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| eMarketing Tips and Tricks - October 14, 2003 |  |
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Check out our eMarketing Tools
Informative eBooks
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Today's Article: The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer Today's Ask Dr. Ebiz: EMail Resistance
The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer By Rick Hamilton 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 url's 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
url's 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
appearance. 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
url's or has no affiliate url's, then text should be your
format
of choice.
Moreover,
if you do have tracking or affiliate url's 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 software 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 ofwww.ElitesMarketing.com
a.k.a. Elites Marketing, Inc and the Author of: "Inside Internet
Marketing" http://www.InsideNetMarketing.com "Dr Ebiz" "I'm getting so much spam nowadays, I seriously wonder whether e-mail campaigns aren't becoming counter-productive. Are you noticing resistance to e-mail newsletters?" -- John Kerr, Many a Gem, Ltd. I am seeing e-mail newsletter responsiveness diminish and find that it's much more difficult to get a newsletter list to grow now than in the good ol' days. Reducing the frequency of your e-zines and upping the value of your content may help keep subscribers with you. You might also consider giving site visitors the option of signing up for your RSS news feed rather than an e-mail subscription. (See my articles on "Using RSS Feeds to Promote Your Website," Web Marketing Today, October 1, 2003, www.wilsonweb.com/wmt8/issue129.htm). You'll also find helpful tips to grow an e-mail list in my E-Mail Marketing Handbook "Copyright 2003, Ralph F. Wilson. All rights reserved. Used by permission."
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