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How to add an Instagram Reel to Mailchimp

Embed video in Mailchimp emails with ease.

Step-by-step video tutorial - how to add a Reel to Mailchimp email

Take the Viewed Video Email Platform for a 15-day free test drive, no credit card required.

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YouTube video

Add an Instagram Reel to Mailchimp emails to fully leverage your Social Media Content

 Reels in Mailchimp emails play automatically the moment the email is opened and plays on all devices, all email clients and all connections, from WiFi too 5G.

To add a Reel to Mailchimp you need no no technical, or coding skills.

If you can copy and paste you can add a Reel to Mailchimp.

How to add an Instagram Reel to Mailchimp. A step by step guide.

Step 1. Create a new Mailchimp email campaign

  • Log into your Mailchimp Account
  • Choose to create a new Regular Email campaign in Mailchimp.
  • If you are presented with the choice of the New Builder or the Classic Builder select the New Builder. If your default is the Classic Builder that is fine.
  • Select the email template you wish to use for your campaign from the Mailchimp email template options. We are using the Minimal Template from the Mailchimp Template library.
  • You’re now ready to build your email. In the email template editor drag a HTML block into your template where you’d like the video to be featured, we recommend this be positioned at the head of the email template.
  • On adding this HTML block to your template you will be shown a HTML Code pane in the left hand column. Proceed to highlight and delete the HTML code which is currently shown in the HTML pane.
  • You are now ready to create your video content.
Select your template in Mailchimp
Add a HTML block to your Mailchimp template

2. Download your Instagram Reel

Downloading your Instagram Reel to your desktop

There are a number of third party apps that enable you to easily download videos from your Instagram account, we are using the chrome extension here.

Downloading your Instagram reel on your mobile

In some countries Instagram allows you to download your Reels to your camera roll on your mobile, thus avoiding the need for any third party app or chrome extension. Here’s the steps to download your reel direct to your camera roll:

Step 1: Open a Reel you want to save

Step 2: Tap the Share icon on the bottom right

Step 3: Select “Download” at the bottom, and the video will save to your camera roll

Video Downloader for Instagram

Step 3. Sign up for a Viewed Video Email Account

  • The Viewed video email platform converts your video content to a HTML snippet which is then added to your email template to enable your video play within the body of your email.
  • It’s free to sign up for a Viewed video email account and no credit card is required.
  • To sign up simply complete the short form and click Send.
  • To complete the sign up process you will need to validate your email address by clicking on the email sent to the email account that you used to sign up.
  • Your Free Viewed Trial Account gives you full access to the video email platform for 15 days.
Free Trial - Full Details
Create a viewed video email account

Step 4. Convert your video to a HTML snippet

  • Upload your video content to our Video Email Platform, the video should not be larger than 100mb, and not be longer than 60 seconds.
  • The video file can be any video file format, so it is ok to upload YouTube, TikTok, Instagram video content as well as MP4’s.
  • Choose a name for the video so you can locate it later, either to re-use it or check out the results of your campaign.
  • Select your ESP as Other email Sending Software.
  • Click the Create Video button.
  • The video email platform will now transcode the video into a HTML snippet.
  • Copy the HTML snippet using the Copy button at the foot of the HTML pane.
Upload your video to Viewed
HTML code snippet Viewed Video Email Platform

Step 5. Add your Reel to your Mailchimp email

  • Paste the HTML code snippet into the Code Pane in the left hand column of the Campaign Builder page.
  • Save the campaign.
  • Select the Preview option to view your Reel playing in the email, on Desktop and Mobile.
  • Continue to edit your template and set up your campaign ready for testing and sending.
Paste the HTML snippet into the Mailchimp Code Pane
Preview your Mailchimp video email on Desktop and Mobile
mailchimp Video email marketing

How to Get Started with Mailchimp Video Email

Getting started with video email is quick and easy. All you’ll need to get started is a video that is less than 60 seconds long, with a file size under 100Mb.

We recommend the best way to get started is to take the Viewed Video Email Platform for a test drive by signing up for a 15-day free trial.

