Email marketing is one of the most effective tools in your digital arsenal. It’s direct, measurable, and highly customizable. But let’s be honest your subscribers’ inboxes are crowded. With hundreds of messages competing for attention, static email design isn’t always enough to stand out. So how do you make your campaigns more engaging, eye-catching, and memorable? The answer lies in motion. In this post, we’ll explore the 3 ways to use animation in email marketing that will breathe new life into your emails and increase performance.
Animated email content doesn’t have to be overly complex or flashy. Even subtle movement can drive higher engagement, better storytelling, and stronger click-through rates. From GIFs and cinemographs to interactive elements, animation brings a fresh, modern twist to email communication one that today’s audiences not only appreciate but expect.
Let’s dive into the top 3 ways to use animation to supercharge your email marketing strategy.
Why Animation in Email Works
Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why. Email animation works because it triggers curiosity and increases time spent viewing. Studies show that emails with animation:
- Increase click-through rates by up to 26%
- Drive higher conversion rates than static campaigns
- Improve brand recall through movement and storytelling
- Create better user experiences with smoother content flow
Animation also offers an opportunity to showcase your brand’s personality. Whether it’s playful, sleek, or informative, motion helps communicate tone and purpose better than static images alone.
Now, onto the good stuff: here are the 3 best ways to use animation in email marketing.
1. Use Animated GIFs to Highlight Key Messages
The simplest and most widely used form of animation in emails is the animated GIF. These lightweight, looping visuals are universally supported across major email clients and can add energy and emphasis to otherwise static layouts.
✅ Why Use GIFs?
- They’re easy to create and embed
- They load quickly in most inboxes
- They grab attention instantly
- They add a layer of interaction without requiring user input
📧 Where to Use Animated GIFs:
🔸 Product Reveals
Launch a new product by animating its unveiling or showing different angles/features in a loop.
Example: A fashion brand showcasing a rotating 360° view of a sneaker.
🔸 Highlighting Discounts or Urgency
Use flashing text or ticking timers to reinforce limited-time offers or sale events.
Example: “Only 2 Hours Left!” text blinking in red and white to emphasize urgency.
🔸 Animating Icons or Buttons
Draw attention to CTAs like “Shop Now” or “Download” by animating arrows, hover effects, or pulsing buttons.
Example: An email newsletter with a blinking download arrow next to an eBook.
🔸 Telling a Mini Story
GIFs can visually demonstrate a use case or journey in just a few frames.
Example: A SaaS company using a GIF to show how a user saves time with their platform in three quick steps.
✏️ Pro Tips for Using GIFs in Emails:
- Keep file sizes under 1MB for fast loading
- Use the first frame as a static fallback in case the animation doesn’t play
- Don’t animate everything use sparingly to avoid overwhelming the reader
- Optimize frame rates to balance smoothness and size
2. Embed Cinemagraphs for Subtle Elegance
Cinemographs are a hybrid between photos and videos. They contain only a small, looping animation like moving hair, flickering lights, or pouring coffee while the rest of the image remains still. They’re visually stunning, elegant, and highly effective in premium email campaigns.
✅ Why Use Cinemagraphs?
- They’re sophisticated and less distracting than GIFs
- They create a high-end feel for luxury, fashion, or travel brands
- They draw the eye without demanding too much attention
- They’re ideal for storytelling and mood setting
📧 Where to Use Cinemagraphs:
🔸 Brand Campaigns
Set the tone or theme for a new seasonal collection, product launch, or rebrand.
Example: A fragrance brand showing perfume mist swirling from a bottle while the rest of the image stays still.
🔸 Background Animation
Use a cinemagraph as a subtle background to your hero image or header section.
Example: A coffee brand displaying a cup with gently rising steam behind the headline “Start Your Morning Right.”
🔸 Storytelling Moments
Add emotional depth or cinematic flair to lifestyle content or personal messages.
Example: A travel company featuring a static landscape with flowing water in the background.
✏️ Pro Tips for Using Cinemagraphs:
- Export as GIFs or HTML5 video depending on email client compatibility
- Use motion in only a small section of the image
- Avoid making them too flashy cinemographs are about elegance, not distraction
- Test deliverability across devices (some email clients won’t support auto-play video)
3. Create Interactive Animated Elements (Advanced)
The third and most advanced way to use animation in email marketing is to integrate interactive or HTML5-based animations. These can include animated carousels, hover-triggered effects, progress bars, or collapsible sections all of which increase engagement by giving users something to do.
✅ Why Use Interactive Animation?
- It turns your email into a mini experience
- Viewers are more likely to engage with dynamic, clickable content
- It mimics web-like behavior in the inbox
- It’s perfect for product showcases, feature walkthroughs, or surveys
📧 Where to Use Interactive Animation:
🔸 Product Demos or Carousels
Let users scroll through animated product images or features without leaving the email.
Example: A tech brand displaying a swipeable carousel showing different smartphone models in motion.
🔸 Animated Progress Indicators
Track a user’s progress through onboarding, loyalty programs, or multi-step actions.
Example: An onboarding email with an animated checklist showing completed tasks.
🔸 Micro-Interactions
Animate hover effects on buttons, tooltips, or icons to simulate app functionality.
Example: An email mimicking a dashboard where icons pulse or animate when hovered.
✏️ Pro Tips for Using Interactive Animation:
- Most advanced animations require HTML5 and won’t work in all clients (like Outlook)
- Always provide fallback content
- Use tools like Email on Acid or Litmus to test compatibility
- Keep interactions intuitive don’t make users guess what’s clickable
Best Practices for Using Animation in Email
No matter which of the 3 ways to use animation you choose, following best practices ensures your campaigns remain engaging without sacrificing accessibility or deliverability.
🔹 Keep File Sizes Low
Emails should load quickly. Compress GIFs and use short loop durations.
🔹 Design for Mobile First
More than 60% of email opens happen on mobile. Test how animations look and perform on smaller screens.
🔹 Use Animation to Support, Not Distract
Motion should guide the user’s attention not overwhelm the message. Make your animation meaningful.
🔹 A/B Test Animated vs. Static
Measure performance differences to see how animation affects your specific audience’s behavior.
🔹 Maintain Brand Consistency
Use animation styles that match your brand’s tone, colors, and overall visual identity.
Real-World Examples of Brands Using Email Animation
🔸 Netflix
Animated GIFs show new releases, previews, and UI mockups, keeping users excited about upcoming shows.
🔸 Nike
Emails feature product GIFs highlighting angles, features, or movement to mimic in-store experiences.
🔸 Dropbox
Uses cinemographs and animated icons to onboard users and explain features simply.
Final Thoughts
Bringing life to your email campaigns with motion graphic is no longer optional it’s essential. Using these 3 ways to use animation, you can improve not just the look and feel of your emails, but their performance as well. Whether it’s a playful GIF, an elegant cinemograph, or an interactive carousel, motion elevates your content and helps your message stand out in crowded inboxes.
As email becomes more dynamic and experience-driven, animation will be at the heart of that evolution. So next time you hit “send,” make sure your content moves not just visually, but emotionally and strategically.
