Think about the last time you checked your email. Chances are, you weren’t sitting at a mahogany desk with a 27-inch monitor. You were probably waiting for a flat white at a café in New Farm, sitting on the Ferny Grove line, or multi-tasking during a commercial break.
In 2026, over 70% of Australians open their marketing emails on a mobile device first. If your beautifully designed newsletter looks like a jumbled mess of tiny text and broken images on a smartphone, you aren’t just annoying your customers—you’re effectively throwing your marketing budget into the Brisbane River.
Let’s look at how to make your emails feel right at home on a five-inch screen.
The 'Fat Thumb' Philosophy
We’ve all been there: you try to click a ‘Shop Now’ button in an email, but you accidentally hit the 'Unsubscribe' link right next to it because everything is too small.
To avoid this, your call-to-action (CTA) buttons need to be "thumb-friendly." Aim for a minimum size of 44x44 pixels. Give your links breathing room. If you crowd your links, you increase friction, and friction is the enemy of conversion. This is especially true when you are syncing SMS and email to create a seamless mobile experience; both channels need to be equally easy to navigate with one hand.
Writing for the 'Scroll and Scan' Culture
Mobile users don’t read; they scan. If your email looks like a wall of text, your reader will hit 'back' before they’ve even finished the first sentence.
Keep subject lines short: Most mobile screens cut off subject lines after about 30-35 characters. Get the value proposition up front. The power of the Preheader: That little snippet of text that appears after the subject line in your inbox? That’s prime real estate. Use it to provide context that the subject line couldn’t fit. Use H2 and H3 headers: Break up your content into bite-sized chunks. Short paragraphs: Two to three sentences is plenty.
Technical Tweaks That Make a Difference
While design is important, the backend matters just as much. Large image files are the silent killers of mobile engagement. If a customer is on a patchy 4G connection while heading over the Gateway Bridge, they won’t wait ten seconds for your high-res hero image to load.
Compress your images and always use Alt-Text. Many mobile email clients (like Outlook for iPhone) block images by default. If your entire message is contained within a graphic, your customer sees a blank box. Alt-text ensures they still get the message even if the picture doesn't show.
Additionally, be mindful of your email platform costs. Some 'free' or budget tools have rigid templates that don't scale properly on mobile. Investing in a platform that offers true responsive design—where the layout automatically shifts from two columns on a desktop to one column on a phone—is non-negotiable for a professional Brisbane business.
Personalisation Beyond the Name
Mobile users expect a more intimate, relevant experience. Real personalisation isn't just about putting "Hi [First Name]" at the top; it's about sending content that reflects their location and habits. For a local Queensland business, this could mean mentioning a Brisbane-specific event or a weather-related promotion (like a 'Storm Season' discount or a 'Summer Heat' special).
If you find your engagement is dropping despite these tweaks, it might be time to look at your segmentation strategies to ensure you aren't sending irrelevant content that clutters up their mobile notifications.
Your Mobile Checklist
Before you hit send on your next campaign, take 60 seconds to do these three things: 1. Send a test to yourself: View it on your phone. Can you read the font without zooming? 2. Check the 'tappability': Can you easily click the links with your thumb while holding the phone with one hand? 3. Verify the landing page: Does the link lead to a mobile-optimised website? Nothing kills a sale faster than a mobile-friendly email leading to a desktop-only checkout page.
Ready to make your emails work harder?
Mobile optimisation isn't a 'nice-to-have' anymore—it's the standard. If you're worried your current email strategy is missing the mark, the team at Local Marketing Group is here to help you sharpen your digital presence.
Contact Local Marketing Group today to see how we can help you connect with your Brisbane customers more effectively.