Keep Your HTML Messages Out of The Junk Folder
Email Deliverability - Marc Kline - August 16th, 2007 - Permalink
The debate over whether to use an HTML or plain-text only message has not ended. In fact, it may not ever, because there are several good reasons to use both.
Ultimately, your decision will be based on your style and the voice you prefer to use to communicate with your subscribers.
There are other more minor considerations, like the deliverability of HTML messages. But they can be minimized or eliminated, and I would suggest that as long as you’re taking all of the appropriate precautions your message should make it to the inbox.
Make Sure That You Are …
In our Knowledge Base, you’ll find several articles with instructions and advice regarding your email marketing campaigns.
There, you’ll find a new article covering one of the rarely discussed factors regarding the deliverability of HTML messages, with advice on how to write them without landing your message into the junk folder.
August 16th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Great info! I use both plain and HTML to ensure to most email have no problems delivered and read.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
[…] Keep Your HTML Messages Out of The Junk Folder… […]
August 18th, 2007 at 3:58 am
One silly question.
Is it posible to place adsense in the broadcast/follow-up messages?
Is there any other alternatve for monetizing the messages?
Thank you,
August 19th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Keep up the GREAT work!
I enjoy and look forward to your weekly HTML emails, and would very much like them to continue.
Thanks again for such educational and interesting reads!
August 20th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Juan,
You’ve highlighted another way in which designing email messages is slightly different than designing web pages, much like you’ll want to make sure you’re adding your links properly.
Unfortunately, AdSense will not work in your HTML messages, since most email applications block JavaScript by default. And as of yet, the adoption of JavaScript into email is not on the horizon.
You *can*, however, use email to drive traffic to web pages that do have AdSense ads on them.
As an alternative, you may also put advertisements that *don’t* rely on JavaScript in your messages — banner ads or text ads that link to a product or service of your own or one you are marketing through a worthwhile affiliate or advertisement program.
Thanks for the added insight.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:04 am
Juan,
You bring up something a lot of people would like to do. Monetizing your email with adsense is against Google’s Terms of Service for Adsense. Your Adsense locations must contain content and can’t be designed specifically for the purpose of getting clicks on your adsense links. What you could do as a workaround is you Google’s Referral system instead. Basically put a link to a webpage on your site that explains (sales pitch more or less) what the referral link is all about and why you recommend it. A good one to use is Firefox or Google’s Toolbar. If you are successful with this you should make no less than an average of .50 per click. If not, it may be more like .01 per click. Google has a lot of referral programs other than their own. You should check it out on your adsense account if you are not already aware. You should review a number of those referral programs and design a single page for each on your site. Don’t just plaigerize someone elses work though. That will make your Search Engine Ranking go down since it is duplicate content. If you want to further discuss this, just respond to this post and we will exchange contact info somehow. Thanks.