The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer
by Rich Hamilton, Jr
Which email format is more effective to use, Text or HTML?
A good question, many experts have been debating over for awhile now, is which email format is more effective. It all depends on who you ask, many people prefer the text format over the HTML format. There are also many people who would rather use HTML over the text format. You can pretty much draw a line right down the middle between the text users and the HTML users, it's that close.
The truth of the matter is that the most effective format to use for your email really depends on the offer you're presenting.
Both text and HTML email formats have their advantages and disadvantages. In this article I am going to go over the advantages and disadvantages of text and HTML email formats. Let's jump right in and start with the format text.
Text
Obviously the real advantage to using a text format is that you have a white background with black font making it very easy to read. The text format loads fast, no matter what size the email is.
If the email loads fast and is easy to read how can text formats have a disadvantage?
Easy!
The real disadvantage of using text format is when you are using email as a source of marketing. To effectively use email marketing you need to use some sort of tracking software. Without tracking you will never know if the subject line and/or email offer needs work.
The point I am trying to make is that people are very cautious about clicking on tracking and affiliate links. As soon as they see a lengthy url, they get the impression that you are trying to sell them something and immediately delete the email. With a text formatted email you cannot hide long tracking urls from the recipient. With an HTML format you won't run into this problem, which brings us to...
HTML
The biggest advantage of using HTML is that you can hide your tracking urls from the viewer. Instead of having a long url in your email offer, you can use a simple "click here". Not only can you hide your tracking url, but you can also mask it from appearing in the browser window.
Moreover, HTML has a lot of disadvantages. For instance, some people can't view HTML email, while others can view it with a limited amount of space. HTML email files can be sizable and take up a lot of space. Most people who use HTML formatted email use a lot of images and other graphics to make their email have a professional appearence. But they don't stop and think about the size of the email that they are sending, and whether or not their recipients may have limited space.
Sending large email files is a sure way to get your recipients upset. You don't want to strike out before you have the chance to swing!
You can see that both email formats have their advantages, as well as their disadvantages. As for which format is the right one for you, it all depends on your offer.
If you are sending an email offer that doesn't require any lengthy tracking urls or has no affiliate urls, then text should be your format of choice.
Moreover, if you do have tracking or affiliate urls in your email offer, then HTML is the way to go. When using an HTML format be conservative, not everyone has broadband, you'll find that a lot of people are still using 28.8k modems for their Internet connection.
When sending out an HTML email offer it should have a solid white background with black text, and absolutely no images or graphics. This way the email offer appears to be text and loads fast, when it's actually HTML. Your viewer won't be able to see your long tracking or affiliate url which will increase your click through ratio and that means more sales.
Most autoresponders and email softwares have the ability to send email in both formats, but not all of them. There are still some that don't.
Rich Hamilton, Jr is the CEO/President of www.ElitesMarketing.com a.k.a. Elites Marketing, Inc and the Author of: "Inside Internet Marketing" http://www.InsideNetMarketing.com
About The Author
Rich Hamilton, Jr is the CEO/President of www.ElitesMarketing.com a.k.a. Elites Marketing, Inc and the Author of: "Inside Internet Marketing" www.InsideNetMarketing.com.
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More Newsletter Marketing Articles
More By Developer Shed
 developerWorks - FREE Tools!
|
Hold your calendar on January 30, 2008 for this free webcast on the new i5/OS. Rational's Enterprise Modernization products will be discussed at this webcast as they help to drive the application development environment for this new System i OS. <br />And learn how i5/OS will take you to the next step of efficient, resilient business processing. You will hear about the new i5/OS capabilities as it will be the most significant i5/OS release in years. If you cannot join the webcast on 1/30/08 you can still use this link to listen to the replay.<br />
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Learn field-tested SOA principles, methodology, technology and implementation from the global SOA market leader - in a new e-book by an IBM SOA expert. Written by IBM Certified SOA Solution Designer Bobby Woolf, "Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice" is the ultimate insider's guide to SOA - a PDF e-book packed cover to cover with IBM's specific advice on how to make your SOA implementation a success.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Learn how you can extend modern application lifecycle management to IBM System z through the IBM Rational Software Delivery Platform (SDP). The Did you say mainframe? e-kit includes podcasts, webcasts, tutorials, white and red papers, demos, and articles designed to help ease the challenges of modernizing your enterprise. This complimentary kit for mainframe developers is a practical, how-to guide for making the most of an existing development environment, including the skills and infrastructure already in place at an established enterprise.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
WebSphere Process Server delivers a unique integration framework that simplifies existing IT resources. Often, as IT assets grow to support business demand, so too does their complexity and manageability. In this webcast, we’ll discuss how WebSphere Process Server helps deliver an SOA infrastructure that provides a common model to orchestrate, mediate, connect, map, and execute the underlying IT functions. Discover how WebSphere Process Server simplifies integration of business processes by leveraging existing IT assets as reusable services without the complexities of traditional integration methodologies.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to download a free trial version of WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced V6.1.1, IBM’s premier business process modeling and analysis tool for business users that offers process modeling, simulation, and analysis capabilities. IBM WebSphere Business Modeler helps you visualize, understand, and document business processes for continuous improvement.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Developer for System z, software that can help you deliver core development capabilities; the power of Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE); and rapid application development support to diverse enterprise application development teams. With comprehensive development tools to help create, deploy and maintain traditional enterprise and composite applications, Rational Developer for System z enables developers with different technical backgrounds to easily participate in important technology projects.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join us for this web seminar to learn how you can defend your web applications from attack. Learn about the 3 most common web application attacks, including how they occur and what can be done to prevent them. We’ll also discuss manual versus automated approaches for scanning and identifying web application vulnerabilities and how IBM Rational AppScan, an automated vulnerability scanner, can help you automate more of what you are doing manually today.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Learn how to implement a build management system that uses and extends your existing automation technologies. This tutorial shows, step-by-step, how to install and configure IBM Rational Build Forge to manage builds for Jakarta Tomcat from source code.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
The Eclipse community is constantly working to extend Eclipse's functionality. In this webcast, learn about some of the most important and feature-rich projects under development. From multi-language support to plug-in development, tune in to see what Eclipse is capable of now.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to learn how IBM Rational's Functional Testing solution enables you to implement automation your way, at your pace, with your existing staff. In this webcast, you’ll learn how you can eliminate redundancy of manual test scripts, reduce errors, and increase test coverage through test automation. After this presentation you will understand how IBM Rational Functional Testing solution can streamline your manual testing and make test automation easily attainable.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!
|
