Have you tried to open an email on your phone, only to realize it’s too difficult to see because it’s in a tiny font? You spend the next few minutes pinching and zooming with your fingers, trying to enlarge the text so you can read it and see the images.

Chances are you’ll get frustrated and read very little — if any — of the email’s content, let alone interact with it or make a purchase. Another sale bites the dust before it even started.

“Not me,” you might be thinking. “My emails are mobile-friendly — my customers won’t experience this issue.”

Think again. You might be surprised to hear that what I’m is describing is considered a “mobile-friendly” email message. That’s when your email system automatically shrinks your message to fit the screen of the recipient.

The problem

Although the message might now fit on your audience’s phones, there’s actually a higher probability that they won’t read it at all. In fact, 69 percent of users say they instantly delete emails that aren’t optimized for their screens.

For real estate agents in particular, this can have a major impact on regular communications with potential customers, and, therefore, your overall business. Shrinking an email full of text is bad enough — but shrinking one full of property images is practically a crime.

The solution

Go beyond mobile-friendly with responsive design. A responsive email template automatically adjusts not only in size, but also in format and layout — so your email is easily readable on whatever screen your audience chooses, to ensure an optimal reader experience.

Consider an email campaign with eight to 10 of the latest featured property listings. On a regular monitor, the images appear horizontally across the screen.

On a phone, with a responsive design, the horizontal content is automatically rearranged to display vertically on a small screen, with fewer listings per row to ensure each one appears clearly. The text is noticeably larger and easier to read, while the rest of the elements fit the screen perfectly and are the ideal size for a person’s finger to interact with on that medium. No more pinching, zooming or squinting.

According to Google, approximately one-fifth of real estate-related searches happen on mobile devices, and the IDC Research Report notes that email is the most popular smartphone activity (78 percent) among users age 18-44.

The fact is, today’s consumers live in a multiscreen, on-the-move world. People conduct more and more business via mobile devices and tablets each year, and consumers expect businesses to be as mobile and tech-savvy as they are.

Think about how much time you spend preparing a home for a showing. Shouldn’t your email marketing for that home get the same attention?

Moving from a mobile-friendly format to responsive design can have a tremendous impact on the readability of your emails — and ensure your audience is regularly reading and responding to the latest listings you’ve shared. Be sure to turn your email campaigns into prime real estate.

Eric Krattenstein is the chief marketing officer at Mailify. You can follow Mailify on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Email Eric Krattenstein.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×