Try This Email Tactic That Works Every Time | Bathroom Break #82

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Try This Email Tactic That Works Every Time”

The Marketing Millennials | Bathroom Break #82

Host: Daniel Murray
Guest Co-Host: Jay Schwedelson
Date: November 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This quick Bathroom Break episode dives straight into one actionable marketing tactic: Using animated GIFs in email campaigns. Daniel Murray teams up with Jay Schwedelson (of Subjectline.com and “Do This, Not That” podcast) for a punchy, insight-packed conversation. The discussion covers why GIFs work, how to apply them across all marketing sectors, common misconceptions, practical implementation tips, and some candid reflections about moving houses, new spaces, and marketer life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Animated GIFs: The Overlooked Email Tactic

• Widely Applicable:

  • Works for B2B, B2C, nonprofits—any industry.
  • Excellent from November to December, when engagement peaks.
  • Usable in newsletters, offer emails, cold and warm prospecting.

• Why They Work:

  • Instantly draw the reader’s eye and break up long blocks of text.
  • Trigger emotional reactions: smiles, curiosity, and surprise.
  • Uniqueness in the inbox makes them stand out.
  • Not many marketers leverage this, so it’s a “lost art.”

• Key Results:

  • Animated GIFs can increase click-through rates by about 20%.
  • “We are a simple-minded species. The shiny object is where we draw... Animated GIFs—what they’re not is video.” (Jay, 03:32)

• Misconceptions and Myths:

  • “For anybody out there like, ‘It’s going to mess up my deliverability’... It’s just not true. It’s literally three images tied together.” (Jay, 05:30)
  • GIFs ≠ Videos: Can’t (and shouldn’t) embed video directly in email.

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2. Practical Tips: Implementation and Theming

• Call-to-Action Boost:

  • Use an animated call-to-action button—like one with a flashing “Watch Now” message.
  • Eye-catching play button overlay for video links, demo invites, or case study teasers.
  • “Tease” external content and drive clicks by animating curiosity.

• Relevancy and Theming:

  • Theme GIFs to occasions (holidays, special events) or specific offers.
  • Use reference points relevant to your recipient for more impact (example: meme Golden Bachelor GIF for Jay).

• How to Create GIFs:

  • AI platforms can walk users through GIF creation tailored to the user’s preferred ESP (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, etc.).
  • Giphy: Upload videos, crop the desired part, convert to GIF.
  • Canva’s free tier: Built-in GIF studio for rapid creation.
  • “If you don’t know how to do it... go to AI and say, ‘Hey, I’m a doofus. Can you tell me in simple terms how to do it?’” (Jay, 07:27)

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3. Personal Banter & Relatable Moments

• On Moving Houses:

  • Jay jokes about Daniel’s move and the universal pain of unpacking—“Anything with boxes is a hard no.” (Jay, 01:21)
  • Daniel: “When people ask someone over 30 to move, it’s like, ‘Here’s a free lunch but also you get back surgery as your present.’” (Daniel, 01:01)
  • Discussion on the weirdness of adjusting to a new space—especially finding the bathroom at night.

• On AI and Learning New Tricks:

  • Jay repeatedly refers to AI as his “best friend” for solving marketing execution challenges.
  • Emphasis on permission to ask “dumb” questions to AI tools—just try, no shame.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We’re a simple-minded species... The shiny object is where we draw. Animated GIFs just move around a little bit and that draws attention.”
  — Jay Schwedelson, 03:32

• “You need to be able to break up text with GIFs, things to stop the scroll... Not many people do it. It’s kind of a lost art.”
  — Daniel Murray, 02:40

• “There’s no downside. It’s easy. And this is the time of year—November through December—where animated GIFs work best because we’re in the mood of, hey, what’s up?”
  — Jay Schwedelson, 05:30

• “If you don’t know how to do it... just go to AI and say, ‘Hey, I’m a doofus. Can you tell me in simple terms how to do it?’”
  — Jay Schwedelson, 07:27

• On relevant theming:
  “If I was prospecting Jay, I would have, like, a Golden Bachelor or something real like…”
  — Daniel Murray, 06:35

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:19–01:55 – Lighthearted intro & banter about moving
• 02:06 – Lead-in to the main topic: Animated GIFs in email
• 02:40 – Why animated GIFs work, the “lost art” of GIFs
• 03:32–04:45 – Explanation of how GIFs increase CTR; What GIFs are/aren’t; Ease of use with AI tools
• 04:45–05:30 – Using animated CTA buttons; Linking to videos/case studies via GIFs
• 05:30–06:12 – Debunking myths about deliverability; Why this tactic excels in Nov/Dec
• 06:12–07:01 – Theming GIFs for relevancy and stronger engagement
• 07:57–08:26 – Practical tools: Giphy, Canva, AI video to GIF conversion
• 08:45–09:08 – Fun tangent: Moving, finding the bathroom at night, and feeling at home
• 09:44–10:06 – Shoutouts & closing congratulations

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Takeaway Action

“If you haven’t tested animated GIFs in your email campaigns for a year, or even six months, you’ve got to do it. There’s no downside.”
Test, theme, and play—now is the best time of year to stand out in the inbox.

