The past year has brought many changes to the email world…

• New email clients, apps & operating systems

• Email deliverability, security & spam advancements

• Email client updates & changes

• Email design industry advancements

• Email client market share stats

NEW EMAIL CLIENTS, APPS, & OPERATING SYSTEMS

IPHONE 6 & IPHONE 6 PLUS

Adjust your media queries• Earlier models of the iPhone had the same screen width

• 320px became the standard breakpoint for media queries

• This breakpoint won’t work for these bigger-than-ever iPhone models

• Adjust media queries relying on a 320px breakpoint to 414px

Optimize for the inbox view• Due to the larger screen size, more emails fit in the inbox view

• The iPhone 6 Plus has a whole extra line of preview text

• Use a recognizable, trustworthy from name

• Your subject line and preview text should work together to encourage the open

iPhone 5 iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus

See how your emails look on the new iPhones

Get screenshots of your emails on iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus and see what your subscribers see before you

send your next campaign

iOS 8 RELEASE• Like previous versions, it continues to

have excellent HTML & CSS support

• However, it no longer has support for video tag

• The play button will display on an included video, but tapping has no effect

• Consider using a still image with a play button and linking to the hosted video, or using an animated GIF

OUTLOOK FOR MAC

Experiment with advanced design techniques

• Just like Apple Mail, iPad, and iPhone, the latest Outlook for Mac 2015 uses WebKit to render

• Has great support for CSS and HTML

• If you’re seeing a lot of subscribers opening in WebKit clients, you can try using advanced techniques—like HTML5 video background!

• Use fallbacks for subscribers not viewing in those clients

Use defensive design techniques• Like its predecessor, Outlook for Mac 2015 blocks images by

default

• Use defensive design techniques, like ALT text, styled ALT text, and background colors to combat image blocking

Optimize for the inbox view

• Unlike previous versions, Outlook for Mac 2015 displays preview text—after the from name and subject line

• Lots emphasis on the from name—it’s first in the inbox and in larger text. Be sure to use a recognizable and trustworthy name!

• Use your subject line and preview text to encourage the open

See how your emails look in the latest Outlook for Mac

Get screenshots of your emails on the latest version of Outlook for Mac and see what your subscribers see before you send

your next campaign

TEST YOUR EMAIL IN OUTLOOK FOR MAC →

INBOX BY GMAIL

New organization for emails

• Sorts emails into “bundles”

• There are default bundles, but you can turn them off or create your own

• Must click into each bundle to view the emails contained within

Send relevant emails

• With the way Inbox by Gmail organizes emails, subscribers will find it even easier to pass up marketing emails

• Send relevant, useful, and timely messages

• Relevant content engages subscribers and increases the chances of them searching for your emails in the inbox

Highlights in the inbox

• “Highlights” showcase information from an email in the inbox view

• Use schemas to include these visible actions in the inbox

• Great for reservations and ticket information

Use mobile-friendly elements

• Responsive design isn’t supported in Inbox by Gmail

• Use mobile-friendly elements like large text and touch-friendly buttons

Optimize your sender image• Inbox displays a sender image

• If you have a verified Google+ profile, digitally sign your emails with DKIM or SPF, and send at least 100 emails a week from your domain, your sender image will be pulled from your Google+ profile

• Otherwise, the first letter of your sender name will display

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY, SECURITY, & SPAM ADVANCEMENTS

DMARC CHANGES AT YAHOO MAIL & AOL MAIL

• Emails that claim to come from @yahoo.com or @aol.com addresses—but actually originate from other servers—will be rejected by DMARC-compliant receivers

• This can negatively affect your deliverability and sender reputation

Send emails from a private domain

• If you’re sending from an ESP and using an @aol.com or @yahoo.com as your from address—STOP!

• Send emails from a private domain that you control. For example, we send from @email.litmus.com

CANADIAN ANTI-SPAM LAW (CASL)

• Went into effect July 1, 2014

• Opt-in law for organizations and ESPs based in Canada, or anyone sending emails to Canadian subscribers

• Applies to most marketing messages

• Transactional emails, warranty and safety notices, and purely informational messages are exceptions to the law

Express or implied opt-in consent?Express consent

• Subscribers opted in by providing their email address, marking a check box, and clicking submit

• During the opt-in signup, you must include:

• Your company name, as well as one piece of contact information

• Clear statement that they can unsubscribe at any point

• Information about what they can expect to receive for subscribing

• You can continue to email any subscribers that have express consent until they unsubscribe

