Beyond Email Open Rates: How to Unlock the Potential in Your Audience

Justine Jordan & Kevin Mandeville

Beyond Email Open Rates How to Unlock the Potential of Your Audience

@thuelmadsen #KISSwebinar

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Who are we?

Justine Jordan Marketing Director, Litmus @meladorri

Who are we?

Kevin Mandeville Content Designer, Litmus @KevinMandeville

@litmusapp #KISSwebinar

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Your standard metrics

// @meladorri

#KISSwebinar

The missing metrics

campaignmonitor.com/css

Don’t spend 90% of development time to satisfy 10% of users.

Know your audience. Choose your ba!les.

emailclientmarketshare.com

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1 Desktop, Webmail, or Mobile?

2 Email programs + rendering engines

3

Geotargeting

We’re gonna talk about…

4 Progressive enhancement

5

Responsive and mobile-friendly email

#KISSwebinar

Lots of other stuff along the way!6

Mobile Email+500% since 2011

Looking back to 2011…

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Source: Litmus Email Analytics

15

30

45

60

Jan-11

Apr-11

Jul-1

1Oct-

11

Jan-12

Apr-12

Jul-1

2Oct-

12Ja

n-13

Apr-13

Jul-1

3Oct-

13Ja

n-14

Apr-14

Jul-1

4Oct-

14

Mobile Desktop Webmail

Mobile has seen crazy growth

#KISSwebinar

Source: Litmus Email Analytics

15

30

45

60

Jan-11

Apr-11

Jul-1

1Oct-

11

Jan-12

Apr-12

Jul-1

2Oct-

12Ja

n-13

Apr-13

Jul-1

3Oct-

13Ja

n-14

Apr-14

Jul-1

4Oct-

1410%

48%

33%

Litmus

32%

57%

11%

Mobile Desktop Webmail

Average Retailer

10%

30%

60%

What does your data say?

#KISSwebinar

Litmus

32%

57%

11%

MobileDesktopWebmail

Average Retailer

10%

30%

60%

What does your data say?

Desktop-Heavy

Outlook 2000, 2003 Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013

Outlook 2011, 2016 Apple Mail

Lotus Notes Thunderbird

Word

Outlook 2007 Outlook 2013Outlook 2010 Outlook for Mac 2011 and 2015

Early Outlook Versions 2000 and 2003

Rendering in Outlook

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Email

<table>

<td>

<td>

px

style=“font-face”

bgcolor

padding

Web

<div>

<h1>

<p>

em

<style>

background-color

margin

#KISSwebinar

Use this

#ffffff

bgcolor

individual properties

width=“100”

<b>

px

align=“le#”

Not this

#fff or rgb

background-color

shorthand

width:100px

<strong>

em

text-align:le#

#KISSwebinar

<h1>

<p>

<img>

<button>

✘

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<td>

<td>

<td>

<td>

✔

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Animated GIFs and Outlook 2007+

Outlook 2007+ shows the 1st frame Other programs show the animation

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Animated GIFs and Outlook 2007+

Outlook 2007+ shows the 1st frame Other programs show the animation

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Animated GIFs and Outlook 2007+

Be sure the first frame communicates your message

(and isn’t blank)

We can easily target Microso" Outlook…

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Outlook 2000-2003

Outlook 2007-2013

<!--[if (IE)]> /* Insert HTML or CSS here */

<![endif]—>

<!—[if mso]> /* Insert HTML or CSS here */

<![endif]—>

Outlook conditional statements

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lt = less than a specific version gt = greater than a specific version lte = less than or equal to a specific version gte = greater than or equal to a specific version

Outlook version numbers

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9 = Outlook 2000 10 = Outlook 2002 11 = Outlook 2003 12 = Outlook 2007 14 = Outlook 2010 15 = Outlook 2013

Outlook conditional statements

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<!--[if mso 12]> = targets only Outlook 2007 <!--[if gte mso 12]> = targets Outlook 2007 and above <!--[if gt mso 12]> = targets above Outlook 2007 (Outlook 2010/2013) <!--[if lte mso 12]> = targets Outlook 2007 and below <!--[if lt mso 12]> = targets below Outlook 2007 (Outlook 2000/2002/2003)

Did you know?

