Alright, let’s discuss the elephant in the room (what, it’s right there): Big ideas don’t always fit in small packages. When it comes to emails, designs meant for desktop might look a little iffy on a tiny smartphone screen. Instead of losing all the awesome of your big idea, you can create mobile friendly optimized emails from the start. That way, your big idea has a big impact, whether your customers are on desktop or mobile!
Why Mobile Friendly Is A Big Deal
Many people think email marketing has gone to the days of dinosaurs, alongside VCR tapes and Blockbuster (what even is that, right?). However, that’s not the case. Creating mobile-designed emails offers companies an additional opportunity to reach customers. Considering how on-the-go we are as a society, a mobile-friendly option is friendly to your customers, too.
Your customers might be on-the-go, but emails aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. According to ReturnPath, 55 percent of emails are opened on mobile devices. As the number of smartphone users increases each year, audiences abandon checking emails through web browsers in exchange for a “there’s an app for that” state of mind.
If an email isn’t mobile friendly, though, customers might have a frustrating user experience. Pinching their screen to zoom in—or out—to view enormous photos that push off their screens can distract customers from the purpose of the email. They might close, or even delete, the email if impatience sets in.
A mobile friendly design, rather, encourages customers to convert, can impress those customers, and amplifies brand awareness. Without it, you’re using extinct marketing methods, just when dinosaurs were getting cool again!
Mobile friendly optimized emails make it easier for companies to remind customers about abandoned shopping carts, sales, new products or services, and other branding opportunities. As a result, customers get a little nudge of a reminder that you’re there for when they need you.
Let’s get mobile friendly! Here are five ways to ensure your emails are optimized for mobile, so you can keep customers within reach.
The Big Picture
A picture is worth a thousand words. Considering that shorter emails are preferable, it stands to reason that a single image is plenty. For mobile optimized emails, feel free to go easy on the images.
Some mobile users might not have their devices enabled to automatically download images. As a result, they’ll see one big fat block of nothing instead. Yikes. By including alt text—the text alternative of your photo—customers can gain insight into what they’re meant to see.
Using a call-to-action (CTA) in your alt text also encourages customers to click on the image. As a result, you can convey the purpose of your email—for example, “Click here to download your free coupon!”—while attracting customers to complete a conversion.
Instead of white space or overloading your email with images that can slow download time, keep it simple. Use a single, impactful, responsive image that will display smaller on mobile and larger on desktop. As a result, customers remain focused on the purpose of your email. Go easy on the images, and you can go big on the awesome instead.
Big and Bold
The design doesn’t have to be complicated and brimmed with content to be mind-blowing. In fact, emails should have a single focus, matched with a single column, responsive design layout. That way, your email directs customers towards a single action without distraction.
A single column layout also keeps customers from having to zoom in or out to see pieces of content. Allow your company brand to speak for itself throughout the design with your color scheme, logo, and font. That way, you can increase familiarity with your brand and represent your company throughout the email.
Combined with large enough text, a legible and consistent font, and a clean design, your mobile friendly optimized emails will appeal to user experience on both mobile and desktop. Concise email designs can impact customers in a big way. As a result, your emails will be as impressive as an elephant artist (and that’s pretty freaking impressive).
Need help designing that impressive email campaign? We’ve got you.
Big Talk
While Twitter may have decided to expand their once-concise 140-character count, with emails, less is definitely more. After all, our on-the-go society prefers condensed information for a quick read. By keeping your email text to the point, customers won’t have to scroll, scroll, scroll tediously through content on their phones—which might cause them to miss your CTA.
The subject line, preview text, and body should all be focused on the action you want customers to complete anyway. You don’t need to send them a short novel in your email to accomplish that!
Mobile devices usually show 25-30 characters of an email’s subject line. Instead of discovering the subject line—and its intended meaning—are cut short, keep your subject line short and sweet to begin with. An intriguing and effective subject line conveys your email’s purpose and teases the content. Throw in a bit of wit for fun and watch those leads stampede in!
Need help getting your feet wet with composing successful email campaigns? We Doo that too!
The Big Ask
If the purpose of your email is your CTA—such as directing customers towards your online store to shop new products—it’s important for that CTA to be visible, right? Using buttons instead of links helps that CTA stand out on small screens. A colorful button also snags attention as a contrast to the rest of the email.
Links should also direct towards mobile friendly web pages, so customers have a positive user experience from start to finish. As a result, they’re more likely to complete the desired action, despite that smaller screen!
An Elephant Never Forgets Mobile Friendly Optimized Emails
Don’t forget to preview your finished product! Some email platforms allow users to view the mobile version on site. That way, you can make sure your mobile friendly optimized email appeals to user experience from the moment it enters a customer’s inbox.
Now, the elephant in the room isn’t trying to view a desktop-designed email on a smartphone—it’s the big impact your mobile friendly optimized emails have on customers! Sweet!