Email Marketing - HTML & Text Emails
HTML & Text Emails
Using an HTML email does not tamper with deliverability as long as the HTML email is properly coded and in a plain-text version.
HTML emails aren't a hundred percent successful since it can become heavy if not properly coded and can decrease click through rate. The more HTML & Graphic content in an email, the lesser the click through rate. The key is to make simple HTML messages with less graphics.
HTML Email
Broken tags in an HTML email could lead to the email provider and users marking it as spam. This action would hurt deliverability, and would also affect other emails emanating from that specific email address. Emails containing lesser HTML elements have statistically proved to be of great significance.
Plain Text Email
Email marketing tools using an email editor allow one to quickly create plain-text versions, spend extra time to create and optimize the plain-text version of your email, this makes Outlook and Gmail service providers view your email as authentic. The Plain Text version has 25% more open rates than an HTML-rich email. Not only the open rates, but it has also got 21% more clicks through rates as compared to the HTML emails.
HTML Email Best Practices
Irrespective of the method used to create HTML emails, these best practices will help improve the design, user experience, and deliverability of your HTML emails.
1. Responsive HTML Email: A good looking and well-formatted email on a desktop can easily devolve into a tangle of illegible, overlapping text and images when viewed on a smartphone screen. To ensure your HTML emails look the way you intended across a wide spectrum of screen sizes, the best thing you can do is keep your layout simple and straightforward. When complex elements like multiple columns and floated images is being added, translating the format of your email for different screen sizes becomes more difficult.
2. Styling: Ensure styling looks simple and works on all screen layout.
3. Load Time: Be conscious of how long an email takes to load, always compress images and use them sparingly, use standard web fonts and an HTML minifier, also make sure your emails have a single objective and straight-forward in context.
4. Testing: Testing your HTML email at every stage of development is needed to ensure it works across different email clients, operating systems, and device types.
5. Simple HTML and Less Grpahics: Always make sure your HTML is coded in a simple and light fashion using latest mark-up and programming language with less graphical content in order to increase CTR - Click Through Rate. Users have limited time opening an email, they want to open and start reading immediately, so you don't want to keep them waiting for an heavy message to load.