Use Video Content Blocks in the Classic Builder

Use the Video content block to share and caption videos in your emails or landing pages.

In this article, you'll learn how to add and customize the Video content block in the classic builder.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• This article tells you how to use Video content blocks for the classic builder. For more information on Video content blocks in the new builder, check out Use Video Content Blocks in the New Builder.
• Most email clients don't support embedded video, so for most video clips, the Video content block automatically pulls a thumbnail, or preview image, from the video and links it to the video's URL. For emails, we will link the thumbnail with the video URL, so recipients can click the thumbnail to view the video in a separate browser window. If your video is a Youtube Shorts clip, use the Video block to upload a thumbnail.
• Video content blocks in landing pages and websites support Youtube and Vimeo videos only at this time.
• We also offer a video merge tag to use in emails, which supports Blip.tv, Vimeo, Wistia, and YouTube. To learn more about how to use video merge tags, check out our Add a Video to an Email article.

For more information on each email builder and their content blocks, check out About Mailchimp's Email Builders.

Add Video content blocks to your layout

To add a Video content block, follow these steps.

1. Click and drag the Video content block into your layout.
   
2. On the Content tab of the editing pane, add your caption text and the video URL, making sure to include http:// or https://.
   
   After you enter the URL, we’ll automatically pull in the video or thumbnail.
   
3. Edit the style and settings as needed.
4. Click Save & Close.

• Any image other than the thumbnail we automatically pull in for YouTube or Vimeo videos will not include the play icon.
• The thumbnail that is chosen for a long-form YouTube or Vimeo video is designated in the video's settings. If you are the owner of the video, you can change the video thumbnail that is set for the YouTube or Vimeo video.

Edit style and settings

To make changes to the style and settings for a Video block, follow these steps.

1. In your email layout, click the Video block you want to work with to bring up the editing pane.
2. If you’re editing an email, add some caption text for your video on the Content tab. If you’re editing a landing page and you want to add a caption to your video, toggle the Caption slider.
3. Use the tools on the Style tab to make changes to your text and set a background color for your video and caption. Check Apply To All Existing Video Blocks to change the style for all Video blocks in your layout.
4. On the Settings tab, use the drop-down to choose the position of your caption and image.
   
   To expand the thumbnail image to the edges of the content block, use the Edge To Edge checkbox.
5. Click Save & Close.

Enable dynamic content

When you design an email, turn any content block into dynamic content that displays different content to recipients based on conditions you set. This helps target different types of contacts at the same time with a single email.

To learn more about dynamic content and how to enable it in your content block, check out About Dynamic Content.

Troubleshooting the video content block

If you use a YouTube or Vimeo link, and you don't see a thumbnail from your video automatically pulled into your email or page, check to see if any of these common causes apply.

You recently uploaded the video.
Sometimes the connection between Mailchimp and a particular video service isn't instantaneous. Wait a few hours for the connection to be made, or upload an image in the Video block to represent your video instead.

Your video is password-protected.
Our system can't access password-protected videos to pull in a thumbnail. If your videos are protected, upload an image in the Video block to represent your video instead. Keep in mind that your subscribers will still need the password to view the video after they are redirected to the site.

The video service may be busy.
The video service you're using may be busy or have an outage, so we can't connect with them. These issues usually don't last too long, so give some time for the video service to work things out.

Your video URL doesn't include http:// or https://.
If the URL you pasted into the Video URL field doesn't include http:// or https://, won't be able to communicate with the video service to pull in the thumbnail or provide the option to upload an image.

Visit your video's URL in your web browser and copy the entire video URL, including http:// or https://. Then paste the full URL in the Video URL field of the Video content block.