Wistia tests video-style thumbnails in marketing emails and lifts clicks

Wistia, a video hosting and webinar platform, ran seven A/B email tests where the only change was a play button and time stamp laid over the image. The first test, sent to 11,290 people, drew 282 clicks for the thumbnail version against 200 for the plain image. Across all seven tests the average click lift was 21.52%, though later tests showed smaller gains.

By Race to Scale Desk, edited by Lila Odinaev. Published 24 Oct 2026. How we work

What they ran

Wistia sells a platform for hosting and making videos and running webinars. In a post on its own blog, it described seven A/B email tests that compared a plain image with a video-style thumbnail. The thumbnail version kept the same image and added only a play button and a time stamp on top. The first test was a content email that went to a segmented list of 11,290 recipients.

What happened

In that first test, 282 people clicked the thumbnail version and 200 clicked the image version. Wistia describes this as 40.83% more people engaging with the thumbnail email. Over all seven tests, clicks rose 21.52% on average. The gain shrank in later sends, with Test 6 showing 15%. Wistia concluded that although video thumbnails perform better than static images, the luster begins to wear off.

What the account does not show

The click totals count every link in each email, not just the image or thumbnail. The source reports no significance testing and no effect on signups, leads or revenue. The results are self-reported by a company whose product page sells video and lead capture tools, so it has a reason to favor video.

Questions

Do video thumbnails in emails increase click-through rates?

In Wistia's seven A/B tests, thumbnails with a play button and time stamp lifted clicks 21.52% on average over plain images.

Does the click lift from video thumbnails in email last?

Not fully in Wistia's tests: Test 6 showed a 15% lift, and Wistia concluded that the luster begins to wear off.

What exactly did Wistia change in its thumbnail email test?

It kept the same image as the control and only added a play button and time stamp on top of it.