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The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer
08/19/2003
by Rich Hamilton, Jr
http://searchengineposition.com/
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 urls
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
urls 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 appearence. 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 t
hat doesn't require any lengthy tracking urls or has no affiliate urls, then text should be your format of
choice.
Moreover, if you do have tracking or affiliate urls 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 softwares have the ability to send email in both formats, but not all of them. There are still some that don't.
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