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Why not to use PDF Newsletters

Andee Gale —

The reading experience of a PDF on a mobile is so bad that many don’t even bother to try.

Approximately 50% of emails are now opened on mobile devices. That means that every second email you send is being opened on a smartphone or tablet, and this figure just keeps rising.

Now, consider the impact if you have sent a potential customer a PDF document. The PDF was designed to be a digital 'page'.  A format for distributing content across the web and email, for printing out and reading, retaining the typefaces and graphics in exactly the location they were placed.

The reading experience of a PDF on a mobile is so bad that many don’t even bother to try. We have all been there, squinting at our mobile device — trying to read and navigate a school newsletter, white paper or restaurant menu that was designed to be printed at A4 size. If your readers have to pinch and zoom to read your email then you have lost them. Some may wait until they are back at their desktop to read it, but by the time that happens 10 other emails can take priority and the opportunity is lost.

In content marketing you need to strike while the iron is hot, and in email campaigns that's when the email is first opened — if your content isn't readable and easy to share at that moment then you're practically throwing away half of your precious email database. "71% of subscribers delete emails that look bad on phones".

Aside from the fact that PDFs are not readable on mobile devices, consider this: the number one delivery method for malware is through email attachments. This means that your email may end up in the spam folder before your customer even casts their eyes on it! 

So make sure, whatever product you chose for email marketing, it enables Responsive Web Design so that your potential customers get the best possible reading experience regardless of the device that opens your email.

This article originally appeared in the Hail Blog.