During this trial you can set up a video email in your Mailchimp account, send internal test messages or send a live video email campaign to your subscribers.

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Mailchimp video in email

Mailchimp video email FAQ's

+ - Do we need to make changes to our Mailchimp Account?

No changes need to made to your Mailchimp account. The Video Email Platform has been designed to work with Mailchimp out of the box.

+ - How long can the video be within the email?

60 Seconds is the maximum duration for video emails, though we’d recommend a video of between 30-40 seconds, as in A/B split tests, that is the most effective duration.

+ - How much does video email cost?

Video email prices are calculated as follows:

  1. License Fee – Paid either on a monthly or annual basis this fee covers the users access to the Video Email Platform and in most cases a number of video email plays.
  2. Video Plays – When a recipient open the email the video plays within the email, this is a “video play”, each video play incurs a small fee, which are generally billed on a monthly basis.

Visit our Pricing Page for full details.

+ - Do we need to contact Mailchimp to get started?

Getting started is easy with no Mailchimp Customer Support required.

+ - Can we run some video Email A/B Tests ?

We strongly advocate for A/B testing the impact of adding video to your email campaigns These tests should focus on understanding the impact adding video to the email has on Unique click rates and conversion to sales or action.

+ - Does the recipient click to make the video play?

The video plays immediately the recipient opens the email with no need to click on the video to start it playing.

+ - Does video in email impact email delivery rates?

No, your Mailchimp campaigns will continue to experience excellent deliverability.

Adding video to your emails has no impact on the delivery of your emails to the inbox.

No, your Mailchimp Campaigns will continue to experience excellent deliverability. Adding video to your emails has no impact on the delivery of your emails to the inbox.

+ - Can we feature 2 videos in an email?

Yes, it is certainly possible to include multiple videos within your email. It is important to consider here that if you include two videos in your email the cost associated with adding video to your email will double.

Mailchimp video email metrics

MailChimp ESP
Delivery Rate of Mailchimp Video Emails 0
Unsubscribe rate of Mailchimp Video Emails 0
Mailchimp Video Emails that are < 30 seconds long 0
Mailchimp users seeing a +ve ROI from video email 0

Top 4 tips for adding video to Mailchimp emails

1. Video Email plays on mute.

Video email is not compatible with sound so your video email will not include audio. Select video video content to add to your email that is not reliant on sound to communicate your message.

2. Video length to be a maximum of 30 seconds

The optimum duration for video in email is 30 seconds, aim to keep your video duration within + or -10% of this to deliver the maximum engagement and response rates.

3. Place the video at the head of your email

Add your video into your email, at the head of your Mailchimp template, at the full width of 600px. This position at the head of templates has repeatedly proven to be the most effective in A/B split testing.

4. Add a Call to Action

Add a Call to Action, preferably as a button, directly beneath your video. Make the call to action relatable to the video content, for example Watch the full Video, or Discover more details.

15-day free trial

With full access to the video email platform you can set up a video email campaign in your Mailchimp account and experience your video email in your inbox.

No credit card required

50 million Mailchimp video emails were sent in 2023

The community of Mailchimp users have fully embraced the ability to add video to their email campaigns and automations, with over 10,000 accounts now sending video emails.

Adding video to an email is simple

Mailchimp users are telling us that If you can copy and paste, you can add a video to your email. The solution with the Viewed Video Email Platform works seamlessly.

Reach all inboxes with video email

All your list members will receive a video email in their inbox which plays the moment they open the email, be they a Gmail or Outlook user or any email service in between.

Use any video content in your email

MP4's, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram videos no problem these can all be added to your email without an issue.

Video email is affordable

Keeping costs in check is important. We have focussed on keeping the cost of video email as low as possible, so its affordable to all.

How to embed popular video formats into Mailchimp emails

All the popular video formats can be embed in your Mailchimp emails.

Follow our Step-by-Step guides to add an MP4 or YouTube video to your Mailchimp emails.

MP4 in a video email

How to embed an MP4 into Mailchimp email

Embed an MP4 into Mailchimp - A step-by-step guide
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How to embed a Canva video template into Mailchimp

How to embed a Canva video into Mailchimp
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