Key takeaways
- Most emails are opened on mobile: mobile opens rose from 8% in 2011 to 53% in 2014 and after 2013 surpassed desktop.
- Responsive, mobile‑friendly emails yield higher open and click‑through rates, poor mobile display can cause up to 80% of emails to be deleted.
- You usually get one shot: up to 97% of email interactions occur on the device where the email was first opened.
- Mobile optimization is low effort: use mobile‑ready templates, shorten subject lines, write strong pre‑header text, optimize the sender name and balance text with visuals.
- Optimize the landing page too, a mobile‑friendly email only converts if the follow‑through page is mobile accessible.
Introduction
Marketers in most circles consider this common knowledge, but there is need to stress the importance of optimizing messages for the mobile platform. In fact, according to surveys, the number of emails that are opened on mobile devices jumped from just a measly 8 percent in 2011 to 53 percent in 2014, an increase of almost 500 percent. Despite this, not many marketers have optimized messages for mobile. Email marketing is important to the business success of any company. Surveys have revealed that email marketing, among other things, indirectly impacts business performance, is a critical product or service enabler and is directly linked to primary revenue sources.
As if this alone was not enough for the mobile optimization of email marketing, here are some more reasons;
Readers are mobile
After 2013, a huge shift happened in the digital marketing world. The number of emails opened on mobile devices that year finally surpassed those that were opened on the desktop. More than half of all emails sent are opened on mobile devices, with smartphones being the device of choice. Without mobile optimization, the business will technically be missing out on more than half of the possibilities.
Experience
Responsiveness means designing the email such that they adjust to the device to allow users to read and interact with the message. Unresponsive emails are generally too small and unreadable, forcing the reader to have to pinch and zoom in. recipients will not always be willing to do this, and will often resort to deleting the message and associating the brand with inefficiency.
Results
The continual shift from desktop to mobile has sparked numerous studies. One of the more profound results was the responsive and mobile friendly emails had a higher open and click through rates compared to non-responsive ones that were not optimized for mobile. Up to 80 percent of emails are deleted if they don’t look good on the mobile device.
One chance
The recipient is the same for both the desktop and mobile, but this does not mean emails received on mobile devices, especially those that are not optimized for the platform, will be saved for viewing later on a desktop. Up to 97 percent of email interactions happen on the device on which the email was opened first, and for marketing messages, you only have the one shot at making an impression. Those whose messages are not optimized for mobile are therefore greatly diminishing their chances of success.
Timing
The dynamism of the digital marketing world means the business with the biggest impact will be the one that gets ahead of the competition, especially with a relatively new technique. While email marketing is not exactly new, on mobile, the power is not being taken advantage of fully. With this in mind, it is safe to conclude that there is no better time to take advantage of this than now. Forward thinking marketers who optimize messages for mobile will endear their organizations to majority of the target market.
Email optimization is easy
Unlike other digital marketing trends, marketers will find that email marketing is relatively easy. Techniques do not require too much technical know-how or expenditure despite the huge potential for returns. Mobile optimization can be done through the use of mobile ready templates readily available online. Other clever techniques include shortening the subject line, the use of a more compelling pre-header text and the optimization of the recipient name. On many mobile devices, the name of the sender is displayed with larger and heavier font to help the recipient identify who the email came from. Almost two thirds of recipients say they base their decision to open the email on the person who sent it. Match this with the audience’s expectations. Another simple way to make the most out of mobile optimized messages is by balancing the use of text and images. According to surveys, the average time spent when reading an email newsletter is about 50 seconds. Further, the human brain computes images up to 60,000 times faster than text. The use of compelling visuals in a marketing campaign can therefore make a huge difference.
Remember
The mobile trend does not stop at the point of receiving the email. Recently, the biggest search engine Google announced that searches on mobile had finally surpassed those on the desktop. More people are now accessing websites on mobile devices. Majority of interactions happen on the device on which the email was opened. Make sure the landing page is optimized for mobile access too. It is no use having an attractive, mobile optimized email with a strong subject line, pre-header text and call to action, only to find that the website or page to which one is being directed is not mobile friendly. Ultimately, you want the visitor to go on and make a purchase, participate in a competition or read a blog. Make the process easier for them.
FAQ
Mobile opens grew from 8% in 2011 to 53% in 2014. After 2013 the number of emails opened on mobile surpassed desktop and more than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices, with smartphones the device of choice.
Because most recipients read email on mobile, responsive emails drive higher open and click‑through rates, poor mobile display causes high deletion rates (up to 80%) and 97% of interactions occur on the device where the email was first opened, so a non‑optimized email severely reduces your chance of success.
Responsive emails adjust to the device so content is readable and interactive. Unresponsive emails appear too small and force pinch‑and‑zoom, recipients often delete such messages and may associate the brand with inefficiency.
Use mobile‑ready templates, shorten the subject line, craft a compelling pre‑header, optimize the sender/recipient name display and balance text with images. These techniques require little technical overhead but improve mobile performance.
Subject lines and pre‑header text are front‑line hooks on mobile. The sender name is often displayed larger on many devices and almost two thirds of recipients say they base their open decision on who sent the email, so match the sender name to audience expectations.
Readers spend about 50 seconds on an email newsletter on average. Visuals can make a big difference because the human brain computes images much faster than text, so balancing compelling visuals with concise text aids engagement.
Many users interact on the device where they opened the email, so sending mobile traffic to a non‑mobile friendly landing page undermines conversions. Ensure the destination website or page is mobile optimized so the recipient can complete the desired action (purchase, entry, reading, etc.).
