers.

Why Trust Me? As a self-portrait photographer with six years of experience, I have extensively explored the power of visual elements in capturing the attention and connection of my audience. I have witnessed firsthand how visuals speak volumes and resonate with viewers in ways that words alone cannot.

Teasing Upcoming Events or Content

GIFs provide an opportunity to create anticipation and excitement around upcoming events or content releases. By using GIFs to tease what's coming, you can generate a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourage subscribers to engage further with your emails.

Simplifying Complex Ideas

Sometimes, explaining complex ideas or product features can be challenging. GIFs can come to the rescue by breaking down the steps or demonstrating processes in a visually understandable way. By using GIFs, you can simplify complex concepts and make them more digestible for your subscribers.

Do GIFs in Emails Trigger Spam Filters?

GIFs do not trigger spam filters, but it's crucial to adhere to best practices to avoid potential issues. Excessive use of GIFs or using large file sizes might get flagged. To ensure that your emails reach the intended inbox, you should strike a balance between GIFs and text. By doing so, you can create engaging and visually appealing emails without triggering spam filters. Smart Nonsense on beehiiv is a comic newsletter that leverages visuals in the best way possible.

Do GIFs Affect Email Deliverability?

When used appropriately, GIFs do not significantly impact email deliverability. But there are a few factors that you should keep in mind while using GIFs in your emails. Here are the top three:

File Size Optimization

Optimize your GIFs to minimize their file size, while preserving image quality. Using tools like TinyPNG or EZGIF, compressing GIFs can help reduce their size without compromising visual appeal.

Mobile Responsiveness

With a growing number of users accessing emails on mobile devices, ensuring that your GIFs are mobile-friendly is crucial. Test your emails across various devices and email clients to ensure that they render correctly and do not cause any issues.

ALT Text

Including alternative text (ALT text) for your GIFs is essential. ALT text provides a text description of the GIF for users who may have disabled images or are unable to view them. It also improves accessibility and ensures that your message is conveyed even if the GIF doesn't load.

How Do I Optimize GIFs for Email?

By optimizing your GIFs, you can enhance the user experience, improve loading times, and avoid potential issues that may arise from using large file sizes or incompatible formats. To optimize GIFs for email, follow these best practices:

Keep It Short

Aim for GIFs that are 3-5 seconds long. Shorter GIFs ensure quick loading and seamless playback. By focusing on brevity, you ensure that the GIF grabs the viewer’s attention and conveys the intended message effectively.

Choose the Right Resolution

Opt for a resolution that balances image quality and file size. A resolution of 600 pixels wide generally works well for most email clients. This will ensure that the GIFs retain their visual appeal without unnecessarily inflating the file size.

Limit the File Size

Keep your GIF file size below 1MB to prevent slow loading or potential deliverability issues. The smaller the file size, the faster it will load. Large file sizes can lead to longer load times, frustrating subscribers and potentially causing your emails to be flagged as spam.

Test Across Email Clients

Different email clients have varying levels of support for GIFs. Test your emails across popular email clients like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail to ensure that the GIFs are displayed correctly. Testing allows you to identify any compatibility issues and make necessary adjustments

Provide a Fallback

In case a recipient's email client does not support GIFs, it's good practice to provide a fallback image or a textual description of the GIF to convey the intended message. This ensures that even if the GIF doesn't load, the message or information conveyed through the GIF is communicated effectively to the recipient.

Final Thoughts

Using GIFs in your newsletters is going to be one of the best decisions you can take to build your brand image, skyrocket your email deliverability, and keep your subscribers engaged.

With beehiiv, you can share your stories the way you like without worrying about ending up in the spam folders of your subscribers. We are here to support you!

Boost your content game with beehiiv today.