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Outlook also has 200+ mso/-ms unique CSS properties.

https://litmus.com/community/learning/8-outlook-overview

Outlook.com Targeting

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Outlook.com also adds .ecx before every CSS class

.ExternalClass .ecxmyclass { /* CSS */ }

Apple Mail + Outlook for Mac

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Apple Mail and Outlook 2011 / 2016 use WebKit as a rendering engine.

WebKit has amazing CSS support and enables progressive enhancement in email.

WebKit Targeting Media Query

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@media screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 0) { /* Insert CSS here */ }

WebKit supports HTML5 video in email (except for iOS 8)

Litmus

32%

57%

11%

MobileDesktopWebmail

Average Retailer

10%

30%

60%

What does your data say?

Webmail

Gmail Yahoo AOL

Outlook.com Office 365

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer

Gmail Rendering

#KISSwebinar

Gmail strips out all classes and id’s in CSS. This is the reason we need to inline

all CSS for email.

https://putsmail.com/inliner

http://templates.mailchimp.com/resources/inline-css/

http://inliner.cm/

best case scenario: some lost forma#ing

Gmail strips CSS from the <head> of emails

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worst case scenario: whoa

Gmail strips CSS from the <head> of emails

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Inline CSS for Gmail

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<style type="text/css"> .body {font-size: 22px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

color: #222222;} </style>

<body style="font-size: 22px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #222222;">

Instead of:

We must use:

https://litmus.com/blog/understanding-gmail-and-css-part-1

Blue borders with <a> and <img>

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<a href="http://litmus.com"><img src="http://litmus.com/image.jpg" width="450" height="216" border="0"></a>

Gaps under images

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<img src="http://litmus.com/image.jpg" width="450" height="216" border="0" style="display: block;">

Litmus

32%

57%

11%

MobileDesktopWebmail

Average Retailer

10%

30%

60%

What does your data say?

Mobile-Heavy

iPhone Android Tablets

Gmail mobile app Inbox by Gmail

iOS Rendering

#KISSwebinar

Email apps for the iPhone and iPad use WebKit as a rendering engine.

WebKit has amazing CSS support and enables progressive enhancement in email.

Mobile First

Fluid

Responsive

3 strategies for approaching mobile:

1

2

3

You can’t say “responsive email works on an iPhone.”

When clients say “it looks like crap on my Android.”

You should ask “what email app are you using?”

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Device ≠ App support

Yahoo! (iOS + Android) yes

Mailbox (iOS) no

Gmail (iOS + Android) no

Inbox by Gmail (iOS + Android) no

BlackBerry Z10 yes

Windows Phone 7 no

Windows Phone 7.5 yes

Windows Phone 8 sometimes

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Media query support in mobile email apps

iPhone / iPad: Email app yes

Android 2.1: Email app no

Android 2.2: Email app yes

Android 2.3: Email app yes

Android 4.0, 4.1, 4.2: Email app yes

Android 4.3, 4.4: Email app sometimes

Kindle Fire yes

http://stylecampaign.com/blog/2012/10/responsive-email-support/

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strategy #1

mobile first aka agnostic, aware, scalable

Strategy #1: Mobile first

Considers the mobile user a priority

• One layout for all screen sizes

• Single column design

• 320-500px

• Large text & bu#ons

• Generous white space

• Clear calls to action

• Short, concise body copy

Strategy #1: Mobile first

strategy #2

fluid

Strategy #2: Fluid

Email width changes to fit within the window it’s viewed in

• Percentage-based widths

• Adapts to fit the screen

• Text wraps automatically #KISSwebinar

Strategy #2: Fluid

• Shorter learning curve

• Best for text-heavy emails

strategy #3

responsive

Strategy #3: Responsive

Strategy #3: Responsive

• Resize content: make images fit, make text larger

• Hide content on mobile

• Stack columns

• Move a two-column design to a one-column design

https://litmus.com/blog/the-how-to-guide-to-responsive-email-design-infographic

Strategy #3: Responsive

• More than a “line of code”

• Set of conditional statement that enables specific styles

• If the screen size is x, then display y

• If the screen size is x, then increase headline size to y

• If screen size is x, then show image at 100%

• Detects screen size, not device type

Uses media queries to detect screen size and alter content accordingly

#KISSwebinar

Responsive designis not supported everywhere.

