How to Add a Video to Klaviyo Emails

Video in email is no longer optional. It’s the difference between a message that gets scrolled past and one that gets clicked.

The numbers make the case for you: adding video to your emails can increase click-through rates by up to 300%. Emails with video thumbnails see a 34% higher click-through rate than those without. And when you put the word “video” in your subject line, open rates jump by 19% on average.

The question isn’t whether to use video in your Klaviyo emails. It’s how to do it properly — without wrecking your deliverability or sending a broken email to your entire list.

This guide walks you through every method, step by step.

Why Klaviyo Doesn’t Let You Directly Embed Video

Before you start dragging video files into your email editor, there’s something you need to understand — and it’ll save you a lot of frustration.

Klaviyo does not support directly embedding video files or video code into emails. This isn’t a Klaviyo quirk. It’s an industry-wide reality.

According to data from CanIEmail, 85% of inbox providers don’t support embedded video. Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook all treat embedded video code as a potential security threat. When they detect it, one of two things happens: the video gets stripped out entirely and your recipients see nothing, or your email gets routed straight to the junk folder.

Klaviyo’s own documentation is clear on this: embedded surveys, forms, videos, and widgets don’t reliably render across major email clients. Building on a broken foundation doesn’t serve anyone.

The good news? There are proven workarounds that deliver the experience of video in email — without the deliverability risk.

Method 1: Use Klaviyo’s Native Video Block (Easiest for YouTube)

In August 2024, Klaviyo launched a native Video Block in their drag-and-drop email editor. This is the fastest path if your video is already hosted on YouTube.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1 — Open your email template in Klaviyo’s drag-and-drop editor. Navigate to the campaign or flow you’re working on. Inside the editor, look at the left-side content panel.

Step 2 — Find “Video Content” in the content block list. Drag it into the position in your email where you want the video to appear. The top of the email, just below a headline, tends to perform best — emails with video previews above the fold see a 12.9% CTR, compared to 8.3% for those placed lower.

Step 3 — Paste your YouTube URL. Open YouTube, find your video, and copy the URL from the address bar. Paste it into the Video URL field inside the block.

Klaviyo will automatically pull in the thumbnail from YouTube. You don’t need to create a custom image.

Step 4 — Enable the Play Button overlay. Inside the block settings, toggle on the option to show a Play Button on the thumbnail. This is not a small detail. Emails featuring a play button overlay see 14.5% higher click-throughs than those without.

Step 5 — Preview on both desktop and mobile. Hit Preview before sending. With 55% of email opens now happening on mobile devices, you can’t skip this step.

Step 6 — Save and proceed. Once the thumbnail looks correct on both views, save your template and move forward with your campaign setup.

What actually happens when someone clicks: The click takes them to the YouTube video in their browser. The email itself doesn’t play video — the thumbnail acts as a clickable image. That’s the correct behavior, and it’s what protects your deliverability.

Method 2: Linked Static Thumbnail (Works With Any Video Platform)

If your video lives on Vimeo, Wistia, Loom, or any platform that isn’t YouTube, use this method. It’s the most universally compatible approach and works across all email clients.

Step 1 — Upload your video to a hosting platform. YouTube is free and widely recognised. Vimeo and Wistia offer more control over branding, analytics, and where the video plays after click-through. Choose based on what matters most to your goals.

Step 2 — Create a thumbnail image. Take a screenshot from your video or design a custom image in Canva or Figma. Add a play button overlay — either a circular play icon or a YouTube-style red button. This visual cue tells recipients exactly what to do.

Keep your thumbnail size consistent with Klaviyo’s recommended email width of 600px.

Step 3 — Add an Image Block to your email template. In the Klaviyo drag-and-drop editor, drag an Image block into position. Upload your thumbnail.

Step 4 — Add the video link to the image. Click on the image block. Look for the option to add a URL or hyperlink. Paste the direct link to your hosted video. This turns the entire thumbnail into a clickable link.

Step 5 — Test the link. Send yourself a test email. Click the thumbnail. Confirm it opens the correct video in a browser tab.

This method gives you complete creative control. You can A/B test different thumbnail designs — a simple switch in imagery or text placement can make a measurable difference in CTR. Among users who receive video emails, 49% interact with the video, while only 21% engage with surrounding text.

Method 3: Animated GIF Preview (For Short Clips and Product Demos)

An animated GIF is your middle-ground option. It shows motion directly inside the email — no click required to see the preview — while staying compatible with almost every email client.

This works well for:

• Short product demos (showing a feature in action)
• Before-and-after reveals
• Brief how-to sequences
• Any moment where motion alone captures the idea

Step 1 — Create your GIF. Export a 3–5 second clip from your video using tools like Giphy, EZGIF, or Adobe Photoshop. Keep the file size under 1MB where possible. Heavy GIFs load slowly, especially on mobile, which is where 41% of all email views come from.

