Email guide

How to add a countdown timer to MailerLite

MailerLite’s editor is deliberately simple, and a countdown should not be the thing that breaks that. A tikio timer is one image URL you paste into a Custom HTML block — no plugin, no separate countdown builder, and the same design also embeds on your MailerLite landing page.

Create your free countdown Jump to steps

Design your countdown in tikio

Create a timer in the tikio editor: pick colors, fonts, labels and the languages you need. What you see in the editor is exactly what lands in the inbox — the timer is delivered as a regular animated image.
2
Get the code

Click Get code, choose “In an email”, pick how the countdown works — until a date, a personal timer per subscriber, or repeating on a schedule — and copy the code. The link stores the timer, so you can change the deadline any time, even after sending: emails already sent pick it up within minutes.
URL
```
https://t.tikio.io/e/a1b2.gif
```
3
Insert the timer into your MailerLite campaign

In the drag-and-drop editor, add a Custom HTML block and paste the snippet below. MailerLite variables use the {$name} form and are merged inside the URL for each subscriber at send time.
HTML
```
<img src="https://t.tikio.io/e/a1b2.gif" alt="Offer ends soon" width="480" style="border:0;max-width:100%;height:auto;" />
```

Per-recipient evergreen deadlines

Use the {$email} variable as the recipient key. Every subscriber then gets their own deadline measured from their first open, which is what automation emails need. A custom field holding your own ID works just as well and keeps addresses out of the URL.

HTML

<img src="https://t.tikio.io/e/a1b2.gif?uid={$email}" alt="Offer ends soon" width="480" style="border:0;max-width:100%;height:auto;" />

MailerLite’s built-in timer vs tikio

MailerLite has its own countdown block. If one fixed date for everyone is all you need, use it — it is already in your editor. tikio is for the rest: personal deadlines in automations, timers that reset on local time, and deadlines you can still fix after sending.

Feature	Built into MailerLite	tikio
Fixed date for everyone	Yes — in your account’s time zone, on a 90-second loop	Yes
Personal deadline per subscriber	No — counts to a date you set	Yes — a personal timer per subscriber, from their first open
Recurring on local time (DST)	Not documented	Daily, weekday or weekly reset at a local time, following daylight saving
Change the deadline after sending	Not documented	Yes — emails already sent pick up a new deadline within minutes
At zero	Not documented	Zeros, hide or another image; a smart link sends clicks elsewhere after zero
Same timer on your website	Not documented	The same link as an iframe on any site
Fonts	Not documented	Your own uploaded fonts or Google Fonts, free
Other platforms	MailerLite only	Works in every ESP you send from

Every platform’s built-in block compared: built-in ESP timers vs tikio.

Evergreen countdown timer in MailerLite

In tikio, click Get code, choose In an email and pick Personal timer. Set how long each subscriber gets — for example 24 hours — choose MailerLite as your platform and enter {$email} in the Subscriber ID merge tag field — MailerLite does not document a subscriber ID variable, so the email address is the stable key. Every subscriber then gets their own countdown from their first open, and reopening does not reset it. Paste the code into the MailerLite email that sits in your automation. A custom field holding your own ID works just as well and keeps addresses out of the URL.

HTML

<img src="https://t.tikio.io/e/a1b2.gif?uid={$email}" alt="Offer ends soon" width="480" style="border:0;max-width:100%;height:auto;" />

FAQ

Questions, answered

Does the timer also work on a MailerLite landing page?

Yes — embed the same design as an iframe in a Custom HTML block on the page. The page and the email then show the same deadline, because both come from the same link — change it once and both follow.

Will it render on the free plan?

The timer is a normal image, so it renders on any MailerLite plan that lets you add a Custom HTML block.

What happens after the deadline passes?

By default the timer shows zeros. You can also configure the link to hide the timer or swap in a different image once it hits zero, and point clicks to a different page before and after.

Your first countdown is minutes away

Free during early access — no credit card required. Design once, paste one snippet, and the timer ticks on every open.

Create your free countdown