What is the Media block?

The Media block adds a video to your email as a poster image. When a shopper clicks the poster, the video opens in their browser.

Why you need one

  • Email apps cannot play a video inside an email, so a video needs a poster image and a link to show in the inbox.
  • Without the Media block, you must make a poster image yourself, add it as an image block and add the video link to it.
  • For a YouTube video, the Media block makes the poster for you from the video.

How to set it up

Before you start

  • Every Instant AI account has the Media block. You do not need to turn it on.
  • You can add it to campaigns, flow emails and email templates.
  • Have the link to your video ready. If the video is not on YouTube (for example, Vimeo or a video on your store), also have a poster image ready to upload.

Adding the Media block

  1. Open the campaign, flow email or template you want to edit
  2. In the left panel, find Add blocks
  3. Click View library
  4. Select Media in the left menu
  5. Click the video block
  6. Click Insert

Adding your video

  1. Click the Media block in your email to open its settings
  2. Paste your video link in Video link
  3. Enter a short description of the video in Alternative text
  4. If the video is not on YouTube, click Add image (or Replace image) under Poster image and upload your poster

For a YouTube link, Instant makes the poster image from the video. The message Generating video poster… shows while Instant makes it.

Note: Instant can only make a poster from a YouTube link. For a link from any other site, you must upload a poster image. If you do not, you see the message Couldn’t generate the video poster. Upload a custom poster or retry.

Adding a play button and changing the style

  1. In the block settings, click Custom
  2. Under Content, select Play button to show a play icon on the poster
  3. Set Button fill, Icon color and Button size (px)
  4. Under Style, set the padding and the border

To remove your changes, click Default. This also removes the play button.

How it works

What shoppers see

  • The email shows the poster image, with a play button if you added one.
  • When a shopper clicks the poster, the video opens in their browser.
  • The video does not play inside the email.

Instant makes a poster from these YouTube links:

  • Standard links (youtube.com/watch?v=…)
  • Short links (youtu.be/…)
  • YouTube Shorts and YouTube live links
  • Embed links (youtube.com/embed/…)

Tip: If you do not like the frame that YouTube gives for your video, upload your own poster image. Instant uses your image in its place, and adds the play button to it if you turned the play button on.

FAQ

Can the video play inside the email? No. Email apps such as Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail do not play videos in emails. The email shows the poster, and a click opens the video in the browser.

Can I use a Vimeo video or a video on my store? Yes. Paste the link in Video link and upload a poster image. Instant cannot make the poster for these links.

Why does my poster not show? Check that the link in Video link is a full link that starts with https://. For a link that is not from YouTube, upload a poster image. If the poster still does not show, click Retry.

Do I need to add the play button? No. The play button is off by default. It shows shoppers that the image opens a video.

If I change the play button colours, does the poster change? Yes. Instant makes the poster again with your new colours and size.

For more on adding blocks, see How to use the Block Library in Instant AI.