If your email isn’t mobile-optimized, will it still be read? Probably not.
63% of mobile email users delete or ignore emails that aren’t optimized for their smartphones. (Source: Return Path) That means that if your email isn’t mobile-optimized, you may have lost your chance to get your message across to that viewer.
Emails designed for desktop viewing typically require panning, zooming and scrolling on a mobile device in order to read the message or find the call to action. It’s a misconception that a user will save an email on their mobile device for desktop viewing later— 97% of emails are opened and viewed only once (Source: Return Path), with about 35% of the opens occurring on mobile devices. (Source: Knotice)
So how do you create an email that provides an optimal user experience, regardless of the type of device used to view it? Enter Mobile First.
The term Mobile First means that the mobile use case is taken into account first and foremost when developing any digital customer touch point—website, landing page, email, etc. This practice forces a focus on simplicity, from both a design and content standpoint, enabling the experience to scale effectively from device to device. Adherence to this discipline translates to more streamlined messaging and, ultimately, more effective communications.
Applying Mobile First thinking to email design requires the inclusion of small-screen-friendly design elements, such as one column layouts, large fonts, prominent calls-to-action that don’t require a lot of scrolling, and the use of large buttons made to accommodate finger taps instead of mouse clicks. When you follow these design rules, your emails can be viewed on any size device screen—smartphone, laptop, or 30” monitor.
Keep in mind that mobile email optimization alone is not enough to drive direct marketing success. All digital destinations, regardless of entry point (email, QR code, direct traffic, etc.), must be optimized for the device in order to create a seamless, end-to-end user experience that will ultimately improve conversion.
If you’d like to learn more about applying Mobile First thinking to your marketing and technology initiatives, follow us on twitter @trellist or connect with us via info@trellist.com.