How to Include a Countdown Timer in an Email
Including a countdown timer in an email is a three-step process: generate the timer image, copy the URL, insert it as an image block. The technical part takes under two minutes. The strategy part is worth thinking through.
Create a free timer in under a minute. No account required.
Create Your Free Timer →The Steps
- Create your free timer on PicTimer. Set the deadline — this can be a fixed date/time for a campaign, or an evergreen countdown that starts fresh for each recipient.
- Customize the design. Choose a timer style that matches your email aesthetic. Watermark-free timers are available on paid plans; the free plan includes basic styles.
- Copy the image link. Your timer URL is a live image — paste it anywhere images are accepted.
- Insert it into your email as an image. In drag-and-drop builders, add an Image block and use the PicTimer URL as the source. In HTML, use a standard img tag.
Where to Put the Timer in Your Email
Placement matters. A timer buried at the bottom of a long email loses most of its urgency effect. These positions perform best:
- Directly below the headline — before the body copy. Recipients see the clock immediately on open.
- Above the CTA button — the timer reinforces the action right before the click point.
- Both — in longer emails, one timer near the top and one just above the button.
The Right Deadline Window
Not all urgency windows perform equally. Data from a live deadline campaign across 4.2 million sends showed the 48-hour window significantly outperformed both 24-hour and 72-hour windows — generating $2.86 revenue per click versus $1.68 and $1.51 respectively.
Read the full case study to understand why the penultimate send outperforms the final last-call, and how to sequence your timer emails for maximum efficiency.
Also see: How to add a countdown timer to email for a platform-by-platform breakdown.