On Track With Jack: Mobile Best Practices

I hate to break it to all of my admirers out there, but I’m in a serious relationship with my smartphone. She’s the first thing I see in the morning, and the last thing I see when I go to sleep. Day in and day out, I check my email, catch up on the news, and connect with friends on social media. And, I know I’m not alone.

In a recent survey completed by Acxiom...

91.4% of respondents said they use their smartphone to check personal email. - Acxiom "Email Marketing and Mobile Devices: A Survey of Consumer Habits and Perceptions"(2013).

So, what does that mean for email marketing? It means that more and more people are reading email on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Here’s my tip, well question, of the week: Are your emails mobile friendly?

Here are a few pointers to get you started on the mobile track:

1. Clear and concise content is key. While content always needs to be compelling, cut it down so readers can skim and scroll. Space is limited on mobile, so don’t weigh down your message with too much information. Short clear paragraphs and bullet points are ideal.
   
     
2. Scale down your design. The dimensions of the email should also be reduced since mobile screens are a lot smaller. We recommend keeping it between 320-550px wide. Note: Check out our new mobile Smart Templates under the mobile tab.
   
3. Use larger text. Fonts should be larger than those in traditional emails. Keep body text at a minimum of 14px and headlines at 22px.
   
4. Larger images and spacing. Touch screens are here to stay! Instead of clicking, people will touch. Balance your design with well-spaced images and icons to accommodate fat, I mean healthy, finger errors.
   
5. Alt text is a must. Include alt text on your graphics for a responsive design. Note: Image blocking will occur by default, a prompt will display urging users to display messages, similar to desktop. The only mobile OS that does not block images by default is iOs.
   
6. Short and sweet subject lines. Long subject lines get cut off, but shorter ones between 24-31 characters work best. Tell your readers what’s inside!
   
7. Call on your new Call To Action (CTA). What do you want your readers to do after they receive your message? Include a call to action, but do not use ‘Click Here’. Mobile users cannot click, however, they can tap and swipe.
   
8. CTA + Buttons = High CTR (Click-through rate). Make your CTA stand out with a big button. Link out to your website or landing page for more information.  Buttons should be at least 44 pixels and should be centered or left aligned.
   
9. Include links. Unsubscribe, Forward to a Friend, Subscribe, and Social Media links are still a must.  Be sure to also keep any View as Webpage link just in case your readers want to view your message in a browser.
   
10. Preview, preview, preview. Take a look at the different mobile previews in JangoMail to see how your subscribers will view your message on their mobile device or tablet. Select different Mobile Clients to test your message. 

To recap: With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. Check out our Mobile Templates to get started! 

With those steps in mind, you are on your way to mobile-friendly messages, and for me, my relationship with my smartphone has never been stronger.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a JangoMail expert today at 1-855-709-4099.

Jack the Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoMail

About Jack

Jack the Jangolope is our JangoMail mascot.  Each week, look for Jack's emails for marketing advice, trends, and quick tips on how to grow your email marketing plan to the fullest!  Hop into email marketing each week with Jack's helpful tips!

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Remember, at JangoMail it's your email, your way.  Have a topic you would like Jack to cover?  Email us at marketing@jangomemail.com with the subject line: On Track With Jack.  Follow Jack on Facebook

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Gene Marks: Mobile Website and Search

A guest post by Gene Marks

Here's an interesting fact:  there are more than 400 million mobile users in the United States today.   Actually, what makes this fact so interesting is that there are only 330 million people in the entire country.  But I know I saw this somewhere on the internet.  So just work with me on this for a while, OK?  This point is that there are a lot of mobile users.  No one can deny that.

And do you know what these mobile users are doing on their mobile devices?  Yes, texting and emailing and wasting time.  No one can deny that either.  But most of all, we are searching.  Searching for a great sushi place in San Antonio (yeah, keep searching), a movie time, a news article, another photo of Miley Cyrus twerking.  Or maybe…just maybe…we're doing something more productive.  Like searching for products and services and other stuff we want to buy.  Maybe we're searching for…you.  And your company.  So will we find you?

Not if you don't have a mobile optimized website.  Do you have a mobile optimized website?

That's because the search application (which is most likely Google) on your iPad or Samsung or Nexus is using a different search algorithm than if the user was doing the same on a desktop computer.  It's actually looking for mobile optimized websites.  So let me ask you again – do you have a mobile optimized website? You better.  Soon.  Now.  What happens if you don't?

