Digital marketing has been built on email for many years. For most brands, the return on investment is easily quantifiable with minimal effort. Every marketing professional knows that email marketing faces a challenge. Email marketing is competing with a shrinking reader attention span. The average attention span to read marketing emails has been comparable to that of a fish for many years. However, new research by Litmus Email Analytics shows that email readers may have shorter attention spans.

Litmus analyzed data from billions upon billions of emails opened between 2011 and 2016 to determine reader engagement levels. Despite the fact that people’s attention spans continue to decrease, the findings from this study suggest the opposite. This is due to several factors. These findings can be used to help you modify your email marketing strategies to take advantage of this opportunity. Although it may not seem like much, an extra second or so of attention from readers can make a difference.

Capturing Audience

Litmus’ research shows that the average time spent reading emails rose to 11 seconds. This is almost 7% more than in 2011, according to Litmus. Although this may seem small, the Litmus research shows that people spend approximately 10% more time reading emails than they did in 2011. Although email marketing is effective and relatively inexpensive, it requires that marketing professionals carefully tailor their messages.

In these brief seconds, the goal is to get the reader to take the next step. You could click a link or download an attachment. Or, you could watch a video or consume other content. If you don’t get a reader to open your email within seconds, they will likely move on to another message. You may only need to make minor changes to improve your results after you have taken the time to research and test the messages and content that resonated with your customers.

Societal Influences On Attention Span

The short attention spans of modern consumers may be due to instant gratification. Information is now more easily accessible thanks to technological advances over the past decade. Thanks to mobile technology, it’s easy to find information anywhere. Consumers can search instantly for the answers they need and find content that interests their needs. Why would they settle for anything less?

We may have shorter attention spans than our predecessors, which could indicate our ability to process information more quickly. Reading email messages, especially marketing emails, is quick and easy. Readers quickly find emails they are interested in opening and scan the contents quickly for value. The reader will leave if marketers fail to provide value within a short time frame. If you design your emails so that readers are more likely to read your messages, you’ll get more interest in your brand and make them more engaged with it.

Mobile Email Statistics

One interesting trend is that people spend more time reading emails on their mobile devices than they do on their desktop computers. Users, especially those under 30, are more comfortable using smartphones and tablets to perform a range of activities, including reading emails, shopping, and playing games. It could be because of the ease with which most mobile devices are used. People browsing email on their smartphones or tablets are not in a rush. They may just be looking through emails while they wait, bored, or waiting for something. This trend is further supported by the increase in the size of mobile screens, which allows for a wider viewing area.

Marketers need to optimize marketing emails for mobile devices. Your credibility will drop if certain elements aren’t rendered correctly or appear distorted. Most customers will see this as a sign of poor quality. Mobile devices are increasing the attention spans of readers so make sure that your email content works flawlessly on these devices.

Seconds

Despite the fact that readers have shorter attention spans, especially on mobile devices, it is vital that digital marketers in Los Angeles grab readers’ attention. Here are some tried-and-true best practices to help you do this. These are some of the best email marketing tips you can use:

• Well-crafted previews. Mobile email clients usually display a list with the most recent messages, either in a tile or list format. The client will display your email’s subject and a brief preview text. Sometimes, the preview text can be set to display alongside your subject line. In other cases, it might display only the first few lines from your email’s body. Your preview text and subject line may not be interesting to users, so they might quickly ignore it and decide not to open your email.

• Mobile optimization. Your recipients can unsubscribe from your email list if your email does not display correctly on their mobile devices. Do not ignore the huge mobile device population. Your emails should be readable on both mobile and desktop devices. Your subject line should be short enough that it can be read on any or all mobile devices. Your characters are limited so keep your writing concise but precise.

• Compatible with multiple clients. Most email clients have their own mobile apps, so test your messages on several clients. It is worth testing your messages on as many clients as possible. If your emails aren’t rendering properly, clients won’t be inclined to read your content.

• Engaging “above” the fold. When a reader opens an email it is taken into account that the content visible on the screen immediately after opening is done. The “below-the-fold” content will be visible if the reader scrolls below the first screen. Be sure to grab readers’ attention with anything that occupies the space above the fold. To engage your audience quickly, use stunning photographs or images with bold headlines.

• Keep it simple. Your goal is to grab your reader’s attention but not overdo it. Emails that contain large images and high-resolution graphics may take longer to load. Do not embed any text or important information into an image. If download times are slow, users may abandon the message and click on another link. Make sure your email file is not too big by checking the image coding.

• Only use credible links. Linking is a way to build authority. Make sure you don’t send your subscribers broken links. If a reader clicks on broken links in your emails, they will stop paying attention.

These are only general tips to improve your email marketing success. You’ll likely have other factors that you need to consider depending on your business model and goals. You should regularly evaluate the open rate of your emails and measure how much time readers spend reading your messages. You can experiment with different content styles and techniques to find the best fit for your mailing list.

Lasts Forever 

You shouldn’t assume that people will pay more attention to your marketing emails. Marketing is a constant bombardment of consumers in modern life. Your email marketing should be tailored to build your credibility and reputation among your customers. They will trust you in the future. Marketers should be able to quickly capture readers’ attention.

The Litmus study reveals that email marketing is all about quickly establishing value. It is important to plan your email marketing and test the effectiveness of your emails across different devices and clients. You’ll eventually find a formula that engages readers and encourages them to explore other offerings from your brand.