More than 50% of e-mail recipients delete messages within two seconds of opening them, according to a study by Salted Services, a company whose product tests and measures e-mail marketing campaigns.
Two seconds? Wow. Details of the report are in BtoB Magazine. It goes to show that your message must be very carefully crafted—and brief—when using e-mail as a marketing tool. This goes for all aspects of e-mail communication, whether it be person to person, or to a more mass audience. If you're applying for a job and need to e-mail your resume, write carefully. If you need your colleague to respond quickly, or your boss to approve your request, make sure your core message gets through in that two second glance. Then add more information if necessary. Other details from the study include:
...mobile users spend longer reading messages than people using desktop computers. Google Android and Apple iPhone users were found to read messages for around 15% longer than people using Microsoft Outlook...
In fact, I just deleted a message, from a known sender, without even opening it. What do you think your average time reading an e-mail is?
