List Profit Email Marketing Blog

As you probably know, there is some debate over whether traditional “text only” or the newer HTML email is superior. Each has its proponents. “Text only” devotees argue that since most personal email is in that format, email marketing should be done that way, too.

On the other hand, HTML email has some advantages … the ability to include graphics, and the fact the result can be visually pleasing, chief among them. The other advantage is that most autoresponders can track the “open rates” of HTML email, whereas email open rates cannot be tracked for text messages.

It would seem you have to choose one or the other format, but it is possible to have the best of both worlds. How?

Create an HTML email that looks like text. You can still include graphics, and have the chance to track your “open rates”, but you don’t suffer the drawback (if there is one) of turning off some of your readers with your flashy “web page within an email”.

Here’s what you do. Create a table that is 65 characters wide (you DO break your lines there, don’t you?) and put your content inside it, using a standard email font such as Courier, Times New Roman, or Arial, using black type on a white background. Include any graphics or links that you care to.

The finished product is then sent as HTML email. It looks exactly like a text email at first glance, except for any graphics or links that you included. Most people will probably never notice that it isn’t a standard email. A few may think you are pretty clever for being able to get that graphic inside an otherwise conventional email.

The big advantage for you is the ability to track your open rates and include those graphics and links. You can even mask your affiliate links, if you’d like to. Limit yourself to one graphic, though, or you’ll run the risk of triggering a spam filter, and keep in mind that the mere fact your email is HTML will earn you fractional points from the spam filters.

Maybe you, like most email marketers, prefer to send standard “text only” email, but have wanted a few of the advantages of HTML …

Now you know how to do it.

Technorati Tags: HTML email, email open rates

One of the smartest things you can do when email marketing is to “personalize” your messages. What exactly do I mean by that? It’s really quite simple, actually.

Most good autoresponder services or software packages allow you to use “custom variables” to insert the recipients name or other personal information into your messages — use it!

Studies have shown that “personalization” can increase sales by a large amount — sometimes by as much as several hundred percent.

Your subject line is a great place to personalize. Why? Because the subject line is probably the single biggest factor in whether or not your email gets opened. If it arouses curiosity, or emotion, or appeals directly to the recipient, your subject line can be a powerful motivator — or a big turnoff.

The advice here is simple. Use the “custom variables” in your AR to add the recipient’s name to the subject line of your email.

It’s also a great idea to open your email with a cheery “hello [[name]]” greeting.

By the way, always use “Hi” or “Hello” for your greeting. Why? Because if your database does not contain a name for every recipient, that field of your email will either be left blank, or something like the word “friend” will b inserted there to “fill in the blank”.

Experts agree it’s also a good idea to try to sprinkle the recipient’s name at least once or twice within the body of your email. Don’t overdo it, of course. That is just as bad as leaving the name out altogether.

In one case, you may seem overly familiar, while in the latter case, your “impersonal” email comes across as “boilerplate”. Of course, it *is* exactly that, if it’s part of an automated campaign, but the point is to try to give your recipient the impression yours is a more personal communication, written just to them.

Writing a personalized message rather than a “to whom it may concern” message can be vital to the ultimate success of your email marketing campaigns. Learn how to do it right!