Email marketing has long been a favorite in the small business owner’s promotional toolbox. Stringent opt-in and unsubscribe requirements have given customers confidence that brand owners will respect their inboxes, sending only content that is of interest. Average open rates hover between 20 and 30 percent for most companies, with a few superior performers garnering open rates of over 80 percent.

Smartphones are radically changing the email marketing arena. It’s essential that your marketing emails are responsive, so they can be read easily and function flawlessly no matter what device customers use to open them. Two-thirds of all emails are read on mobile devices, so this is really, really important.

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Effective email marketing design for mobile devices extends beyond the responsive template. You have to think through how your customer will encounter and engage with your content. Long blocks of text may have their own appeal when the customer is using a desktop computer, but on a small phone screen, they’re impossible. Format your copy in short paragraphs, with multiple headlines that convey the point of the entire piece to the reader who’s skimming. (SPOILER: That’s almost all of them!)

Use pictures, charts, and interactive features whenever possible to encourage recipients to spend more time with your content and your brand. Encourage sharing by adding “Share this” buttons to particularly compelling aspects of your email; if your content is good, at least a few customers will add it to their social media. Finally, think about what it’s like to use your phone. Is it easier to tap a large, colorful button with your finger, or do you prefer to carefully attempt to touch a text link? Swapping text links for buttons can boost your email marketing’s conversion rate by up to 28 percent – great news for any business owner, and remarkably easy to implement.