HTML newsletter

[webboy1]

Hi,

Im having to create an HTML newsletter for one of our clients. I have tested and found that it works ok. However i have 2 questions:

1) is it possible to send images within the newsletter? I tried this but the images didn't send. I guess this is because the source code cannot find the image once it is opened on someone elses machine. Is there another way?

2) I beleive that it depends on the settings of persons email facility as to whether they can receive HTML. am i right?

hope you can help

[zazen]

1) Like with a html page you would enter a link to the image.
2) right!

[Sinner_G]

>1) Like with a html page you would enter a link to the image.

Does that mean you can only view the images when online?

[Nick_W]

Yes it does.

Why not explain to the client that html emails are evil

Or... you may have to forgo the images, or put up with the fact that you'll be imageless to many users.

Nick

[zazen]

How about a pure text newletter as Nick suggested with links to your clients homepage with all the content and nice images?

[Nick_W]

Yes, good solution. Most email clients will render a text link as html so problem solved.

If you need to convince the client then tell him that many peopld automatically bin html emails for security reasons.

HTML email never invade my desktop ;)

Nick

[zazen]

> HTML email never invade my desktop

Yep! And btw I don't like to be logged every time I read the mail.

This point could be interesting for your client but it's definitively a reason for me not to subscribe several newsletters!

[webboy1]

Thanks Folks,

I already had an idea that HTML mails were a bad idea, and you have backed up.

Thanks for the info anyway.

webboy

[joshie76]

Personally I much prefer HTML for Newsletters, it makes it a million times easier to read. Take sitepoints 'tech times' - I used to get this in text and it was just a mass of text characters and nigh on impossible to read. Now it comes neatly formatted in HTML and I'm 1000 x more likely to read it. If they just sent me a link, I'd almost certainly think - "ooh I'll have a look at that later" and then forget.

Obviously much of it is down to the audience, sitepoint's audience are probably quite techy and likely to have an always on connection that should be quite fast.

If it were me I wouldn't say to my client that html emails are evil, I'd consider the factors such as target audience, how you got the list, what the newsletter's purpose is and weight my response accordingly. Can people signing up to the newsletter have any choice in the matter?

[Sinner_G]

joshie76 has a point here: give them the choice.

I dislike HTML newsletters for the simple reason that I use Lotus Notes and most HTML newsletter look awful with it.

[joshie76]

In answer to you question 1, I think there is a way of embedding your images in an HTML mail (they are basically sent as attachments). So in this case people would see the images even when they were offline.

Obviously this bumps up the size of the e-mail and a 28.8k modem user probably wouldn't like you very much for it but a guy with DSL probably wouldn't care less...

Here's some good articles on HTML mail:
HTML eMail Troubleshooter [webmasterbase.com]
All about HTML Email [hotwired.lycos.com]

Josh

[Eric_Jarvis]

simply sending a well worded promotional text paragraph with a link to a web based newsletter avoids ALL the problems and gets almost all the advantages

[tedster]

Eric, I totally agree. I think it was Nick Usbore (Net Words) who said "If your message needs a web page, it should probably BE on a web page."

[papabaer]

Definately! Well written, concise, text email is the way to go.

[Eric_Jarvis]

I was taught that if you can't hook the customer with a couple of sentences, then all the flashy stuff you can throw at them is simply wasting your time and theirs because you will NEVER actually make a sale

at some point you have to tell them why they want what you have

[joshie76]

I stand on a funny corner here as I do very few mailouts, but I personally like HTML mail and feel I should stand up for it;). At least as an option, not a necessity.

>>...at some point you have to tell them why they want what you have
Surely exactly the same goes for website itself, but that doesn't stop you using HTML.

You'll find gazillions of articles out there advocating HTML email and their 'increased clickthrough rates'.

"The clickthrough rates are noticeably higher on HTML email. Analytics show that customers are less likely to unsubscribe from HTML email than their text counterparts." from [pageresource.com...]

"Most importantly, we have found that well designed HTML delivers higher clickthrough rates than text. On a recent client campaign we received clickthrough rates of 9.8% on the HTML and 3% on the text format of an email with otherwise identical copy and offer." from [thedmco.com...]

Admittedly there are many people out there who you'll find that prefer plain text (most notably lacking any kind of statistic though). If I sign up to a newsletter I always ask for HTML. The reams and reams of horrible untidy ASCII with enormous URLS stretching on for ever make me ill.

It's not a simple argument and there isn't a simple answer.