Step 2 — Add an Image Block in Klaviyo. GIFs upload through the same Image block as static images. Drag the block into position and upload your GIF file.

Step 3 — Link the GIF to your full video. Add a link to the full hosted video, just like you would with a static thumbnail. The GIF plays automatically inside the email. The link takes viewers to the full version if they want more.

Step 4 — Add descriptive alt text. For recipients whose images are disabled, or who are using assistive technology, alt text ensures the context of the content isn’t lost.

Brands that use GIF previews in email see a 22% lift in engagement compared to static-image-only emails.

Method 4: HTML Block With a Third-Party Video Email Platform

If you want true in-email video playback — the kind that actually plays inside the email body — you’ll need a third-party video email platform combined with Klaviyo’s HTML block functionality.

Platforms like Sendspark and Playable allow you to host your video, generate an HTML embed code designed specifically for email, and paste it directly into Klaviyo.

Here’s the process:

Step 1 — Set up your campaign in Klaviyo. Create a new email campaign. When building your template, select the drag-and-drop editor.

Step 2 — Add an HTML block. From the content panel on the left, drag an HTML block into the position where you want the video to appear.

Step 3 — Upload your video to the third-party platform. In Sendspark, for example, you record, upload, or import your video. Then click Share Video and, under the Embed Video section, copy the provided HTML code.

For Playable: upload your video to your Playable account, navigate to the Embed tab, select Klaviyo from the dropdown, and copy the generated HTML.

Step 4 — Paste the code into Klaviyo. Click on your HTML block inside the Klaviyo editor. Delete any default placeholder code. Paste the video embed code.

Important: Klaviyo’s email template width is 600px. If the video embed code specifies a different width, adjust it before saving.

Step 5 — Preview and test. Always send a test email to yourself — and test across multiple email clients if possible. On clients that support video playback (like Apple Mail), the video will play automatically when the email is opened. On Gmail and Outlook, recipients will see a static fallback thumbnail and click through to watch.

The maximum recommended video duration for in-email playback is 60 seconds. Videos under 90 seconds consistently deliver the highest CTRs — 68% of marketers confirm their best CTRs come from video emails under that threshold.

Best Practices for Video in Klaviyo Emails

Getting the technical setup right is half the battle. These principles push your results further.

Keep videos short and front-loaded. The first few seconds determine whether someone watches the rest. State the value of the video immediately. B2B audiences prefer tutorial-style videos in emails, while general audiences lean toward behind-the-scenes content.

Match the thumbnail to the email’s goal. A promotional thumbnail should feel different from an educational one. Test at least two variations before scaling a campaign.

Place video above the fold. Campaigns that position video previews in the upper portion of the email consistently outperform those that bury them lower.

Personalise where possible. Emails using personalised video see open rates of 34.2%, compared to 23.9% for non-personalised video emails. Even small personalisation signals — a recipient’s name in the thumbnail or subject line — move the needle.

Track what matters. Klaviyo provides analytics that show engagement with your email content. Monitor CTR specifically for your video thumbnail. If it’s not performing, test a new thumbnail before testing new copy.

Segment your audience. Careful list segmentation can improve open rates by up to 94%. Send video emails to engaged segments first, use the performance data to refine, then scale.

The Limitation Email Alone Can’t Solve

Here’s the honest truth about email video strategy: even a perfectly executed Klaviyo campaign hits a ceiling.

Email reaches people who already know you. It relies on deliverability, open rates, and subscriber lists that take months to build. When one in six marketing emails never reaches the inbox — getting filtered to spam before anyone sees it — the effort behind your video content can quietly go to waste.

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At SalesSo, we build complete outbound systems: precise audience targeting, campaign design built around your specific offer, and scaling frameworks that compound results over time. The strategy meeting is free. The bottleneck in your pipeline doesn’t have to be.

Conclusion

Adding video to Klaviyo emails isn’t complicated once you understand the rules. Klaviyo doesn’t support direct video embedding — and for good reason. The workarounds available are reliable, deliverability-safe, and proven to perform.

Use the native Video Block for YouTube content. Use linked static thumbnails when you want full control. Use GIFs when motion inside the email matters. Use an HTML block with a specialist platform when you want true in-email playback.

Whatever method you choose, the data is consistent: video drives higher clicks, stronger engagement, and more conversions than static text and images alone. Emails with video content outperform non-video campaigns by 38% in overall engagement. The play button is one of the highest-intent signals you can put in front of someone.

Set it up correctly, test before sending, and keep your thumbnails optimised. That’s the full picture.