New research shows that nearly half of marketing e-mails are opened on a mobile device, making mobile optimized messaging critical for e-mail marketers. According to the study, released earlier this month by Harland Clarke Digital, 55% of business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-mails are opened on a desktop, meaning about 45% are opened via mobile.
The study, which looked at consumers mainly in the U.S., showed that a quarter of marketing e-mails (25%) were opened on smartphones, 7% were opened on tablets and 12% were opened on more than one device. Given the number of recipients opening marketing e-mails on mobile devices, the Harland Clarke Digital, a Chicago-based agency, is producing a series of blog posts offering mobile advice to e-mail marketers.
Here are five tips gleaned from the agency’s first two posts.
1. Size matters on mobile: Most readers view desktop e-mails in an environment that is 600-640 pixels wide. By contrast, most smartphone screens are 320-480 pixels wide. By creating a mobile-optimized version of an e-mail that will fit recipients’ phones, marketers can increase the chance their e-mail is read. If they don’t, readers are likely to grow frustrated zooming in to fit and exit the e-mail.
2. Keep e-mails to a single column: Again, size matters. Mobile e-mails offer fewer pixels to work with and a single column keeps the content streamlined and easy to read.
3. Write a one-line preheader: Smaller mobile screen sizes demand more concise language because fewer words fit in a preheader. Keep your preheader 85 characters or less, offering recipients a concise, convincing reason to open the e-mail.
4. Push “View in mobile” past the preheader: “View in browser” and “View on mobile” links can be useful to readers, but the preheader is more important. Use the limited space to convince the recipient to open the e-mail, then ask them which version they prefer.
5. Desktop > smartphones > tablets: Though mobile is growing fast, desktops are still the most common way consumers are receiving marketing e-mails. Within mobile, it’s important to optimize for smartphones first. If only 7% of readers view a message on tablets, marketers should prioritize smartphone optimization.