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For a weekly digest of tips like this, subscribe to The Marketing Millennials newsletter and catch the Bathroom Break miniseries for rapid-fire, actionable insight.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes you either have to listen to marketing tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.

[A]

This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwetelson from the do this, not that podcast and subjectline.com each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing top topics. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. We are back for the bathroom break. I'm here with Daniel Murray from the Market Millennials. I'm Jay Schwedelson from Do this, not that. And this is a big week for Daniel because Daniel is moving. He texted me, goes, I'm moving. Which is always a subtle opening of like, hey, do you want to help me move? Because we live sort of near each other. And I literally texted back, I would help you, but I don't want to. He did.

[B]

It's legit. I have proof. Text me that. And then I said, I replied back that when people ask someone to ask over 30 years old to move, it's like, hey, here's a free lunch. But also you get back surgery as your present as well. So I would never ask Jay to ask.

[A]

No way. No. Nothing with boxes. Anything with boxes is a hard no. Are you a good packer? Are you good at packing?

[B]

No. Horrible. AR is a horrible packer, too. We're, like, horrible at doing it. So it's going to be a mess. It's going to be a mess.

[A]

I want to know a period of time, will there be a box that remains stuff within a box for at least six months after you move?

[B]

No, but it would take, like, it took, like, two weeks to get everything out of a box.

[A]

Is that. Oh, my God. I moved 17 years ago. I think I still have, like, two boxes that we haven't touched.

[B]

Well, we're moving from, like, apartment to, like, a small house. So it's. We'll have, like, one extra room. Baby life. But. So we've never had this much space in our life.

[A]

I think our house is going to feel empty. You're going to get lost. Speaking of getting lost, you're going to get lost with this episode. I don't even know what transition that was. It makes no sense. What we're going to talk about, though, is a tactic in email marketing that B2B should be doing. B2C definitely should be doing nonprofit. Doesn't matter the sector, but everybody sleeps on it. But this time of year, from basically November through end of December, for some reason this crushes it. We're talking about animated GIFs in email. So Daniel, why do animated GIFS work? What are we talking about? What are we not talking about?

[B]

Well, I think the first thing we should talk about, that nobody has time to read boring long emails. And if you are writing long emails, which I think you can write long emails and there's a space for long emails, but you need to be able to break up text with gifs things to stop the scroll. Also, when you open an email, the first thing you will look at is a that give and if it can make you smile, give you a reaction, it helps you stop somebody stopping in their place. And not many people do it. It's kind of a lost art. So it works for everything from newsletter to offer emails to cold prospecting to warm prospecting. You can use it in any type of email and it will help you stand out in an email inbox.

[A]

Yeah. And in general, it actually lifts click through rates by about 20%. We use an animated GIF. And let's just talk about what we are talking about, what we're not talking about. And for those of you out there in some sort of boring B2B industry like, I can't do this. Yes you can. Listen, we are a simple minded species. We are. The shiny object is where we draw, you know, follow the light. This is what we do, okay? And animated GIFs, what they're not, they're not videos. You really cannot embed a video in an email. Some people say you can, you can mess around. Screw that, it doesn't work. It's a mess. But an animated GIF is just two or three images that are stitched together that move around a little bit. Your call to action button can be an animated GIF that kind of moves around a little bit or lights up. It could be a dog, it could be your logo, it could be anything. And they're like, well, I don't know how to do that. Here's the deal. AI is your new best friend. Is my best friend for sure. All you need to do is go to your favorite AI platform and you go to it and you say, hey, I use mailchimp, I use constant contact, I use klaviyo, I use HubSpot, I use whatever to send my emails. I want to create a simple animated gif. Can you walk me through the steps on what free tool I could use to create it, how I stick it in my email and whatever else, that's it.

[B]

I want to add something you said really important, but I think you scrolled over it a little bit, is that if you have a video you want them to click out to, a demo you want them to click out to or something to click out to. You can make something that's animated, says watch now on there and have. Or like have a play button for a YouTube video with some moving things in the background just to show that there is a video that you want them to click out to. I think that's super important as a way for having a new type of call to call to action in your email. So I think that if you're going to do. If you have other things like a case study you want them to link out to or something that you want them to link out to, it's good to have like a couple teasers in a gif.