Express or implied opt-in consent?Implied consent

• You’ve had an existing relationship with a subscriber within the past 24 months

• You can seek express commit during this period

• Starting July 1, 2017, implied consent expires after this 24 month period

• You must clearly identify yourself as the sender

• A physical mailing address must be included, along with a phone number, email address, or website address

• Your unsubscribe method must work for at least 60 days after the email is sent

• All unsubscribes must be processed within 10 days

• While your unsubscribe link can point to a preference center, you can’t require subscribers to login to unsubscribe

Email + unsubscribe requirements

• Keep records of whether your subscribers’ consent is express or implied

• Note the date and time of consent

• Record the source of consent and, if possible, the IP address of your subscriber

• Failure to comply to CASL can lead to fines of $1 million to $10 million per violation

• Starting July 1, 2017, subscribers can sue a sender if they believe they have received spam

Keep records to avoid penalties

Want even more detailsabout CASL?

The 2015 State of Email Report covers CASL in even more depth, plus gives plenty of advice on how to protect yourself

under this newly-instated law.

DOWNLOAD THE 2015 STATE OF EMAIL REPORT →

EMAIL CLIENT UPDATES & CHANGES

GMAIL: IMAGE CACHING• To keep images safe, Gmail began caching images for users

accessing Gmail via a browser and in the mobile Gmail apps

• Opens in Gmail web interface are now indistinguishable from opens made on the iOS and Android Gmail app

• Geolocation data is lost

Optimize your emails across all Gmail inboxes

• Although device detection is less detailed, you should continue to optimize across all Gmail inboxes—mobile and web

• If you relied on geolocation data for targeted emails, try a campaign or incentive asking users to update their location in your subscription center

GMAIL: AUTOMATIC IMAGE DOWNLOADS

Previously, Gmail disabled images by default. Now, it automatically displays images

Gmail opens see a major increase

• Email tracking relies on a unique image, usually referred to as a tracking pixel, in your campaign loading

• While Gmail formerly asked users to click a link to download images, including the tracking pixel, all images are now automatically downloaded

• Gmail opens increased 73% as a result

GMAIL: AUTOMATIC UNSUBSCRIBE

• Gmail web browser users can now unsubscribe with a simple click at the top right of a message

• Frustrated users can now easily unsubscribe from your emails—rather than marking it as spam

• This is great news for reducing spam complaints and improving your sender reputation

Implementing the auto unsubscribe• Only available to senders who are not known spammers, have a

positive sending reputation, and who utilize a “List-Unsubscribe” in the mailing header

• You can choose to use an email address, a URL (like a subscription center), or both

• If both are used (like in the example above), the latter of the two will display

EMAIL DESIGN INDUSTRY ADVANCEMENTS

THE LITMUS COMMUNITY

• The first email design and marketing community

• Perfect spot for email lovers to share information, start discussions, ask code questions, and work out problems together

• Registration is free!

LITMUS BUILDER

• The first code editor built specifically for email design

• Real-time mobile and desktop previews

• Images on/off views

• Customizable snippets

• HTML/CSS autocomplete

• Public sharing

• Drag and drop uploads

Other helpful features…

One-click email testing

In seconds, you can start a Litmus previews test, or send a real test to your own inbox

Gallery of customizable templates

Start your emails as blank slate, use one of our pre-tested templates, or create your own.

Get started with Litmus Builder

• Streamline your email build process by using the powerful email-specific tools in Builder

• Included in all Litmus subscriptions

• Or, you can sign up for a free, Builder-only account

EMAIL CLIENT MARKET SHARE

TOP 10 EMAIL CLIENTS IN 2014

In 2014…

• Mobile opens decreased 1% to 48% of opens

• Webmail opens increased 3% to 30% of opens

• Desktop opens decreased 2% to 22% of opens

In 2014…

• Android decreased 40% to represent 7% of opens

• This is a result of Gmail image caching—some Android mobile opens are now being tracked as webmail opens

• iPhone opens rose from 25% to 28% of total opens

In 2014…

• Apple Mail opens spiked to 38% after the release of the Yosemite operating system in October

• Outlook opens decreased about 33% over the year—closing out with 8.7% of opens

Where are your subscribers opening your emails?

Discover which email clients and apps are most popular with your audience with Litmus Email Analytics. Try it free for 14

days!

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Want even more tips and takeaways?

Get the 2015 State of Email Report (it’s free!)

DOWNLOAD THE 2015 STATE OF EMAIL REPORT →

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