Comments on: Text Vs. HTML: Is Moderation The Key?

By: Award-Winning Autoresponder Series: What’s Working? - Email Marketing Tips on the AWeber Blog

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:07:48 +0000

[...] GMAC Mortgage had a particularly compelling design that, while simple (it looked to me like a personal letter sent by postal mail on company stationery) incorporated some nice, simple design elements such as their logo and a picture of the mortgage agent. A great example of “Light HTML.” [...]

By: Best of March 2008 - Email Design Roundup | Aizlewood 2.0 - Email and Online Marketing

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:21:20 +0000

[...] Text vs. HTML, the ongoing debate: http://www.aweber.com/blog/email-template-design/text-vs-html-is-moderation-the-key.htm [...]

By: » Learn From a Great Email Newsletter Example: Kayak - AWeber Blog

» Learn From a Great Email Newsletter Example: Kayak - AWeber Blog — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:14:21 +0000

[...] is exactly the kind of email that comes to mind (for me) when someone asks for an example of a “Light HTML” email message. They cleverly separate each section with a header (the destination name). They [...]

By: Carl V

Carl V — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:52:12 +0000

Good issue discussed here! Although I have not done any testing on this, it would seem that with video on the rise as well on the internet, one cannot underestimate the "visual" aspect when trying to get your message across.
All autoresponder emails look so alike, that a graphic approach does help to stand out nowadays, but I think that as with most things in life, moderation is the key. Sending paintings across would not do the trick either and could get you into trouble with some spam filters.
I think that most webmaster just cannot be bothered in putting some TLC an their emails and just want to pump out as many emails as (in)humanly possible to get that sale (that is perhaps another discussion topic: how much is enough for your clients?).
I personally feel more inclined to open a well designed HTML email as in my opinion, if the person who sent it took his or her time to work on this one message, chances are the products or services and their support will be also well taken care of.
I opt to send my emails out in both formats and let the client decide which format they wish to receive in their email client settings. That way you cater for the personal choice and preferences of your client and increase the likelyhood of having your email opened. No?

By: » What Can Barack Obama Teach Us About HTML Email? - AWeber Blog

» What Can Barack Obama Teach Us About HTML Email? - AWeber Blog — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:06:40 +0000

[...] A couple months ago, we posted about a possible compromise in the Text vs. HTML debate. [...]

By: Justin Premick

Justin Premick — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:31:13 +0000

TJ,

Good point about how demographics might affect your choice of format. I don’t know that plain text would necessarily be better for an older audience… but it’s plausible enough to test!

By: TJ McCue

TJ McCue — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:11:02 +0000

Text Vs. HTML: Is Moderation The Key?
Email Template Design – Justin Premick – August 2nd, 2007 – Permalink

This is a very relevant article. It seems an easy way to determine what is the best use of e-mail marketing is to think, “What would I want to read? What would cause me to click to get more info?” Chances are, most people would say that overdone HTML –too much bold, italics, colors, images—is a big turn off. It tends to scream “SPAM!”

As more and more e-mail marketing pieces head directly to the trash bin, it is much safer and smarter to give a professional appearance through your e-mails. Professional can be light HTML. Professional can also be well-written copy with a great, catchy first paragraph—no HTML necessary!

Perhaps the decision to go light HTML or text should also be based on the target group. For example, it would seem a younger, technologically savvy target group would appreciate some light HTML, while a more mature, old-school client might prefer the straight-forwardness of plain text.

By: Rian

Rian — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:44:15 +0000

Im currently testing an ecourse, but the main ecourse is delivered via HTML pages. The email sent out simply redirects people back to the HTML page. I’m wondering how this will do in the long run because it is one more click the user must make.

Anyone else running email campaigns like this?

By: Shiva

Shiva — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:54:06 +0000

Doesn’t anybody face the problem of images being blocked? In Gmail and Yahoo the images in the html mail are blocked by default, and the user has to explicitly click on a link like "Display images below" to see the images. Doesn’t this affect the open rates of html mails? Could you please address this? Thanks…great thread!

By: Rick D

Rick D — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:24:59 +0000

We send out a VERY heavy HTML newsletter about twice a month. The majority of my readers have Hotmail, Yahoo or AOL accounts.

Our open rates average about 50% and click tracking is 15-20%. I am curious how this compares to what others are seeing?