Tips to ensuring your emails work cross platform

Email marketers need to be aware of how different email clients display html. Otherwise, messages can be become mangled leading to ineffective marketing communications, negative brand perceptions and wasted budget. One of the worst aspects is that the sender often does not know that distortion has taken place.

A recent study discovered that only 59.68% of emails from 357 companies from US organisations were rendered completely in the recipients inbox with missing graphics or components (source: Silverpop)

So what practical steps can you take today to make sure your email marketing designs are rendered as you intended in the recipient's inbox?

Analyse your email contact database

If you do not have any people subscribed to your list using GMail, Hotmail or AOL then you do not need to worry about designing for these email systems. Conducting this analysis will allow you to understand which systems you need to design for.

Segment your email contact database

Take a commercial look at your database. Can you flag users of web mail clients to only send them the text version to reduce the need to ensure compliance across multiple systems. If the number of people on your list is only a very small fraction, is it worth the effort to ensure these people receive a fully optimised email design which you could send them the text version?

Use templates to minimise Errors

Using HTML templates which ‘lock-down’ table structure and styling allows you to reduce the chance you may forget certain aspects of the code. By using HTML editors such as the one within Adestra’s Message Focus, you can guarantee you are generating nothing but clean code

Avoid over-complicated html template lay-outs

Often, complicated designs breed problems. By staying within relatively straight forward HTML designs, you can reduce the number of times you may suffer problems.

Include an "if scrambled click here" link

Include links to versions of your emails to be read through a web browser. Many email systems include functionality to do this automatically, just be careful not to leave any personalisation code in there or any unsubscribe code.

Recommended wording includes:

Having problems reading this email? Copy and paste the below link into your browser

http://www.adestra.co.uk

Text version

Although only a small percentage of your audience will be receiving the text version, don’t forget them!

In a recent DMA study of email service provides in the UK, in Q3 2004, the majority of ESP clients' email databases contained between 15−20% if addresses that could only handle text email. This percentage varies by industry, but is often higher than you'd expect.

Test, test and test again

Open up accounts with all web mail systems and create a seed list of these accounts to ensure your message looks as intended in all the main systems

Monitor replies

If your email is suffering problems in a certain email system you may not find out about it, apart from when people reply. Make sure you monitor replies and then you are assured of an early warning should there be problems.

More information about our email marketing services

Adestra provide welcome tactical advice and input on our client's email marketing program. For more information about how we can work together with you to improve your email marketing, browse our email marketing services part of the site

Adestras Message Focus

Adestra have a proven track record in providing email marketing tools, technology, strategy and support for a number of large corporate players.

From product delivery for large publishers through to tactical direct response promotions for travel providers, all clients always benefit from the shared best practice and knowledge our team have gained working within email marketing since 2000.

For an overview of Adestra's email marketing services, please see our email marketing system, Adestra's Message Focus or for a demonstration, please contact us