Email marketing in the age of mobile: How to optimize emails for mobile devices!

January 6, 2023

Did you know that over half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices? It's no surprise, considering how many of us rely on our phones for everything. That's why making sure your emails are mobile-friendly is essential. Not only does this improve the user experience for your customers/prospects, but it will also increase engagement and improve deliverability. In this post, we'll cover some key strategies for optimizing your emails for mobile devices. We'll discuss the importance of keeping subject lines short and punchy, using actionable language and personalization, and avoiding spam trigger words. We'll also discuss the benefits of testing different subject lines and the creative use of emojis to stand out in the inbox.

Overall, this blog post will provide a comprehensive guide to optimizing your emails for mobile devices in order to increase their effectiveness and reach.

Desktop VS Mobile Email Marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective way to reach and engage with customers. However, the way users view & interact with their emails heavily relies on the device they are using, whether it be a desktop or a mobile device.

Desktop Email Marketing:

Regarding desktop email marketing, the primary focus is on creating visually appealing and highly detailed emails optimized for larger screens. These emails often include images, videos, and multiple columns of text and are designed to be easy to read and navigate. Additionally, since they are sitting at a desk and they have more time to engage with an email, read the calls-to-action (CTA), etc. these emails can be more complex and ask for more commitment.

Mobile Email Marketing:

On the other hand, mobile email marketing must take into account the smaller screen size and limited attention span of mobile users. Mobile emails should be designed with a simpler layout and larger text, so that they can be easily read on a small screen. Additionally, since most mobile users are on-the-go, the CTAs in mobile emails should be simple and to the point, such as "call now" or "buy now".

The key differences:

Overall, the critical difference between desktop and mobile email marketing is in the design and layout of the emails, as well as the calls to action. Desktop emails are optimized for larger screens and more detailed engagement, while mobile emails are optimized for small screens and quick attention. Companies must create different versions of their email campaigns for desktop and mobile to ensure the best results.

How Long Has Mobile Email Marketing Been Around?

Technically mobile email marketing began with the dawn of the mobile era but as smartphones became increasingly popular in the late 2000s and as people started to realize the convenience of checking their emails on their mobile devices anytime, anywhere. Companies, in turn, began to realize the importance of reaching out to their customers on mobile devices. Thus email marketing really began to become mainstream.

Mobile Email Marketing Tips:

Optimize your subject lines for mobile:

Why is it important to optimize your email subject lines for mobile devices?

It's important to optimize your email subject lines for mobile devices because a large majority of people access their emails on their smartphones. Optimizing your subject lines can help increase the chances that your emails will be opened and read, leading to higher engagement rates. It's also important to optimize your subject lines to avoid triggering spam filters and reducing deliverability rates. In summary, optimizing your email subject lines for mobile devices can help improve the user experience, increase engagement, and improve deliverability.

Optimize your preview message:

It is important to optimize the preview message of a marketing email because it can significantly impact the effectiveness of the email. The preview message is the snippet of text that appears in the inbox next to the subject line and sender's name. It gives the recipient a brief overview of the contents of the email and can influence whether or not the email is opened and read.

Optimizing the preview message can help to increase the open and click-through rates of the email. It can also help to build trust and credibility with the recipient by clearly and concisely communicating the value that the email offers. Additionally, a well-written preview message can help to set the tone and context for the rest of the email, making it more engaging and relevant to the recipient.

Use a responsive email template:

People use responsive email templates because they want to ensure that their emails are easily readable and look good on any device. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, more and more people are using these devices to check their emails, and if an email is not optimized for mobile devices, it can be difficult to read or navigate, which can lead to a poor user experience. By using a responsive email template, the email will automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device it is being viewed on, ensuring that it is easy to read and navigate no matter what device it is being viewed on.

In addition to improving the user experience, using a responsive email template can also help improve the deliverability of your emails. Some email clients will automatically filter out emails that are not optimized for mobile devices, so using a responsive template can help ensure that your emails reach their intended recipients.

Why are responsive email templates important?

The benefits, there are several benefits to using a responsive email template, including:

  • Increased accessibility: Responsive email templates ensure that your emails are accessible to a wider range of users, regardless of the device they are using to view them. This is especially important as more and more people are accessing email on their smartphones and tablets.
  • Improved user experience: Responsive email templates provide a better user experience by ensuring that emails are easy to read and navigate, regardless of the device they are being viewed on. This can help improve the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and increase the likelihood that your emails will be read and acted upon.
  • Increased engagement: Responsive email templates can help increase engagement with your emails by making them more visually appealing and easy to read. This can help encourage users to click through to your website or take other desired actions.
  • Better deliverability: Some email providers may block or filter emails that are not optimized for mobile devices. By using a responsive email template, you can improve the deliverability of your emails and ensure that they are more likely to reach the inbox.

Make sure your emails are easy to read on small screens:

It is important to make sure marketing emails are easy to read on small screens because a significant portion of email recipients now access their emails on mobile devices. In fact, according to a study by Litmus, nearly half of all emails are opened on a mobile device.

If an email is not optimized for small screens, it can be difficult for the recipient to read and interact with the email. This can lead to a poor user experience and result in a lower open and click-through rate for the email. Additionally, emails that are not optimized for small screens may not display correctly, which can make them appear unprofessional and damage the sender's credibility.

Keep your emails concise:

It is important to keep marketing emails concise because people generally have limited attention spans and are inundated with a large volume of emails on a daily basis. If an email is too long or wordy, it can be difficult for the recipient to read and understand the message, which can lead to the email being ignored or deleted.

By keeping marketing emails concise, you can increase the chances that the email will be read and acted upon. Concise emails are also more likely to be shared with others, as they can be easily forwarded and read on a mobile device. Additionally, concise emails are less likely to be flagged as spam, as they do not contain a large volume of text that could trigger spam filters.

Use large buttons and links:

It is important to use large buttons and links in mobile-friendly emails because small buttons and links can be difficult to tap accurately on small screens. Using large buttons and links can improve the user experience and make it more likely that users will take desired actions, such as clicking through to your website or making a purchase. It is also important to ensure that buttons and links are spaced apart appropriately to avoid accidental taps and improve the overall user experience.

Optimize images for mobile:

Marketing emails need to be optimized for small screens because a significant percentage of email recipients now access their emails on their phones. In fact, research from Litmus shows that almost half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. If an email is not optimized for small screens, it can be difficult for the recipient to read and interact with the content, which can result in a lower open and click-through rate. Not only that, but emails that are not properly formatted for small screens may appear unprofessional and damage the sender's credibility.

It is important to optimize images for mobile devices because large or poorly-formatted images can cause problems on small screens like blurry or pixilated images, slow loading times, distorted images, truncated images, etc..

Test your emails on different devices:

Testing your emails on multiple devices is important because it ensures that your emails look good and are easy to read on any device. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, more and more people are using these devices to check their emails, and if an email is not optimized for mobile devices, it can be difficult to read or navigate, which can lead to a poor user experience.

By testing your emails on multiple devices, you can identify any issues that may arise when viewing your email on different devices, such as formatting issues or images not displaying properly. This can help you identify and fix any issues before sending your email, ensuring that it looks good and is easy to read on any device.

In addition to improving the user experience, testing your emails on multiple devices can also help improve the deliverability of your emails. Some email clients will automatically filter out emails that are not optimized for mobile devices, so testing your emails on multiple devices can help ensure that your emails reach their intended recipients.

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Email marketing in the age of mobile: How to optimize emails for mobile devices!
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