Embedding GIFs in Email Marketing with Issuu and Mailchimp
May 6th, 2022 by Kendal RodgersThis week, we hosted one of our most popular webinars, Issuu + Mailchimp: Embedding Content Into Your Email Marketing, featuring Issuu Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Walker and Campaign Marketing Manager Talius Chickering. In a brief 30-minute session, attendees learned what’s changing in digital publishing and how to use these two impactful solutions to streamline your email marketing.
Our experts discussed content creation, how to create GIFs from Issuu flipbooks, and how to embed them directly into Mailchimp email campaigns. This webinar gave loads of insights into content marketing and what you need to do. For those of you who were unable to attend (or even if you did), here’s a little recap of why–and how–you should be using GIFs in your email campaigns.
GIFs Are More Than a Trend
What was once thought to be a fad that would come and go, GIFs have become a bonafide go-to tactic for email marketing experts everywhere. They can convey an entire message and/or a piece of content in seconds – grabbing readers’ attention without the need for tons of body text or multiple CTAs. If you’re still hesitant on how to use GIFs for brand emails or how to create GIFs, or you're just curious about why you should continue doing so, here are some stats and facts that may convince you:
The average “order value” of an email is at least 3x higher than that of social media. Email continues to be one of the best-performing marketing channels. [McKinsey]
Approximately 51% of marketers currently use GIFs in email marketing campaigns. [Litmus]
By using GIFs in emails, senders can see a 6% increase in open rate and a 109% increase in revenue. Woah. [Dell]
68% of Millennials like to see (and even prefer) GIFs, emojis, and stickers in their emails. [Sales Rocks]
GIF is almost always supported! Its roots are largely what makes it so awesome – most email service providers support GIFs because of their small file size.
This article in Inc. agrees, saying, “When you're marketing to people with a limited attention span (which is basically everyone at this point), the ability to say 60,000 words in a few seconds is pretty appealing...”
Guilty. So, let’s dive into how to create GIFs directly from your existing content.
Creating GIFs to Bring Your Email Marketing to Life
Sharing content across channels has never been easier. At Issuu, our motto is “create once, share everywhere,” so we enable users to automatically transform static documents they’ve created into dynamic flipbooks and then repurpose that content into supporting assets for sharing across all channels.
We think GIFs are the perfect way to share your content publications through email. It’s easy to do, too; with our Mailchimp integration, you can create a seamless workflow between your content and your email campaigns. Create dynamic flipbooks with Issuu, instantly transform them into GIFs simply by selecting which pages you want to show, and then engage your audience by email with just a few clicks. Voilà, that’s it!
This creative strategy makes content more appealing and significantly lifts engagement rates so you get more reads on your digital publications. Curious about creating these high-performance graphics for emails? Jump to 15:15 in the webinar recording below to see a short clip on how to create GIFs within Issuu:
Embedding GIFs into Your Email Campaigns
Mailchimp says GIFs are the perfect “show-don’t-tell” technique for highlighting important assets within newsletters or campaigns, so our integration with Mailchimp aims to do just that. As seen above, you can create GIFs in Issuu and embed them directly into your email marketing campaigns. Your GIF goes straight into your Content Studio within Mailchimp, ready to be used in a new template or email you’ve already drafted. This integration saves you time and enhances emails, all while creating a continuous loop between creating, publishing, and sharing. No more downloading, re-uploading, changing programs, switching screens, etc. Jump to 16:45 to watch how to easily embed GIFs from Issuu directly into a Mailchimp email:
Pro tip: We suggest linking readers who click on the GIF in your email directly to the fullscreen sharing version of your publication. This premium feature will provide a rich, dynamic digital experience for your audiences and customers.
Using high-performance graphics like GIFs within your email campaigns is a great way to increase engagement and boost interaction with content you’ve worked hard to create. Don’t forget to share your GIF on social media, too, and link followers to your publication on Issuu or embedded flipbook on your website! Rethinking how you promote your content via email might just be what you need to do in order to grow and thrive in 2022 and beyond.