Responsive Newsletters: How to Make Your Emails Look Good on All Devices
One email, all screen sizes: Responsive newsletter templates make your emails easy to read.
Email is read anytime, anywhere: In the office or at home, but also while traveling on the subway, waiting in line, or getting a haircut. People like to check their email inboxes and have time to read newsletters. They use a variety of devices: From widescreen PCs, tablets and laptops to smartphones. That’s why it is important that your newsletters always look their best on all screen sizes.
What are Responsive Newsletters?
A responsive newsletter responds to the recipient’s different screen sizes and adapts the newsletter to the device. Your advantage: your newsletters will be optimally readable and user-friendly on all, with no need for zooming or scrolling. Depending on the device, call-to-action buttons can also be clicked by mouse or touch.
With responsive emails, your recipients see your content at its best upon first viewing. However, if you email is not displayed properly, most recipients show no mercy: 80 % of all users delete an email if its design is not responsive.
Easy-to-Read Newsletters with Responsive Templates
As a newsletter sender you know: open rates are one of the key figures in email marketing. Depending on the industry, type or content of the email, it can vary greatly. Each and every open is an opportunity for interaction. This could be a click on a call-to-action button or a link that leads to your store or website – and a conversion.
A newsletter is usually opened once. As a result, you usually only have one chance to convince your subscribers of the value of your offers, and you should make the most of it. A responsive newsletter design can help. It improves the readability of your emails. This, in turn, has a positive impact on your click-through rates and the success of your newsletter.
The call-to-action buttons mentioned above also contribute to the success of your email marketing campaign. In a responsive newsletter, they are clearly visible on any screen size and encourage action (i.e. click, interaction).
Most newsletters are created on desktops – and often read on mobile phones. If the newsletter template is not responsive, the email will at best be displayed in a much smaller size. If you have a newsletter that is not optimized for mobile devices, you can zoom in, but the text area will not fit completely on the screen and you will have to scroll back and forth. If you swipe incorrectly, you are likely to accidentally touch a button and get redirected. What is the result? The newsletter is closed out of annoyance and rarely opened at home.
However, with a responsive template, your newsletter is easy to read on any screen size and all content is clearly visible. To achieve this, a few things are adjusted to the screen size:
- Number of columns: Multiple columns are displayed one below another.
- Images: Images are reduced or enlarged proportionally to the screen size.
- Copy:Text field widths adjust to the screen and text wraps automatically.
Responsive CleverReach Newsletter Templates
Create eye-catching newsletters that look as good on a cell phone screen at the supermarket checkout as they do on a desktop monitor at the office with the CleverReach email marketing software. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about adapting your newsletter to different formats and optimizing for mobile viewing.
Our free newsletter templates are already responsive and look great on all devices. You can easily edit and customize them in our Newsletter Editor. You only create one newsletter and it is automatically adapted for all possible screen sizes.
How does that work?
Responsive newsletter templates are based on CSS3 code. This technology is used to query receiver characteristics such as screen size, format, and resolution. This information is used to optimize the newsletter: the shape, size, text and alignment of the columns are adjusted according to this information. This makes the newsletter easy to read, whether on a small cell phone display or an extra-wide screen.
Not only our templates, but also all the elements in our CleverReach Drag-and-Drop Editor are optimized for a responsive display. This allows you to create your own responsive email template according to your wishes and requirements.
Below is an example of a responsive newsletter from Primavera. Two-column elements in the desktop view automatically break in the mobile view:
Tips for Optimizing your Newsletter Template and Making it Responsive
Despite the responsive newsletter templates, there are a few things you can tweak yourself:
- In your email reports, see what devices your recipients are using to open your emails. For example, if 80% of your newsletters are read on a desktop, you don’t need to worry so much about mobile (although you should still keep an eye on it).
- Use a simple layout, especially if your newsletter will be read primarily on mobile devices. Complex layouts can look cluttered and distracting on small screens. Keep your design simple and clear.
- When writing your newsletter, keep the text length in mind. Because many elements in the mobile version are stacked instead of side-by-side, and the text is not as wide, the newsletter will already appear longer than the desktop version. So keep it short and to the point. Also note that the top CTA button often slides down in the mobile version. So keep the introduction short so that the first CTA is also above the fold on mobile.
- Avoid images that are too large, as this can slow down the loading process. We recommend an image width of 600 pixels and a file size of less than 1 MB – the smaller, the better!
- Choose easy-to-read fonts and adjust font sizes so they are easy to read on all devices.
How to Check Your Responsive Emails
You can see how your newsletter looks on desktop and mobile before you send it:
- Use our virtual preview directly in Editor to see how your newsletter will look on different devices (smartphone, monitor).
- Send out a test email and open and view your email in your inbox on multiple devices.
- A paid design and spam test also allows you to see how your newsletter will look in different email clients and whether it will be delivered correctly.
Send Out Responsive Newsletters with CleverReach
A critical part of the success of your email marketing campaigns is optimizing your newsletters for all devices. By using responsive newsletter templates and following the optimization tips, you can ensure that your content is optimized for any screen format and that your messages reach your recipients. Our CleverReach email marketing tool helps you create effective and responsive newsletters.