Marketing: HTML e-mail vs old fashioned snail-mail

Anyone had more success with one vs the other?

[balinor]

I run a business that targets a specific market, and most of my marketing is direct, either in the form of an e-mail, phone call or letter. I've been toying with the idea of using HTML e-mail instead of regular e-mail or snail-mail, and would love to hear what kind of success (or failure) you guys have had using one or the other. The way I figure it, the HTML e-mail will serve as an example of my work and might just impress a potential client more than a typed piece of paper would.

I know there are those of you out there who hate HTML e-mail, and while I respect your opinions, I would appreciate it if only those who have related experience to share would reply. Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Padraic

[Receptional]

HTML mail converts better according to the serious studies I have seen. Anecdotally people would disagree I think, but when push comes to shove, HTML generally wins.

[choster]

Use both.

Rich content, tastefully done, relays more intuitive information than plain text (obviously). Properly done, it can make it easier to find the relevant content or links of interest, and reinforce the branding and image of the company.

Technical users, however, may find HTML newsletters cluttered and heavy. You'll find many WebmasterWorld members who say they reject all HTML e-mail outright, and HTML e-mail is also more likely to get caught in spam filters. And there are those who use or preview their e-mail with non-graphical applications (I find it much easier to delete spam in Pine, for instance) for whom your HTML e-mail will be essentially unreadable.

We always let the user decide which version to receive when they subscribe to our newsletter, and send it multipart/alternative (one version or the other) instead of multipart/mixed (both versions together).

[lebhead]

I would also recommend using a combination both HTML and direct mail. However, I do know of a company who initiates sales by sending a 2-3 sentence, non-HTML, plain text email. They swear by it, and it seems to work. So basically, your guess is as good as mine. ;)