More than two-thirds of ALL emails are read on a mobile device according to a new study by Movable Ink. What this means for marketing professionals is quite simple. The email blast you just sent was likely deleted without being read, and the viewer may have unsubscribed altogether, unless your email was designed for display on mobile devices.

Source: Movable Ink

The Fatal Mistake

While many organizations have recognized the importance of mobile and have created responsive versions of their websites, only 56% are utilizing mobile-friendly email design techniques. The rest are still playing catch-up and are using emails designed primarily for desktop platforms. This is a fatal mistake for email initiatives. According to BlueHornet 75% of all mobile viewers immediately delete an email that doesn’t render well on their device. More than 16% unsubscribe, and only 4% read it anyway. These are alarming numbers.

Research shows that open rates and conversion rates both significantly increase with responsive emails.

Responsive Email Design

Our solution is to take a mobile-first approach to email template design. There are a number of important considerations that our creative team applies:

• Designing in a single column so the email looks flawless on all platforms
• Designing with finger-targets in mind – requiring a minimum width for ease of navigation
• Keeping Calls-to-Action easily tappable
• Keeping the message short and sweet – studies show that mobile users tend to skip reading emails that involve a lot of scrolling – and only 1/3 spend more than 15 seconds reading an email.
• Using white space so readers can easily ski through and digest content more effectively
• Keeping the header clean and moving any required navigation to the footer
• Using fonts that are display well and are readable on mobile devices
• Making sure that any linked website landing pages are mobile-friendly

Our responsive email templates provide flexibility for all platforms while still allowing for significant creative freedom.

Responsive Email Best Practices

It’s critical for organizations to understand their audience, what devices and email clients they are using, what times of day when mobile devices are used most, and what marketing tactics are most likely to drive conversions or achieve other campaign goals.

Industry studies show that morning hours between 6-10AM have the highest peak in mobile email viewership — but that mobile email viewership remains strong and tops desktop viewing throughout the traditional work day.

Keep the subject line under 30 characters to display fully on mobile devices.

Display important content within an HTML text format to ensure that it will be seen because images are unreliable and may not load.

Finally, be sure to thoroughly test emails on different platforms and clients before distribution.

We encourage you to look at email marketing from a new mobile perspective and encourage you to reach out with questions or for help in improving your email campaigns.

The number of mobile-only users is significant for older Americans too at 6%. Surprisingly, the most rapid growth was among an audience age 55 and older where the percentage of mobile-only users has doubled in the last year.

Altering the Digital Landscape

Mobile browsing has already dramatically changed the digital landscape even without the evolution of mobile-only users. Mobile devices today account for 60% of the total time that users spend online. Major online retailers are reporting mobile users comprise more than half of all visitors – and the number for B2B sites is commonly more than 20% and growing.

A new Harvard Business Review article explores this growing phenomenon and the impact mobile users are creating. “You don’t get to decide which device your customer uses to access the internet. They get to choose. It’s your responsibility to deliver essentially the same experience to them — deliver a good experience to them — whatever device they choose to use.”

New Urgency to Create Responsive Mobile Sites

This new research provides new urgency for businesses to have a strong mobile presence that provides excellent user experience on smart phones and tablets. At Manning, we’ve worked hard to develop smart, efficient ways to create an effective responsive mobile site. Retaining a competitive advantage is a must for every business, and those that fail to embrace mobile do so at their own risk. Get in touch and we’ll provide recommendations and options for your business to embrace the mobile world.