Quick – what’s the first thing you did this morning?

For a lot of Americans, the answer is “reached for my phone.” In fact, according to IDC Research, 80 percent of smartphone users check their device within 15 minutes of waking up – and that convenience is waking up a marketing channel many thought was nearly extinct: email.

So how do you harness the immense power of mobile quickly and cost-effectively to capture success with email?

People expect advertisers and marketers to use available data. If men over 50 exclusively use your product, don’t promote it to women under 25. Not only is it wasteful, but it can also damage your brand in their eyes.

Make sure your messages are easily read on any platform, including mobile. Look into responsive design so your note looks great on every screen. Determine what you want mobile users to do, then make it easy for them to click and do it.

Beware of how often you contact your audience. Be frequent enough to stay top-of-mind, but not so frequent that you trigger the dreaded “unsubscribe.” Email is a long-term play, so plan for more than one-and-done to see real success.

And the next time you hear someone say email is dead, remind them how often they check their phone.