Be Aware of Format
Your e-mail “client” software (i.e., programs such as Microsoft Outlook Express and Eudora) most likely gives you the choice of sending e-mail messages as plain text, Rich Text Format (RTF) or HTML. The latter two enable you to control factors such as typeface, size, color and graphics. Which should you choose?
Most Internet users scan their e-mail in programs such as Microsoft Outlook, which enables them to “preview” messages prior to opening them. Viewed this way, Rich-Text and HTML messages that use lots of color and graphics tend to jump out at people, while plain text messages may be ignored.
That’s the good news. Bu you should also be aware that:
- A few e-mail client programs are incapable of displaying messages as anything other than plain text. Users of these programs may see your formatted e-mail messages as a bunch of text mixed up with undecipherable HTML code — if they can see it at all.
- Still other users rely on services such as Hotmail to handle their e-mail. When viewed through these services, your heavily formatted e-mail message may not appear as intended.
All factors being equal, the least risky way for you to send e-mail is in “safe” (if somewhat boring) plain-text format. But is this your only choice?
Things get easier if you use the services of a permission-based e-mail marketing company such as Constant Contact (also known as a list server) to manage your mailing list and send e-mail to clients. Many such companies allow you to create what are known as multi-part MIME messages. These messages contain a plain-text part for those who cannot receive formatted e-mail and a fancier HTML version for everyone else. Some even allow users to request plain-text-only messages when they subscribe to your list.
We’ll talk more about using permission-based e-mail marketing companies next.
Sending Web Pages as E-Mail
Assuming you have a substantial number of customers who prefer formatted e-mail, there is a slick trick you can do to really make your messages stand out.
You most likely have received e-mail messages that looks more like web pages than they do the typical e-mail message. You will most likely remember these because they did a better-than-average job of grabbing your attention. Guess what? If you have Internet Explorer 6.0 — and the ability to create web pages — you may be able to do the same.
The trick is to create a web page that looks exactly like the e-mail you want to send. Open this page in Internet Explorer and, from the File menu, select Send. Among your available options will be the ability to send this page as a pre-formatted e-mail message.
It is also possible to achieve a similar effect using later versions of Outlook for Windows. To do so, you need to create a web page in the format you desire and save it as Outlook/Outlook Express stationery. You then use this stationery as the template for your e-mail messages.
Bear in mind, these tricks only work if you send it to customers whom you know can receive formatted e-mail and who have high-speed Internet connections that are always “on.” Fortunately, this may be a substantial number of your customers.
You should also bear in mind that, among the services offered by permission-based e-mail marketing companies is the ability to create visually stunning e-mail messages by means of easy-to-use design “Wizards.” This way, you don’t have to be an HTML wiz to have professional-looking e-mail campaigns.
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