Get Started with Responsive Emails

Here at Elliance, we practice what we preach — sending responsive emails just as we encourage our clients to do. Our upcoming newsletter will be our first. (If you don’t currently receive the newsletter and want to check out the result, contact us with the ‘Sign Up for Newsletter’ box checked.)

The importance of making websites responsive is well known — it’s been the hot topic in web design for some time now. But there isn’t as much being published about the importance of responsiveness in emails. Think about the emails you read today. What did you read it on? On your desktop email client, like Outlook or Thunderbird? On your browser using GMail, Hotmail, or corporate webmail? On your phone or tablet using a built in client? In the few hours I’ve been awake this morning, I can tell you I’ve read an email using each of these methods.

I’m not an edge case when it comes to my email habits. We all know that email is read on a desktop, but how many people really read email elsewhere? Plenty. Here are some numbers to prove it. This report shows that in September 2012, 38% of emails were opened in mobile clients, with desktop following at 33% and webmail trailing at 29%. A more recent report shows that the mobile number has already climbed to 44% — that’s an 11% increase in roughly 8 months. Finally, a Neilsen report shows that 75% of smartphone owners in the U.S. use their devices for email — that’s higher than social networking at 63%. I don’t want to be a bore with too many numbers, but you can check out this article if you want a more comprehensive outlook.

Overall, these stats show that making responsive emails is just as important as making responsive websites. Responsive emails provide a better experience to readers no matter where they’re reading. Mobile readers get a tailored experience — they don’t have to pinch or zoom or wait to read the email. While the desktop readers get a tailored experience as well — they don’t have to see a small message tailored for a smaller display. Most important, making our reader’s experience better means that they are more likely to read the message that we are sending them.

Packaging responsive emails with a responsive web site can help you provide a consistent digital experience to anyone that accesses your content. We can help you make that experience wonderful as well.