You know your business website needs to be mobile-friendly. But do you ever think about how important it is for your email marketing campaigns to be mobile-friendly, too?
85% of emails are now opened on mobile devices, reports a recent study — which also found that mobile click-to-open rates surpass those on desktops. This means that if your email marketing campaigns are not optimized for mobile devices, you could be missing out on a significant portion of your audience.
So, how can you optimize your emails so they’re easy to read on mobile devices?
In this article, we explain what mobile email marketing is and why it’s important. We also give you practical tips to make your emails work better on phones to help boost your marketing efforts.
What is mobile email marketing?
Email marketing remains an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes to connect with audiences, nurture relationships, and drive conversions. But as people continue to shift from desktops to mobile, email marketing campaigns have to adapt. Enter mobile email marketing.
Mobile email marketing is about making sure your emails look good on smartphones and tablets. To pull this off, you need to design your emails so they automatically adjust to fit any smartphone or tablet screen size. Keep your emails simple, easy to read, and quick to understand because mobile users often want information fast. This way, when they open your emails on their mobile devices, it’s easy for them to see what you’re sharing.
5 reasons why every email you send should be mobile-friendly
Better email delivery
Creating emails that are mobile-friendly increases the chances of your emails being delivered to your audience’s inboxes. Nowadays, many email providers prioritize messages that are designed for mobile devices.
Higher open rates
More people tend to open emails on their mobile devices rather than desktops. This is because they often check their emails on the go, and mobile devices are more convenient for quick email checks.
Better engagement
Emails that work well on mobile devices are more likely to engage recipients. They’re easier to read and interact with on smaller screens, which suits users who mainly use their mobile devices.
Increased clicks
Emails optimized for mobile devices experience higher click-through rates. People often find it easier to click on links when they’re using their phones instead of computers.
Improved ROI
Considering all these factors, adapting your emails for mobile can significantly boost the return on investment for your email marketing campaigns. Mobile-friendly emails are not only more likely to be opened but also read, engaged with, and clicked on, contributing to a more successful campaign overall.
6 tips to optimize your email marketing for mobile
Emails may look different on mobile phones. Sometimes, they get deleted before they completely load. But you can prevent this by preparing in advance.
Here are a few ways to make your emails engaging on a phone, just like they are on a laptop.
Understand how customers use mobile email
Many customers weed through their emails on a smartphone, saving interesting-looking emails to read later on their computers. That means you don’t need to keep mobile email super short, but you do need to put the most important content up top.
Subject lines also matter with mobile emails. Since they can make the difference in whether your email is deleted or saved, make them short enough to fit on the preview screen of a variety of smartphones. If your subject line is too long, part of it might get cut off, and people could miss the main point.
Design for the small screen
When developing email marketing messages, think small screen first. A mobile-friendly email will be just as effective on a desktop computer, but an email developed for the desktop won’t translate effectively on a mobile device.
Make sure images or graphics are mobile-friendly; use plenty of white space around buttons or links so they are easy to click; add a click-to-call option for your phone number. (And don’t forget to make sure the landing pages links they go to are mobile-friendly.)
Incorporate mobile behavioral data
In addition to segmenting your list, you can achieve even greater success by pulling in contextual data. Use the information you have about opens and clicks to determine when customers are most likely to engage with emails and send them at those times.
Make sure your email marketing messages are relevant to the user
Email is a part of every customer’s life, which makes it so valuable as a marketing channel. However, because most customers interact with their email every day, they’re quick to delete messages that are just cluttering up their inbox – especially on a mobile device.
Segment your email marketing subscriber list and target different messages to different types of subscribers based on their interests, purchasing habits, and demographics.
Test and re-test
Always test your marketing emails to see how they render on a wide variety of mobile devices. Just because they look good on one smartphone doesn’t mean they will look the same on others.
Don’t overwhelm customers with too many messages
Even if you’re sending relevant email marketing messages, it’s easy for customers to feel overloaded if they’re also subscribing to receive text messages from you and following you on social media. Customers may unsubscribe from your lists or stop following you if they feel like they’re getting too many marketing messages. To avoid this problem, look for email marketing tools that can track and limit how many messages you send to an individual user based on users’ past behavior and other factors.
Start building your next mobile-friendly email campaign
Even with the rise of new marketing tools, email marketing remains a powerful way to connect with customers and drive sales. As long as people keep checking their email, it’ll continue to be an important tool for your businesses.
But with the shift from desktops to mobile, you need to adapt your email marketing strategy to ensure your messages are optimized for smaller screens and touch-based interactions.
By incorporating the above tips into your email campaigns, you can ensure your messages reach, engage, and convert your target audience effectively.
