Is Email Marketing Old School?
For marketers, app centric messaging like Snapchat and whats app is a hassle free and direct concept, but does that mean that the old fashioned email messaging format has gone obsolete? Maybe not, yeah it may have lost its glamor but with the staggering rise of Smart Phones, tablets and other mobile devices, more and more people are actively checking their emails and thus directly raising the probability for marketers to reach out to them.
The implication of email marketing may carry a strong connotation to desktops but despite the association, email advertising is still going strong, as the stats show a dramatic increase of mails checked through mobile. The idea is to adopt the right strategy, knowing what works and what to avoid.
Below are a few pointers to look into that will help mobile marketers use this method for an optimized result.
Avoid sending out of focus emails:
Avoid sending emails that require zooming in and panning: It Requires effort and doing so on a small screen? No one’s got time for that! This may end up annoying the end user and they wouldn’t take two seconds before exiting the window, never to turn back. Understanding that emails were tailored for large screens and physical keyboards, if the emails are not seamlessly formatted for small screens, it simply defies the purpose. With more than 50% increase of emails being checked now on mobile as compared to yester years, the platform of mobile marketing if done right is highly effective.
Send Interactive Emails:
Adopt responsive techniques to maximize engagement. Do whatever it takes to make your notifications look visually appealing, fun and exciting for the viewer. This may require you to play along with layouts, insert sharp copy. Basically it is an HTML layout that fits different devices and all kinds of screen sizes. Not just that it also provisions you to rearrange content without having to code and design for two different emails. If it looks fun and appealing it will not go unnoticed.
Understand the importance of every single email:
Understand that emailing is here for good, it is permanent and will not wither away like a mobile app with a 3 month life span. Once that knowledge is settled in, new strategic advantages can be put through to make this method work for mobile marketers. Since it can be checked at any time, emailing has an edge and if done correctly will not go by unnoticed as it has more chances of engagement.
Mobile marketers should have a mobile first strategy:
As more and more people are checking mails through their smart phones and every year that number quadruples, it just shows a staggering rise of Smart phone users utilizing their phones to check emails rather than making phone calls. By using mobile friendly design you are taking the first step to place your mobile consumer first.
Always Send Responsive Email:
Design your email in accordance to mobile screens. Through an adequate responsive design technique your email can even look great on big screen too. If you have the attention of your audience in the first few seconds, you are on the right track. By using smaller images rather than single large ones you are engaging and raising the curiosity and interest of the end user. Also by carefully avoiding excessive message width you are reducing the effort for the user to scroll down unnecessarily. About 6000 pixels would be just fine to serve the purpose.
Content is King:
Keep your content sharp. If your email conveys important points in a concise format, readers will easily digest it. Nobody likes to read a novella about your marketing, unless it’s cinematically engaging. If your headline evokes a reader’s curiosity to open the mail and get to read it, your copy is doing its work.
Send Smart & Simple Emails:
Simplify content, with snappy one liner and headlines. Incorporate large click-able buttons and icons that get your message delivered easily. A smart layout with right design will hypnotically sell anything to your audience.
Emailing is not an old technology that marketers should forget about. It has become most effective provided your strategy sells with a mobile first functionality. If these quick and effective changes are adopted emailing can turn out to be one of the most promising marketing weapons for marketers. The trick is to play smart.
About Author:
Umar Khan is a Digital Marketing Executive at SocialCubix, which develops iPhone, Facebook, Mobile and Android Applications and maintains relations with industry influencers. Follow him on Google+ & Twitter.
