GIF in Email: Re-Animate Your Marketing Strategy

/by Irina Sidorenko

Here’s a widely known fact: only about 20% of text is remembered. However, people remember 80% of pictures they see. So, when you send an email, it’s better to go visual.

But is it enough to rely on JPEG/PNG images? Maybe, if it was 1999. However, today’s users want more. Static images give visual power to your emails but lack the dynamism expected today. Video is powerful but not supported by the majority of email clients. That’s where GIF comes into play. It’s the middle ground between images and videos and that’s why they are so amazingly effective.

Static or animated?

Why should you choose GIFs over static pictures? For one, you can show several product images in a single animation:

Or you can tell a story:

You can also create short visual instructions, so your customers immediately get the message:

Some businesses use GIFs to delight and surprise their customers, or to humor them:

Most importantly, GIFs are emotive, which can spur customers into action:

What do the numbers say?

Embedding animated GIFs in emails will significantly increase your chances of a positive response. Google says that popularity of GIFs tripled from 2013 to 2018:


The proof is everywhere. People love GIFs, and the biggest companies have caught on:

  • NASA tweets GIFs about space travel.
  • Netflix created two dozen GIFs for an outdoor advertising campaign.
  • Dell used a GIF-centered email marketing campaign and scored a 109 percent increase in revenue.

    • If they’re so effective and work on any device, why wouldn’t you use GIFs in emails?

    Hurdles to overcome

    GIFs might sound like a silver bullet, but only if you solve these common problems:

    • GIFs can be heavy. This GIF from a GrowthHackers email was a whopping 7MB. Ideally, keep them below 1MB.
    • GIFs are slow and fiddly to create.
    • It can be hard to find a GIF that’s relevant to your content.

    Automation to the rescue

    Sirv solves all these common problems in a new, unique way.

    • Tiny file size – Sirv reduces file size by up to 90% by automatically serving GIFs in better formats. WebP and APNG are often a fraction of the size of GIF. Unsupporting browsers/email clients will receive a lossy optimized GIF instead – also a fraction of typical GIF size.
    • Easy GIF creation – generate GIFs simply by uploading a set of static images to Sirv. It’s fast, with no coding needed.
    • Personalization – make users feel special by displaying a GIF unique to them. Customize your GIF with their name or a special message. Personalized images can give huge conversion rates (more on this in our next blog article).

    To improve CTR, this image was personalized for “Liz” – compare it with the initial GIF.

    Embed GIFs in emails

    Upload your GIFs to Sirv and they’ll be instantly ready to embed in your emails.

    To create brand new GIFs, Sirv can convert videos into GIFs or convert multiple images into a GIF. You can even customize their size and design.

    Try it now

    Start sending high-impact GIFs with Sirv today.

    Create your Sirv account and enjoy 5GB free storage for 30 days. After that, choose from flexible price plans. Start, stop or switch plan whenever you need.

    Welcome to the new breed of image hosting.