[FAQ]

My primary content is video, and I’m building an email newsletter to help promote my new videos and connect with my audience. I want to do more than just drop a raw YouTube link in an email each week.

What are some of the best practices for creating a newsletter in 2025 that is designed specifically around promoting and sharing video content effectively? I’m thinking about things like how to best present the video in the email, what kind of text to include to get people interested, and how to maximise click-throughs to actually get them to watch.

[Jeff Bullas]

Creating a video-centric email newsletter is an excellent way to drive views to your content and build a deeper relationship with your audience. The key is to make the video the undeniable hero of the email while ensuring a reliable user experience for all subscribers.

There are several best practices to follow. First, and this is the most critical technical point, you should not attempt to embed the full video directly into the body of your email. Embedding playable video has very poor and inconsistent support across the major email clients, like Outlook and Gmail. It will appear broken for many of your subscribers and can cause deliverability issues.

Second, the most effective and standard practice is to use a compelling, clickable image that looks like a video player. The best approach is often to create a short, animated GIF from an exciting or intriguing part of your video and overlay a “play” button icon on it. This use of motion immediately signals that the content is a video and strongly entices the user to click. A high-quality static thumbnail of your video with a play button on it also works well.

Third, you must link that entire image directly to where your video is hosted, whether that is on YouTube, Vimeo, or your own website. The image should function as one large, clickable element that takes the subscriber straight to the video with no confusion.

Fourth, you should write clear and concise email copy that provides context and creates curiosity. Your email text should not be a full transcript or repeat everything that is in the video. Instead, it should act as a “trailer.” Use a strong headline, write a short paragraph that introduces the problem your video solves or the topic it addresses, and then clearly guide people to click the image to see the full content.

Fifth, your main call to action (CTA) should also be focused on the video. In addition to the clickable image, include a CTA button with action-oriented text like “Watch Now,” “See the Full Tutorial,” or “Play Video.” This button should also link to your video.

And sixth, your email subject line should create intrigue for the video. You can use the title of the video itself, pose a question that the video answers, or include a video camera emoji to signal the format of the content inside.

In summary, the key to a great video newsletter is not to embed the video itself, but to use a compelling and clickable visual – ideally an animated GIF with a play button – that links directly to your video. Support this with concise, curiosity-driven copy and a clear call to action to “Watch Now.”

[Author]

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