Three Things to Check before Sending Mobile Friendly Marketing Emails
Did you know that about half of all emails are currently opened on mobile devices? That statistic didn’t surprise me in the least. I have friends that won’t relieve themselves in the restroom without their smart phone in hand! Sad but true. Despite this, I am still amazed at the number of marketing emails that I get that certainly haven’t been tested on mobile devices prior to sending to thousands of recipients.
Mistake #1: The Call to Action Links do not Work Properly
All too often I’ll get an email promoting a product, or even more commonly, an email with a discount. It is critical that the promotion link be tested on both personal computer and mobile devices. If it doesn’t, you should check the link syntax with your eCommerce platform provider to make sure you have it right. For example, if you click through on this link, it should take you to a product in our demo site and give you a 10% discount. This link works on ALL devices. If your links don’t, you’ll just frustrate your customers! All it takes is leaving out one character in a link and poof, you just lost potential revenue.
Mistake #2: The Call to Action is too Small
Think back to my restroom visual. Often-times people are perusing their inboxes using just one hand. In this case, they need to be able to click your link with their thumb. Some of us have fat thumbs so the call to action needs to be big enough to handle that. If you aren’t sure, send a test message to some of your big-handed friends and make sure they can click through with a thumb on their first attempts.
Mistake #3: Testing on Just One Mobile Device
iPhone users often assume that everyone must have an iPhone. After all some people consider it to be a critical body part used to survive in modern day society. Be sure you test readability and click-ability on both Android and iPhone devices. If you are using special symbols in your subject lines, can they be read on both devices? The only sure fire way to tell is to test.
Mobile usage is growing fast. Make sure your marketing messages are effective or you’ll be left feeling like an old flip phone.
After receiving a degree in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Alex began his career as a technology consultant with Accenture. In 1999 he left Accenture and founded Nexternal – a cloud-based eCommerce Platform company. Alex is passionate about eCommerce and online marketing. He is now a Senior Vice President of HighJump, managing the Nexternal business unit.
