latest mobile email metrics

Mobile phones and tablets accounted for a combined total of 41.1% of US email opens in H2 2012, up from 27.4% in H2 2011

Although read rates are high, conversion rates are lower on mobile devices compared to desktops and laptops. People are primarily using mobile devices to sort through their inbox, then they return to the message later on a larger machine to convert.

More at eMarketer

works for mobile

Carol's Daughter is really nailing the mobile-enabled emails.
Simple message, simple graphics, single call-to-action button that's large enough for a chubby finger to hit on a phone or tablet.

7/17/2013 example:

mobile adoption + email marketing

Sundeep Grapur has some great tips re: catering marketing emails to be read on mobile devices.

My favorite three:

1. Design for the mobile browser in terms of font and images
2. We preen emails from our smartphone: grabe their attention so they don't delete the message.  Oftentimes, people go back to an email later from a desktop or laptop to really dig into the content.
3. Your primary call-to-action should be a button and not a link.

Read more -

mobile email tips

3 of 4 people use their smartphone for email.
The iPhone platform dominates in terms of open rates.
Some tips from GetResponse:

Explore thee complete GetRespons infographic at VentureBeat.com

most important mobile shopping days this holiday season

Consumers are on the move.
Great Forbes piece on How Retailers Can Make Their Email Marketing Glisten:

White suggests retailers may want to pay special attention to being mobile-friendly on days that consumers are more likely to be away from home, including:

• The day before Thanksgiving, which is the busiest travel day of the year
• Thanksgiving Day, when most consumers are with family with a smartphone in their purse or on the couch watching TV with a tablet on their laps, or out shopping with their smartphone in hand
• Black Friday, when many consumers are out shopping at brick-and-mortar stores
• Christmas Day, when consumers are flush with gift card cash and shop online because stores are closed

optimizing email for mobile

knowing that more than 1/4 of emails will be consumed on mobile devices, here are some tips:

1. use call-to-action buttons, not links
2. go for brief subject lines: 15-20 characters
3. stacked layout: columns won't work on a narrow screen - people can only scroll down
4. stick to one call to action:  want to drive them into stores? the email is a coupon. want them to click to your mobile site and make a purchase? the email is a single-use promo code

Supporting articles you may find helpful by:
Pat Owings - Business2Community
Ori Yankelev- Social Media Today
Adrienne Rhodes - BlueFountainMedia
Chantal Tode - Mobile Marketer

push marketing: keep it simple

coupon --> smartphone -->checkout
Bill Ready asks, "What if you could whisper in a consumer’s ear that the item they’ve been looking for is now available, and put a coupon for it right in their pocket? A push notification to a smartphone does exactly that. And it can go even further with a one-click payment link that completes the purchase right then and there, without the need to visit a store – or open a laptop."
Read his complete Forbes.com piece about mobile devices shaking up e-commerce.

econsultancy's mobile email best practices

Practical mobile email tips from econsultancy [Erik Boman]
Particularly useful:
1) Don't crowd links because fingers have trouble tapping in small surface area of mobile screens
2) Use one-column layouts
3) Don't waste space with banners & mastheads
4) Prioritize images for critical links & content