Wherever we go, our smartphones are always nearby. Many things that used to require a desktop computer are now being done on mobile screens. One of these things is reading and writing emails. According to Google's Mobile Planet study, 76% of Swiss, 70% of Germans and 82% of Americans use mobile email features on a daily basis.
Even though email has arrived on smartphones a while ago and responsive design has mostly become the standard in web design, many newsletters have not yet taken the next step to become mobile-friendly. Optimizing newsletters for mobile consumption is however not a big deal if a few things are considered.
Optimize your email marketing with these 6 tips:
1. Responsive design: This is probably the most important item on this list. Your newsletter template has to be responsive so that people can read your mail on any device they might use – desktop computer, tablet and smartphone.
2. Subject: A smartphone screen offers little space. This means you should keep your subject line as brief as possible. 50 characters are the absolute maximum. Try to do it with 30.
3. Sender: Who is sending the email? This is one of the essential questions people consider before they open or delate an email. This is why you should have a personalized sender address instead of a generic info@ address.
4. Preview text: Most mobile email clients show short text previews before the mail is opened. This is a tremendous chance to spike users' interest. Again, there is not a lot of space, so be advised to keep it short (not more than 80 characters).
5. Content: People like to use their smartphones to filter their emails while they eat their breakfast or commute to work. Uninteresting stuff is instantly deleted, the rest is skimmed briefly. Only the most pressing mails are immediately answered. This means: Focus on your core message. People give your newsletter only a few seconds consideration. Therefore they should be able to read it all in less than a minute. For more detailed information, use links to landing pages. Also pay attention to the structure of your mail. It is best if you organize your content in a single column.
6. Images and animations: Elaborate graphics or even videos are appealing to the eye. However, they also take more time to load due to their size. While this does not mean that you should not use visual elements, make larger files like animations, videos or info graphics available on landing pages.
Conclusion: Newsletters can be just as successful on mobile devices as on desktop computers as long as they make information available in very little time. Use your newsletter to lure users to landing pages that contain more detailed information while you focus on the core message in the mail itself. Marketing automation software supports you in making your newsletter mobile-friendly: templates are already responsive and you receive stats that help you to optimize further.
