With email, it’s impossible to customize your content for every different mobile device on the market. Unless, of course, you have the time to code many, many different templates… And we all have that kind of time these days, right? Sure.
An alternative would be to send the same content, in the same template, to everyone on your list. The problem with this, though, is that it might look gorgeous on on a 27” widescreen Mac, but it’s going to look horrible–and function even worse–on a super-small BlackBerry screen.
So, if you want your message to be easy to read and engage with, regardless of which device it’s viewed on, the best way to go is to use responsive design.
Not familiar with responsive design? Here’s a little overview:
- Responsive design allows you to create an email so that your essential content– that is, everything people need to see to understand and act on your message, and nothing they don’t–will show up beautifully on any mobile device.
- It keeps navigation intuitive for the user. For example, you can take elements from a standard two-column design and stack them on top of each other to enable vertical rather than horizontal scrolling. This is key, because it’s pretty safe to say that no one wants to do any horizontal scrolling on a smartphone.
- It can help drive engagement and conversion. This is one of the best things about responsive design, and here’s why: Right now, most people are using their mobile devices to read email, but they are still waiting until they get to their desktop or laptop before they take action on a particular message, such as redeeming an online coupon or claiming an offer. Who knows how many opportunities are lost because folks change their minds, or forget about your message entirely, before they get back to their computers? However, if your message is optimized with responsive design, your email recipients are going to be far more likely to take action right then and there, via their mobile device. And this can translate into better engagement, improved conversion rates for your emails, and, hopefully, increased revenue.
Do you think responsive design could help boost customer engagement with your email campaigns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Email Marketing Blog 