Why Mobile-Friendly Emails Are More Important Than Ever

smartphone-579549_1280The email marketing landscape is forever changing. As such, you need to be changing your tactics with the times and ensure your emails are designed with the latest best practices in mind. One of the most important best practices is mobile friendly email designs.

This isn’t a new concept. For years now users have been able to read their emails online and it has helped to cement the importance of email marketing as an effective sales channel. By being able to reach customers at any time because they can access messages while out and about, the effectiveness of campaigns has grown. It has also allowed businesses to use tactics such as hurrying orders where retailers only have offers available for an hour or two before they go. Before mobile email, the majority of consumers would miss these offers.

So businesses have to consider mobile friendly emails if they want to be successful.

Growing Audience

When emails first became enabled on mobiles the uptake was poor. The devices were simply not powerful enough to connect to the internet and the cost for downloading emails was very expensive. However, technology has advanced recently to the point where reading an email on a mobile device is just as easy as reading an email on a desktop. This is why more people are now reading their emails first on their mobile devices.

The number of mobile devices has also expanded. Previously there were just a few devices that were compatible, now there is everything from Blackburry, iPhone and tablets that are able to connect to the internet and read emails. As more technology, like the new wrist devices, become mainstream, there will be even more options for consumers to read their emails.

Customers Like Mobile Friendly Emails

Research has shown that those who view emails on their mobile devices are very fussy. They like to have emails that are easy to read on the devices. If they aren’t mobile friendly, often they will just delete the email and not even give it a second chance on a desktop later.

At the same time, if you do optimise your emails for mobile devices the uptake of your message will be greater across all devices. Emails optimised for mobile devices tend to be simpler and require less memory. This allows them to be downloaded faster. It also focuses you on developing a strong message that doesn’t rely on a flashy image.

So How Can You Create A Mobile Optimised Email?

There are several elements to consider when creating a mobile friendly email. Here is our quick checklist for you to consider.

1. Reduce Image File Size

Views can be increased by 94% if you deliver content that contains a compelling image against one without an image. Even though technology has improved for mobile internet speed, large image files are still going to be slow to download. A delay of just one second can cost you 7% of your conversions.

So reduce your image files to reach a larger audience. You can do this by as much as 80% without affecting the quality of your image.

2. Resize Your Image

When you don’t resize an image it will look terrible on the screen and this will affect the user’s experience. A poor experience will result in a lost chance of a sale. So instead change the image properties so they are the same size as the width of a mobile’s screen.

3. Increase Button Size

It is harder to be accurate when selecting buttons on a mobile’s touch screen. To help your audience get around this you need to change the size of your call-to-action button. The recommended size is about 47-57 pixels.

4. Use Your Own Template Or Invest In A Responsive Template

There are templates out there that are responsive to the device that the email is opened up on. Using one of these will make your campaigns easier to design and deliver. However, if you can’t find one you like, you need to code your own.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a powerful sales tool, but you need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. If you don’t, then you can lose out on potential sales that can harm your future business prospects.

Do you use mobile friendly email templates? What do you do when you receive one that isn’t optimised for email?

Let us know in the comments.

Take action:

  • Optimise images on your emails for mobile devices.
  • Improve call to action buttons on your email copy.
  • Look at our responsive templates.

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