According to research by ExactTarget, 77 percent of consumers want to receive permission-based marketing communications through email. To meet this demand and optimize the touchpoint, here are 10 mobile friendly email tips:
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 1: Keep subject lines short.
Many mobile devices display 25-30 characters, and remember that spaces count as characters. It’s not fatal if you exceed 30 characters, although 40 characters should be the maximum.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 2: Put the most important pieces of your subject line at the front.
As the old saying goes, don’t bury the lede (and yes, that’s how lede is spelled…don’t ask us why, lead makes a lot more sense doesn’t it? But we digress). Like all good marketing, your main point should be clear and at the forefront of your subject line.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 3: Keep the length under 600 pixels wide.
As heartbreaking as it is for talented graphic designers who crave a bigger digital canvas: don’t go past 600 pixels wide. Otherwise, the email may not display properly on some devices.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 4: Use responsive coding for visuals.
Responsive coding allows you to load small images on mobile devices while blocking larger ones. This is an important consideration since loading speeds vary widely from network to network. You don’t want some recipients waiting impatiently for images to load — chances are, they won’t stick around.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 5: Choose a suitable font size.
The move towards smaller and smaller font sizes on websites is usually a bad idea; yes, there’s more room for words and images, but the negative impact on user experience isn’t worth the trade-off. After all, what does it matter if a web page can display 10 product features instead of 5, if nobody can read it without zooming their browser (which some won’t know how to do, and others won’t take the time).
Well, the same principle is even more important when crafting mobile friendly emails. Don’t inflict tiny, eye-exam worthy fonts on your recipients. Remember that most of them will probably be using smartphones, and they’ll be checking the email while standing in line at the bank, waiting to board a flight, and so on. Make it easy for them to read the email.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 6: Use pre-header text.
Pre-header text shows up beneath the subject line, and before recipients open it. It’s kind of like the sub-heading in a press release or article. The idea is to flesh the story out a little bit more, and entice recipients to open the email and read the whole thing.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 7: Stick to a single column.
Smartphones don’t handle columns well, and can turn them into a confusing, chaotic mess. Avoid this by sticking to a single column. As a bonus, you’ll speed up development time since the design will be simpler.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 8: Test against various devices and browsers.
This is getting harder to do with the proliferation of devices on the market, and the frequency with which browsers are updated. Nevertheless, it’s a vital part of the puzzle. Test, test, and test again to make sure that your recipients will see what they’re supposed to.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 9: Have a clear call to action.
Don’t leave recipients guessing as to what the next step is – e.g. heading to your website, watching a video, participating in a poll, and so on. Every email you send should have a clear call to action that points the way forward.
Mobile Friendly Email Tip 10: Don’t DIY
Last but not least: unless you have an in-house online marketing department staffed with experts – which is unlikely, since you’d be writing an article like this instead of reading one — then don’t take the DIY route. Once prospects and customers unsubscribe, they can be lost forever. And even if they don’t, naturally you want to maximize the value and ROI of each mobile touchpoint. Partnering with experts is the smart, safe move.
Learn More
To learn more about crafting mobile friendly emails, and for information on how we can help your business connect with your marketplace to drive engagement and sales, contact the Leap Clixx team today. Your consultation with us is free.
For more helpful marketing tips, check out our FREE eBook “A Guide to Inbound Marketing Best Practices“:
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