New research by Marketing Week revealed that a staggering 71% of all marketing emails are now opened on a mobile device. With this figure set to continue rising, and with up to 53% of recipients admitting they deleted emails that didn’t look good on their mobile, making sure your emails are mobile friendly is no longer optional, its essential.
Here are 5 simple tips to make your emails campaigns are mobile friendly.
1. Use personalisation.
Personalisation shouldn’t be limited to simply inserting the recipients name in either the subject name or greeting. Brands should be working harder and digging deeper. They need to realise that no two recipients behave in the same way, so why treat them that way? By segmenting email campaigns and targeting recipients as individuals, brands have witnessed huge increases in revenue. Send out tailored, targeted emails that meet the needs and interests of specific groups. For example, refer to actions the recipient has performed on your site and then suggest the next steps you want them to take. Did they purchase an item? Send them an email suggesting other products. Its time to get personal!
2. Experiment with GIF’s.
Marketers are always trying to improve their email campaigns and make them stand out amongst the crowd. Many are finding that adding interactivity increases engagement, and turning to animated GIFs to provide just that. Animated GIFs were popular in the early days of the internet, but recently they have been enjoying a renaissance both on the web and in email. They are a great way to bring life to your campaign. Brands such as Nike, ASOS and Dell have successfully used animated GIFs to showcase their products and services.
However, bear in mind that not all email clients support animated GIFs. Recipients using Outlook 2007, 2010 and 2013 will only see the first frame of the animated GIF. We therefore recommend that any key information is on the first frame, so that any recipients who cannot see the animation still understand your message.
3. Single column layout.
Single column layout is exactly what it sounds like, an email with a layout that is only one column wide, as opposed to two or three. Single column emails are designed with the mobile user in mind, since that’s where they are reading emails from anyway. They are great for readability, as they prioritise content to exactly where the recipient expects it to be. Main headings and articles followed by less important information. The aim of a single column layout is to help the recipient navigate down through the content.
Of course, you could choose a responsive email template as an alternative which will rearrange the content depending on the device it is being viewed upon. But for a guaranteed experience a single column is the way to go.
4. Avoid using small fonts.
Unfortunately, there is no ideal font size for mobile devices, as fonts render out differently. We recommend a font size of a least 16px for main copy and between 18px-22px for headings. Having great email content is worthless if the recipient cannot read it.
5. Don’t overwhelm.
Recipients are most likely going to be multitasking or on the move. Make sure the design of your email is clean, simple and uncluttered. Don’t include too much content. Constant Contact, studied over 2.1 million emails and revealed that those which contained no more than 20 lines of text achieved the highest engagement. Don’t succumb to temptation; instead be concise and straight to the point.
Key takeaway.
With ever more people viewing their emails on mobile devices it is more important than ever to ensure email campaigns are optimised. A successful email marketing campaign involves more that broadcasting at your recipients; you need to greet them by name and target them with tailored emails. The more personal you make the experience the greater chance you have of the recipient engaging with the email.