[A]

Yeah. And just, you know, for anybody out there is like, well, it's going to mess up my deliverability. It's going to do this, that or whatever. It's just not true. It's literally three images that are tied together. So if you have three images in your email to begin with, it's the same idea. They just move around a little bit and we're like, oh, look at, that's moving around. It's in our subconscious. Nobody ever looks at your animated gift like, that is dope. That is awesome. I need to interact with that. But. But we do it in our subconscious and at the end of the day, emails all about the little things. And if you haven't tested animated GIFs in a year, in six months and whatever, you got to do it. There's no downside. It's easy. And this is the time of year. November through December are the highest period of the year where animated gifts work the best because we're like kind of like in this mood of hey, what's up?

[B]

And also I think what I suggest with anime gifts is always the theme it. If you're going to do something fun, theme it to what's happening. So if it is over the holidays, you could theme it to a holiday something funny for the holidays. If it's. You have an offer, you could theme it to something in the offer. You could do a lot of things where you theme that that gift to what is happening. Because revency is the key to a lot of marketing. So if you can show like something relevant that your audience will Care about. Like, if I was prospecting Jay, I would have, like, a golden bachelor or some real, like. Well, actually, this is a big, quick pivot. I love that someone made you a golden Bachelor on. On LinkedIn.

[A]

Someone made a meme of me as a goal, as a golden bachelor. They post on LinkedIn. It's always amazing. Open up LinkedIn. And I'm like, what. What's this all about? There's a picture of me as the match. I'm like, oh, my God. What is going on? Yeah, don't do that. I don't need. Now I'm gonna get more of them. Yeah.

[B]

Everybody send. Send your best AI image of Jay to his inbox. He would love. He would love to see what you can come up with.

[A]

Thank you so much. I appreciate that. You know, in general, though, just one more relevant thing, and then we'll be idiots. I. I don't think we realize that AI, which is my best friend, anything you've always been like, I always wanted to try that, but I don't know how to do it. Just like, animated GIFs. How do I actually do that? Whatever it is, just go to AI and say, hey, I'm a doofus. I don't know how to do this. Can you tell me in simple terms how to do it? And now you have somebody that you don't have to feel like you are supposed to know stuff and you don't know it. You can just ask it. Like, anime gifs. Try it out. Yeah.

[B]

You also could go to giphy and put a video in, and it could show you a bunch of. And you can crop it to the perfect part of your video. You want to do it. So there's easy stuff like that. Or you could go to AI and tell you. Or what you could do is if you don't have a video, like, there are tons of AI video platforms that you can make an animated video and then crop it into a gif. So there's so many ways to do.

[A]

Yeah. On the free version of Canva, they have a whole GIF studio where you can make GIFs in three seconds. So it's all easy. All right. Speaking of easy. So, Daniel, the day after you move, do you find it weird? Like, when you move in, trying to sleep in that new place for the first time? I feel like it's a very weird situation whenever you move and you've moved.

[B]

I. I do. But talking about the bathroom, I think it's always weird. Like, if you get up in the night and you need to go to the bathroom. And you forget where the bathroom is because you're just so disoriented. And you, you walk and you walk the same path as you at your last place. And you looking around, Wait, where's the bathroom right now? I think that is the, that is the pro problem. When you sleep in a new place.

[A]

And isn't like wi fi them though. It's like if you don't have your wi fi set up, you feel very uncomfortable. At least I do. Makes me.

[B]

I know. Ari made me go up two days before I move to go set up the wi fi because she will not move in without the wi fi set up.

[A]

She refuses doing it. That's a good move. Well, it's not a good move. Is listening to this show. Oh my God. Why did I just say that? No, that's not true. It's an amazing move. The bathroom break is something. Listen, go follow the marking. Millennials leave Daniel a review. Tell him how awesome he is because he really is very awesome. And do this, not that. You check it out. And Daniel, any other parting words?

[B]

Yeah. Everybody send congrats to Jay. He was a top hundred podcast in. In the US I think he was like topping some of the most well known celebrities in the world. Where were you in the top 50?

[A]

I hit like, I think 67 or 67. You get it?

[B]

You don't know how crazy that is. So give him a round of applause, everybody.

[A]

I appreciate that. I'm sure a lot of people care. All right. You rock. All right, see you the next one. Daniel, come on, man. I gotta get back to work. Get out of there. All right, while he's still in there. This is Jay. Check out my podcast, do this, not that, for marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out.

[B]

Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Market Millennials podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear. Peace out.

[A]

Later.