Lyris decodes Gmail Grid View and how email marketers can use this drive additional engagement.
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Gmail Grid View – What and How this email marketing: Lyris
1. 1 Lyris Connections Blog
Excerpts From Our Most Popular Posts
Promotional Email in Gmail is About to Change – Welcome
to Gmail Grid View
By Philip Storey
For as long as I can remember, every single email client has displayed subject
lines in exactly the same way. But this week, that has started to change. Gmail,
continuing to rampantly innovate the experience that its users have with email,
are trying something new. And this time, it’s with subject lines.
This is how emails look in the promotions tab in Gmail, usually:
2. 2 Lyris Connections Blog
Excerpts From Our Most Popular Posts
And this is how emails look now, with the all-new Gmail Grid View:
Does this affect all Gmail users?
No. It’s currently a field trial, which means if you ask for it, you’ll likely be granted access to it immediately. You can
access the field trial here. Sign up – it’s awesome.
When will it be rolled out to all Gmail users?
This is unclear, and while we have no official word from Gmail on a release date, we think the field trial will be well-received
and likely go live for all Gmail users within six months or so. Therefore, ignore this at your peril.
3. 3 Lyris Connections Blog
Excerpts From Our Most Popular Posts
How do you design for Gmail Grid View?
Google Developers have created a thorough guide as to how you can do this on their website here. Litmus, our
partner for all things related to rendering, has also created a tool to build the code snippet for you. You can access the
tool here. Both resources are free and easy to use.
What else should I consider?
It’s possible that you will experience a fluctuation in Gmail open rates as Grid View starts to be tested by more users.
While we think that open rate is an interesting metric to monitor, you should not use this as a KPI but more of an
indicator. Many have been referring to open rate as a “retired metric.” You can read more about that from our friends
at Return Path here.
What does this mean for split testing subject lines?
It’s about to get a lot more visual and a lot more fun. Not only can you segment your Gmail subscribers and split test
subject lines, but you can now split test the different images you use in Grid View, too!