Then your customer, or prospective customer looking for you doesn't find you.  Or instead, they find your competitor first because they're ranking higher on the search results from Google and that's because they've got a mobile optimized website.  Or maybe your customer has stumbled on your site, or clicked on a link from an email marketing message he's reading on his iPhone, and what does he find?  A site that renders terribly, forcing him to scroll and enlarge and hunt and peck and squint and ultimately get annoyed enough to go to someone else's site because it's easier to navigate.  This is why you need a mobile optimized website.  Soon.  Now.

Having a good mobile website is also essential if you plan on doing online marketing campaigns.  You might decide to use Adwords or banner ads somewhere.  You may decide to list your company on sites like Yahoo, Google Places or even Mapquest.  Perhaps you want to get involved with daily sites like Groupon or Living Social.  Or you want customers to check in through Foursquare or leave reviews on Yelp.  People are doing this stuff from their smartphones and tablets, all the time.  And if you want these visitors to ultimate get bounced back to your website you'll need that site to be ready.

Making your website mobile optimized isn't that tough actually.  You could go to your Internet Service Provider, the people that host your website, and ask them.  Many of these providers have services that will convert your site into a mobile site.  You could go to online companies that provide this service independently like DudaMobile – they're relatively inexpensive.  Just make sure to have them host your site using your domain so you're getting the web traffic and not them.  Or you can learn more at Google's HowToGoMo site.  You don't need to mobilize your entire website.  Instead, just choose some of the key pages you want to make mobile, like your homepage or “About Us” or “Contact Us” page.  It won't take long.

It's a mobile world.  And whether it's 400 million, 330 million or even 10 million people doing searches on their mobile device there's no argument that it's a lot.  And it will continue to grow.  Put this on your task list.  Make your website mobile optimized.  Soon.  Now.

Maintaining Email Integrity With Mobile

Your email marketing campaign may look pretty spiffy on a PC, but check it out on a smartphone or tablet. It could very well look like the stuff of nightmares. Unless you adopt a truly "Mobile Mentality", you're not in shape to move ahead with the rest of the pack - let alone sprint ahead.

The EEC, or email marketing arm of the Direct Marketing Association, is a global professional organization that strives to enhance the image of email marketing and communications. Translation: It's a good idea to listen to what they have to say.

Here's your chance (and benefit)
EEC has some concise and helpful tips to help you keep your email marketing cohesive, attractive, and in terms of mobile connectivity, professional looking.

1. Concentrate on your content
With every email you create, mobile rendering should be a part of the process. This includes: subject lines, body content, graphics, testing, links, metrics (i.e. everything). Your "From" address, subject lines and headlines are perhaps the most important variables to consider. They're the first thing recipients see, so you'd better optimize the smaller space capacities to put your most effective, eye-catching and relevant foot forward first. Used to writing short subject lines? Cut it in half and get used to it. And while you're at it, eliminate more conceptual headlines that prompt viewers to ponder too long. You're dealing with an audience of shorter attention spans, and your competition in the mobile space is fierce.

Bottom line: Mobile simply doesn't offer the space to present a "says it all" graphic, so use your words wisely.

2. Respect fingers and hold the Flash
You'll have better results if you build landing pages optimized for mobile using HTML, CSS and smaller amounts of JAVA. Also remember how your recipients will be scanning through your emails. It's the power of the mighty finger - and unless they find your email communications easy to swipe, they could get fed up and flee before absorbing your message. Improve functionality after the fact, and they may still hesitate to click-through in the future for fear of the repeat experience. Buttons need to be a legible and usable size, as well.

3. Keep your forms brief
EEC recommends simply asking for an email address. While it's easier to submit information on an iPad or similar tablet, how far do you think recipients will go to fill in the tiny blanks on a smartphone?

One final bit of advice
This you already know: Test and then test again. And somewhere in the middle, revisit and tweak your content for the optimal experience. This little bit of sweat on the front end is well worth the desired result on the other side, not to mention the potential ROI you want to achieve in any email marketing campaign.

Get a jump start on testing by using JangoMail's Email Preview Rendering tool! As always, if you have any questions or comments on our blogs, give us a shout.

Until then, have a great week, everyone!