Shel Horowitz's Monthly Frugal Marketing Tip, March, 2006

Concluding our series on e-mail: you need to decide if you'll offer your newsletter in text-only (all the words in the same font, no bold, italic, colors, etc.), HTML, or both.

Each method offers significant advantages but also serious drawbacks.

HTML:

+ You can track the number of times it was actually opened, and the number of times any links in the e-mail were clicked--which makes it a much better tool for measuring responses among the people who actually receive it

+ When it works the way it's supposed to, it can look much more elegant (at least if set up by a skilled and experienced e-mail designer)

+ When it works the way it's supposed to, it provides a nicer experience to the recipient (if that recipient has broadband and has enabled display of graphics)

+ For retail businesses especially, the ability to see a product in the e-mail has been shown to substantially boost response rate

- Many people autosort all HTML mail into the "suspected-spam" folder, and may not bother to rescue yours

- It's hard to imagine just how ugly most HTML e-mail looks for those who keep graphics turned off (a wise precaution in avoiding viruses, and also a way of speeding processing of e-mail)

- Even if the graphics are enabled, HTML mail often doesn't display properly, and displays wildly differently on different computers

- Preparing and testing a properly designed HTML e-mail can be time-consuming and expensive

- Security issues, including viruses and spyware, are a major problem with HTML e-mail

Text:

+ Since HTML is a spam-flag, a higher percentage of your mail will end up in in-boxes

+ You can still convey graphics either by attaching files (if your recipients know and trust you) or by providing links to a graphics-rich version on your web page

+ Nobody passionately hates text-only mail

+ File sizes are smaller, and thus, downloads are faster--a significant issue if a lot of your readers are using dialup connections (if they live in rural areas or developing countries, of if they tend to be very budget-conscious)

- Nobody's yet figured out how to know if the e-mail has been opened and read

+ But you can still track the actions, by creating a special webpage link just for the readers of that issue

So there's the tradeoff: the ability to track and a higher percentage of readers taking action (HTML) versus a user experience that won't alienate anyone and a higher chance of deliverability (text).

Since I personally hate HTML e-mail and keep my graphics off anyway, I have chosen not to inflict it on my readers. But if HTML makes more sense for you, at least you know the tradeoffs. And there's some software that allows readers to choose their version and makes it easy to prepare it both ways.

Thank you reading this back issue of Shel Horowitz's Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips, published every month since May, 1997; please click here to view the complete archives, grouped by subject. Shel is an internationally known copywriter and marketing consultant, author of Grassroots Marketing Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and several other books, and creator of the Frugal Marketing web site. Please click here to contact Shel.