Free Video Email Preview Generator
Turn your video into an eye-catching email thumbnail with a play button. Free, fast, and no signup required.
Or use your own image
Sample. Your video’s frame appears here.
A PNG can’t carry a link by itself. You add this link to the image in your email, using the steps below.
Paste a video link or add an image to turn these on.
How do you make a clickable video thumbnail?
Add your video
Paste a YouTube, Loom, Vimeo or published PitchPage link and we fetch its public thumbnail. Any other video, or a private one, works too: upload a screenshot instead.
Design the preview
Pick a play button and colors, add a short headline if it helps, and darken the image so the button stands out.
Add it to your email
Download the PNG or copy the image, put it in your message, and link it to your video. The steps for Gmail and Outlook are below.
How do you add a video thumbnail to Gmail or Outlook?
Your download is a normal image, so the link is the step that makes it work. Copy the click-through link from the generator first, then follow the steps for your email app.
Gmail
- In a new message, paste the copied image. Or choose Insert photo, then Upload, then Inline, and pick the PNG.
- Select the image by dragging your cursor across it, so it is highlighted.
- Click Insert link, or press Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac), paste your link in the Web address box and click OK.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- In a new message, paste the copied image. Or choose Insert, then Pictures, and pick the PNG.
- Right-click the image and choose Link. Ctrl+K opens the same box.
- Paste your link in the Address box and click OK.
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
- Paste the copied image into your message, or add the PNG with the option to insert a picture.
- Select the image and press Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac), or click the link button in the toolbar.
- Paste your link and save it. These versions don’t always attach a link to an image, so check it in the next step. If it won’t attach, keep the image and rely on a text link below it.
Always send yourself a test and click the image, because these menus change. Add a short text link under the image too, such as “Watch the 2-minute video”. Some email apps hide images until the reader allows them, and the text link still works when they do.
Why use a thumbnail instead of embedding the video?
Gmail and Outlook don’t play video in the body of a message. If you try to embed one, the reader may see a blank space, an attachment or nothing at all. A thumbnail avoids that: it is an ordinary image and an ordinary link, which email apps have handled for decades.
It also keeps the message light. The video stays on YouTube, Loom, Vimeo or your own page, and only the reader who wants it loads it. You can change where the link goes before you send, but once an email is delivered, its image and link are fixed, so point them at an address that will last.
How do you add a video preview to a cold email?
- Make the image about them. A frame showing their website or their name says this was made for one person. Use a recording that shows it, or upload a screenshot.
- Keep the headline short. It is optional, and it has to be readable at email width. Their name and the length of the video do more than a slogan.
- Write the email as if the image won’t load. Two or three lines of text and a plain link should be enough on their own. The image is there to make the click easier.
- Be honest about the play button. Use it only when the link really opens a video. A button that leads somewhere else costs you the reply.
- Decide what happens after the video. A viewer who is convinced should be able to take the next step right there, without coming back to your email to find a calendar link.
Where should the thumbnail link to?
Your preview gets the click. PitchPage helps turn it into a meeting. It brings together your video, the scheduling link you already use and your next step on a single page you can share, so nobody has to go back to your email to book.
7 days of Pro with up to 3 pages and no credit card. The trial never turns into a paid plan on its own.
Questions about video email thumbnails
Is the video email preview generator really free?
Yes. You can make and download as many previews as you like with no account, email address or payment details. The downloaded image carries no PitchPage watermark.
Will the image be clickable as soon as I download it?
No. A PNG is only a picture and can’t hold a link. It becomes clickable when you add a link to it in your email, using the steps on this page. Send yourself a test and click it before you send it to anyone else.
Can I play a video inside Gmail or Outlook?
Not reliably. Gmail and Outlook don’t play video placed in the body of a message, so the dependable approach is an image of the video that links to where it plays.
Which video links work?
Public YouTube, Loom and Vimeo links, including unlisted ones whose provider shares a thumbnail, and published PitchPage links. Private or restricted videos are not accessed. For those, or for any other host, upload a screenshot and set the click-through link yourself.
Do you keep my image or video link?
No. An uploaded image stays in your browser and is never sent to PitchPage. A pasted video link goes to our server only to look up its public thumbnail from the provider, and neither the link nor the thumbnail is saved.
What size should an email thumbnail be?
Most email bodies display about 600 pixels wide. The Standard export is 800×450, which stays sharp at that width and keeps the file smaller. Choose High resolution for very high-density screens, and check the file size shown after you download it.
Should I put a video thumbnail in a cold email?
Test it on your own list before relying on it. Keep a few lines of text and a plain link alongside the image, so the message still makes sense if images are blocked. Those lines matter more than the picture, because the reader decides whether to click from them.
How is this different from PitchPage?
This tool makes the image. PitchPage is the page it can link to: your video, your booking calendar and the next step in one place. The tool stays free, and PitchPage has a 7-day free trial with no credit card.