Did you know?

#KISSwebinar

image: webdesignerdepot.com

Body copy 16px+

Headlines: 22px+

Bu#ons: 44px by 44px

White space: 40px+

Tappable touch targets

Mobile-Friendly Email

#KISSwebinar

Font resizing on iOS

Fonts smaller than 13px will be resized

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Font resizing in the Gmail app

Blue links on iOS

https://litmus.com/blog/update-banning-blue-links-on-ios-devices #KISSwebinar

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Impact of responsive email on click rates

https://litmus.com/blog/the-science-of-email-clicks-the-impact-of-responsive-design-inbox-testing

Impact of responsive email on click rates

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Responsive design results in a 15% increase in unique clicks for mobile users.

https://litmus.com/blog/the-science-of-email-clicks-the-impact-of-responsive-design-inbox-testing

Open Click SRLs

Control Email 5.1% 5.0% 30

Responsive Email 4.4%% 11.5% 58

Difference -13.7% 130% 93.3%

Act-On Case Study

image blocking

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Automatic image blocking

43%of users view email with images off

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Automatic image blocking

AOL yes

Gmail no

Outlook.com sometimes

Yahoo! yes

Mobile email apps sometimes

Apple Mail no

Lotus Notes yes

Outlook 2000-2003 yes

Outlook 2007/2010/2013 yes

Outlook for Mac yes

Thunderbird no

Does image blocking happen in…

https://litmus.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-email-image-blocking

Guide to styled ALT text: h#p://bit.ly/styledALT Guide to image blocking: h#p://bit.ly/image-block

<img alt="Litmus" width="200" height="50" style=“font-family: Arial; color: #ffffff; font-size:20px" border="0">

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Styled ALT text

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Styled ALT text

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Styled ALT text

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Background color pixel art

#SearchLove @meladorri

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Images as bu#ons = bad

https://litmus.com/blog/a-guide-to-bulletproof-buttons-in-email-design

buttons.cm

geotargeting

Where are opens happening?

Where are opens happening?

Where are opens happening?

Where are opens happening?

Where are opens happening?

Geotargeting

Geotargeting

62% open rate 58 tickets sold in ~48 hours

progressive enhancement

WebKit Targeting Media Query

#KISSwebinar

@media screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 0) { /* Insert CSS here */ }

h#ps://litmus.com/blog/a-bulletproof-guide-to-using-html5-and-css3-in-email

SVG Animation

Animated Snow

Dynamic Gravatar Animation h!ps://litmus.com/blog/behind-the-email-launching-community

Interactive Carousel

#KISSwebinar

Interactive Tour

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HTML5 Video Background

#KISSwebinar

h!ps://litmus.com/blog/how-to-code-html5-video-background-in-email

read rate

Dynamic Twi#er Feed

#KISSwebinar

h!ps://litmus.com/blog/how-to-code-a-live-dynamic-twi!er-feed-in-html-email

How long did readers spend on your email?

Watch

Email on the Apple Watch

Apple Watch shows the plain text version.

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Email on the Apple Watch

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A personal device that favors personal messages.

Links are disabled. No open or click tracking.

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// @meladorri

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The missing metrics

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KISSDATAlitmus.com/gi"card

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h#p://kiss.ly/growth h#p://kiss.ly/demo

Questions?

Justine Jordan Marketing Director

Litmus @meladorri

Kevin Mandeville Content Designer

Litmus @KevinMandeville