With all of the hype the iphone 4 is creating, it’s easy to see smartphones are becoming increasingly popular. More people are checking their emails on the move and although smartphones support HTML emails, there are still mobile devices which will only support plain text emails. So what can be done to create a successful email marketing campaign for mobile and desktop devices alike?

There are a few changes you can make to your email newsletter so it can be read easily on mobile browsers; the easiest option is to include a link to a ‘plain text’ version of the email. This way, mobile users who don’t have HTML support can click the plain text link for a smoother user experience. It’s also important to optimise images in your email by using alternative text; using a relevant file name for your image enables the reader to understand what the image is about even if it’s a bit garbled on their device.

As with all emails you’re sending, the subject line has to be an eye-catcher; even more so when the email is appearing in a mobile inbox. With most mobile devices, the subject line and pre-header will appear and then you have to click through to the read the rest of the email. This is why the pre-header is much more important in mobile email marketing; it has to continue the story from the subject line and entice the reader to click through. Pre-headers often include this message: ‘Viewing on a mobile device? Click here to view this email in text.’ Although it is a good idea to show the reader there is an alternative view to the email, it may be best to include this just below the pre-header as more exciting information can go in its place.

Offering a compelling offer, ‘Click here and receive free shipping’ and including a link will automatically drive visits to your site and hopefully will create a sale! It’s important to try and keep calls to action (CTAs) in the pre-header. If the reader is just browsing through their inbox and the pre-header doesn’t interest them, your email could be deleted without even being read – subject lines and pre-headers are easily forgotten but they are the most important part of the email, especially for mobile email!

A couple of design tips to bear in mind when users are reading from mobiles: coding fonts will not always work as most mobiles allow the user to select their preferred font; keeping the font basic is always the best bet. Because of the size of a mobile screen, it’s best to keep all calls to action in the top area of the email, specifically the pre-header – in that case, if the email isn’t fully read at least the call to action has been noticed. Using a plain text format works best for emails being viewed on a mobile browser, even if they are HTML supported; this keeps the emails easy to read and simply to navigate while people are on the go.

Mobile marketing is very similar to online marketing and will continue to grow in popularity as mobile technology advances.

Author Bio: Dave Matthews is a freelance copywriter. He writes articles for a range of interests, causes and businesses – in this case, email marketing by Extravision.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: email, marketing