By Matt Zajechowski
Mobile device users are on target to become the largest consumer of email marketing in the next few years. Currently, 40 percent of the emails sent out by marketers are being opened, read and clicked through on mobile devices according to Reachmail. The trend will only get bigger. That’s not surprising since nearly everyone – 3 out of 4 people — is walking around with a wireless phone or tablet these days. The onus is on businesses and marketers to create email and web content that will be pleasing to all these mobile users.
Sure, you can go on appealing to desktop users and laptop users. That audience is important. However, ignoring the 40 percent of people who read email marketing on their small screens is like throwing away 40 percent of your opportunities for additional conversions, revenue and loyal customers.
What can you do to attract and keep a mobile following? It’s not that hard. Create marketing email content that uses an economy of words and strategically-sized pictures that can be enjoyed on a reduced scale. An excess of words can be a repellant to many mobile users. They don’t want to scroll and scroll through your email to reach your pitch, the call to action or the benefits of a product. Not only is it tedious and time-consuming, but since 70 percent of Americans wear glasses or contacts, it’s a strain on the eyes. Keep your content succinct and engaging. When using images, keep in mind that pictures with up to 480 pixels and no less than 360 pixels display best on tablets and smartphones.
While the email is the first tool of sale for email marketers, keep in mind that any pages and online stores linked in the email must also be optimized for mobile readers. If an email is legible, but the landing page is not, you might still lose customers. Eighty-percent of mobile shoppers would rather leave of a website page that isn’t mobile friendly than struggle to navigate it. The most crucial sections to make mobile-ready include:
- Specific product pages or blogs linked in the email
- The homepage
- The search section
- The checkout page
- The section for membership accounts
- Help pages
While this may require re-writing product descriptions, creating a different size header or logo and streamlining the purchasing or registration process, it will be worth it. The changes are sure to bring you more traffic from Millenials are most likely to read promotional emails on their smartphones. Your revised email will be pleasing to the eyes of male shoppers who open marketing mail 20 percent more often than women do. For the women who do read your mail, however, if your links work properly on their mobile phones, they are the most likely to click through and consider transactions. In fact, try to target each group in personalized way through email segmentation.
These rules are general; so it’s best to test your promotions on a range of mobile platforms pre-launch to make sure they are aesthetic and readable. iPhones are the most used smartphones among readers of mobile marketing email. However, don’t forget to inspect the look of emails on Android phones and iPads, the next most popular devices.
Check out the infographic below for more tips before you send out your next email campaign.
