How to use a video block to add video to Mailchimp
The Video Block feature is available in both of Mailchimp’s email builders and provides the ability to add a still image from your video into your email, along with a click through from the image to the full video, or an alternate landing page.
In this post we walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to add a Video Block to your Mailchimp email using the new email builder.
As a bonus we have also included a short, step-by-step guide, on how to embed a video into a Mailchimp email, that plays within the body of the email.
- Create a new campaign in Mailchimp
- Select the YouTube video to be embedded in the email
- Add the YouTube video to our email
- Preview the video block on desktop and mobile
- What the future holds for video in email
1. Create a new campaign in Mailchimp.
We complete the usual set up for a Regular Email and then select a basic template. We now drag a Video Block into position within the template, where we wish our YouTube video to be featured.
2. Select the YouTube video to be embedded in the email
We open YouTube in our browser and locate the YouTube video we wish to feature. We copy the URL for this video from the address bar.
We paste the URL into the Video URL field, Mailchimp now adds a thumbnail image from the YouTube video to the email. The thumbnail will be the first frame from your video, or if you have set one, the Thumbnail image you have set for the video in YouTube.
You have the option to change this image by selecting Replace from where you can select an alternative image from the Content Studio or you may upload a new image.
3. Add the YouTube video to our email
We can now see the YouTube thumbnail image in position within the email including the YouTube play button which is set to on by default and cannot be removed.
4. Preview the video block on desktop and mobile
We select Preview, to view how the Video Block will appear on both desktop and mobile devices.
5. What the future holds for video in email
As video compression technology has evolved over the last few years, in conjunction with the rise video to become the most popular content consumed across the internet, the wave of interest to add video to email has gained significant momentum.
Here at Video Email we have a solution that enables you to add video to your emails that is embedded in the body of the email, and plays automatically in the email, the moment the recipient opens the email.
In the video above we have included a walk through of both the Mailchimp Video Block approach to adding video to your email, and the new approach where the video is embedded in your Mailchimp email, delivering autoplay video, within the body of the email.
