Smartphones now outsell desktop computers.
Industry research finds a growing trend towards people reading email more often from their tablet or smartphone screen than from their computer screen, especially on-the-go. Eighty-eight percent of mobile device owners check their email on it daily. Is your organization prepared?
Email Marketing in the Palm of Your Hands
Is your email marketing optimized for mobile devices? The introduction of responsive web design has made this less of an issue. Responsive websites are those that automatically size the page to fit on any device
If you are not utilizing responsive web design for your site there are still things you can do to optimize it for easier reading on mobile devices. As marketers you may not necessarily be familiar with coding and templates, but these tips will help you eyeball a site and instantly tell if its mobile-friendly.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Does it utilize a single-column design? Standard column width is about 300-320 pixels vertically and about 450-500 pixels horizontally on a mobile device. Two columns at 150-pixels make for a really narrow hard to read page.
- Is the copy short? Write less and be more concise. On a smaller screen only about 4-6 words show up as the subject line on your screen. Anything more usually runs off. Opt for shorter messages in your email marketing. Users tend to read less copy on smaller screens.
- Does it link to a mobile optimized landing page? If your email contains links to your website or a custom landing page (and it should), make sure those pages are also optimized for mobile. There’s really no point in going to the effort of making an email that reads well on mobile devices if it’s only going to link them to an page that doesn’t.
- Is it fancy or over-styled? I’m guilty of this one. I want to put everything plus the kitchen sink on the page. You have to resist the urge. That cool Flash animation where your site evaporates, blinks, and shoots fireworks look awesome (sometimes) but it does nothing for you on a mobile device. Flash animation doesn’t load on Apple’s devices and iPhone and iPad users make up a considerable amount of the mobile email user base.
The key to optimized mobile email marketing is to keep messages short, simple and to the point. Design should be streamlined and minimal.
YOUR TURN: Has your company implemented a mobile email marketing strategy? Are there any tips that we’re missing? What has worked for you?