Haydn Sweterlitsch, Executive Creative Director, Hacker Group, Seattle, WA. Presentation (in static form) from Seattle Interactive Conference 2013 (October 28, 2013). Topics included: Responsive Email Design, CSS3 functionality, unicode, designing for inbox, flat UI design, etc.

1. FIVE LIES
AGENCIES TELL
ABOUT EMAIL
Text
Haydn Sweterlitsch
VP, Executive Creative Director
Hacker Group, Seattle
Tuesday, October 29, 13

2. LIES,
DAMNED LIES
+ EMAIL DESIGN
Text
Haydn Sweterlitsch
VP, Executive Creative Director
Hacker Group, Seattle
Tuesday, October 29, 13

3. behold, the majestic email
like a cockroach, email
+is 354 million years old
61% of people read at least some email on a mobile device
Tuesday, October 29, 13

4. behold, the majestic email
like a cockroach, email
+is 354 million years old
+is sometimes seen as a pest
30% of people read email exclusively on a mobile device
Tuesday, October 29, 13

5. behold, the majestic email
like a cockroach, email
+is 354 million years old
+is sometimes seen as a pest
+is adaptable, mobile, everywhere
wireless market penetration in the US surpassed 104% in 2012
Tuesday, October 29, 13

6. behold, the majestic email
like a cockroach, email
+is 354 million years old
+is sometimes seen as a pest
+is adaptable, mobile, everywhere
+will survive nuclear war
More users (~78%) read email on smartphones than make calls
Tuesday, October 29, 13

7. email is the goat
Email is the most popular smartphone activity (~78% of users)
Tuesday, October 29, 13

8. email is the goat
+email is a machine
internet time on mobile devices outpaced PC in may, 2013
481 billion minutes vs. 477 billion
Tuesday, October 29, 13

9. email is the goat
+email is a machine
+design yours exquisitely
in structure
in style
in form
in function
The only mobile purchase influencer greater than emails is friends/family
Tuesday, October 29, 13

10. forces aligned against the email
+culture of zero
As of 2013, there are 3.6 billion email accounts
Tuesday, October 29, 13

11. forces aligned against the email
+culture of zero
+swipe/delete UIs
By 2016, there will be 4.3 billion email accounts
Tuesday, October 29, 13

12. forces aligned against the email
+culture of zero
+swipe/delete UIs
+tabs
82% of users open emails they receive from brands/companies
Tuesday, October 29, 13

13. forces aligned against the email
+culture of zero
+swipe/delete UIs
+tabs
+canned meat
This year, about 84% of all email traffic will be spam
Tuesday, October 29, 13

14. forces aligned against the email
+culture of zero
+swipe/delete UIs
+tabs
+canned meat
+OS, client anarchy
~66% of mobile traffic is on iOS
Tuesday, October 29, 13

15. design starts in the inbox
+clear subject lines are compelling ones
33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone
Tuesday, October 29, 13

16. design starts in the inbox
+clear subject lines are compelling ones
+agencies sometimes ignore preheader
+users never ignore preheader
64% of people say they open an email because of the subject line
Tuesday, October 29, 13

17. design starts in the inbox
+clear subject lines are compelling ones
+agencies sometimes ignore preheader
+users never ignore preheader
+the thunder+lightning of the inbox
Subject lines with fewer than 10 characters get an open rate of 58%
Tuesday, October 29, 13

18. symbols: what the $@!#?
+if a symbol is in a subject line and
users don’t see it, does it really exist?
Subject lines with unicode have a higher open rate in 56% of brands surveyed
Tuesday, October 29, 13

19. symbols: what the $@!#?
+if a symbol is in a subject line and
users don’t see it, does it really exist?
+no best practices
the sun symbol increases open rates 14.9%
Tuesday, October 29, 13

20. symbols: what the $@!#?
+if a symbol is in a subject line and
users don’t see it, does it really exist?
+no best practices
+no patterns
Airplanes (✈) show a 10.7% lift in open rate, umbrellas (☂) generate 50% lift
Tuesday, October 29, 13

21. symbols: what the $@!#?
+if a symbol is in a subject line and
users don’t see it, does it really exist?
+no best practices
+no patterns
+go for it
Unicode: 60% of the time, it works every time
Tuesday, October 29, 13

22. get responsive or gtfo
+adaptive
+responsive
+fluid
24% of brands don’t optimize email creative for mobile in any way
Tuesday, October 29, 13

23. get responsive or gtfo
+adaptive
+responsive
+fluid
image: @stammy
Paul Stamatiou, 2013
39% of marketers have no strategy for mobile email
Tuesday, October 29, 13

24. get responsive or gtfo
+adaptive
+responsive
+fluid
+optimize or die
87% of online retailers optimize mobile email (or plan to) in 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 13

25. get responsive or gtfo
+adaptive
+responsive
+fluid
+optimize or die
+always see #rwd
+why not #red
45% of 2012 holiday season emails were opened on a mobile device
Tuesday, October 29, 13

26. get responsive or gtfo
12 million monthly touch email program
+average 25% open rate
+50%-60% opened on mobile devices
+3% click-through rate
+click-through up ~400% since
introducing adaptive design
97 unique screen resolutions in 2010. 232 in 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 13

27. flat is so hot right now
Tuesday, October 29, 13

28. flat is so hot right now
+flat UI feels better to the touch/mobile (or is that just me?)
71% of mobile purchase decisions are “most influenced” by brand emails
Tuesday, October 29, 13

29. flat is so hot right now
+flat UI feels better to the touch/mobile (or is that just me?)
+lends itself to responsive design (or is it just timing?)
17% of Americans create a new email address every 6 months
Tuesday, October 29, 13

30. flat is so hot right now
+flat UI feels better to the touch/mobile (or is that just me?)
+lends itself to responsive design (or is it just timing?)
+lack of depth forces true hierarchy
Subscribers below age 25 prefer SMS to email
Tuesday, October 29, 13

31. flat is so hot right now
+flat UI feels better to the touch/mobile (or is that just me?)
+lends itself to responsive design (or is it just timing?)
+lack of depth forces true hierarchy
+simple ≠ basic
Monday delivery drives the highest revenue per email
Tuesday, October 29, 13

32. form + functionality follow function
+progressive disclosure
43% of mobile email users check email four or more times per day
Tuesday, October 29, 13

33. form + functionality follow function
+progressive disclosure
+persistent buttons
72% of B2B buyers are most likely to share useful content via email
Tuesday, October 29, 13

34. form + functionality follow function
+progressive disclosure
+persistent buttons
+horizontal scrolling
social sharing buttons increase email click-through rates 158%
Tuesday, October 29, 13

35. form + functionality follow function
+enewsletter: 10 million touches/month
44% of users made at least one purchase last year based on a brand email
Tuesday, October 29, 13

36. form + functionality follow function
+enewsletter: 10 million touches/month
+28% open rate
+62% opens on mobile (48% on iOS)
+1.5% click-through
+5.48% click to open rate
Personalized subject lines are 22.2% more likely to be opened
Tuesday, October 29, 13

37. form + functionality follow function
Tuesday, October 29, 13

38. five lies agencies tell (and believe)
+emails don’t drive ____, they drive _____.
+the most effective emails are _______.
+the single most important factor in email design is _______.
+_______ has largely replaced emails in importance.
+we have emails figured out.
Tuesday, October 29, 13

39. thanks for your time
+haydn sweterlitsch
+executive creative director, hacker group, seattle
+hackergroup.com
+@haydn_s
Tuesday, October 29, 13