After curating a marketing email that’s the perfect balance of text to images, taglines to icons, and all topped off with a killer call-to-action, the last thing you want is blocks of unsightly breakages. While you may be the composer of an effective email, you don’t get to push the buttons once it lands in an inbox. Ensure your readers have the option to view your masterpiece in all its glory with the “View This Email in your Browser” function.
A tried-and-true feature that has been debated for years, this alternate viewing method is still as relevant as ever. Understand exactly why this feature remains an important addition to each and every one of your marketing campaigns. No matter the demographic of reader or type of device, “View This Email in Your Browser” is going nowhere soon.
What is the “View This Email in Your Browser” Feature?
It’s hyperlinked text often located at the header or footer of an email, giving readers the option to view its online version. It’s a handy option for those who experience broken images or rendering issues when trying to view an email in their inbox.
It provides an unedited view for users who have customized settings that impact the appearance of some emails, or for those who simply find them hard-to-read in their native email client. It’s helpful to remember that some email clients automatically preset emails to not display certain text or hyperlinked images for security purposes, meaning even the most beautiful email doesn’t stand a chance. We think the browser view is still a relevant feature, and here’s why:
Engagement
Broken images and a formatting mess is one sure-fire way to have your email quickly sent to the bin. While the mess may be no fault of your own, you’re the one suffering the consequences. Campaign Monitor found that 57% of subscribers spend 10-60 minutes every week browsing marketing emails, and you definitely don’t want to be the one seen as a time waster. Ensure you’re always viewable to every customer so they can engage with the content you’ve created. Remember – a messy email has lower engagement, lower conversion and less revenue potential.
Email Formatting Faux Pas
In an online discussion on Litmus about this classic feature, one user said their mother uses an iPad and can’t stand an email’s format in her inbox. When her favorite company removed “View this Email in Your Browser”, she quickly emailed to ask for its swift return.
For a consumer, rendering issues are time-wasting and annoying. While it’s important to ensure you’re taking the necessary steps at your end to create an email correctly, a lot of the time, it’s your consumer’s email provider causing the headache. Many platforms default to not show images and hyperlinks for safety purposes, combine that with many users being unaware or unwilling to fiddle with settings, your email sends can suffer.
This is exactly why “View This Email in Your Browser” is a simple way to quickly guide your customer towards your true intention – an email you’ve curated and tailored to suit them. It’s a simple fix and a worthy result for customers committed to a smooth browsing and shopping experience. And when it’s just a click away, customers may be more willing to make the step.
Make it Work for Every User
Statista found that 61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands via email, making an effective email more important than ever. With such a dependency on the email, it’s worth marketers doing the little extras to ensure their users have options for the ultimate viewing experience.
If a customer can’t read your email or view your images, they’re more likely to head somewhere else for their needs. You may not be able to control their email platforms or the device they view it on, but you can control the options you offer. No matter the demographic of the user, their email platform or their chosen device, the “View This Email in Your Browser” hyperlink helps you even out the playing field.
Having that online version of your email available makes your campaigns more viewable and more shareable too:
- A hyperlink option allows users to bookmark the email to return to it later
- Having a URL attached to an email makes it easy to share around on many messaging services
- It allows users to use their Google translate Chrome plugin to reach an even wider audience
- Some readers may need a web version to activate assistive technology
Many email-building template programs include the hyperlink to help your customer list view your content, and several recommend you use it if you’re not already. A nice reminder that “View This Email in Your Browser” is very much still a major marketing tool. Another bonus for your email builder, the function uses hardly any real estate on your email either, with most customers used to finding it at the header or footer of a send.
“View This Email in Your Browser” is far from being phased out, instead ensuring your email is as accessible as it can be. Add this small-but-mighty hyperlink to your email sends for a reading experience to suit every user.
