How to optimize your email for mobile devices

   email / mobile / optimization      Posted on July 28, 2011 by Amy

One in three Americans own a smartphone, and 16% of email is read on mobile devices. While the proportion is small, it’s growing at a good clip. No better time than now to think through how to optimize your email communications for mobile devices.

Here’re some ideas, including some from our friends at Frogloop and iMEDIA:

• Choose short, actionable subject lines
• Use text links throughout and images sparingly, to ensure the content flows without being blocked.
• Consider developing a mobile stylesheet to alter the email rendering for mobile devices
• Show a prominent “view this message on the web” link prominently at the top to easily enable viewing via browser
• Segment and send mobile-friendly emails to those recipients who consistently open on mobile devices.
• Consider your clickthrough destination through a mobile lens – make sure the page renders well and is easy to navigate / interact with

While many of the above apply to webmail and desktop email as well, it’s good practice to consider them in a mobile light. Let us know how they work for you!