Everyday Marketing Ideas

The Beginners Guide to HTML Newsletters

In the early days of the internet, HTML newsletters were largely viewed as a burden no one wanted to deal with. Believe it or not, plain text newsletters were actually preferred by publishers and their readers. Things are much different these days as more businesses have moved to the HTML format and taken their subscribers with them. This design tool is preferred for a variety of reasons, particularly the ability to get creative with the actual formatting, links, and a presentation that speaks to the reader in ways that simply cannot be done with text. For those who are not familiar with the concept, this guide will serve as a brief introduction to HTML newsletters.

Why Publish an HTML Newsletter?

An HTML newsletter carries a strong resemblance to the typical web page. This is because it is coded in the same programming language as virtually every website on the internet, HTML The obvious advantage this format has over text is visual appeal that oozes class and professionalism. While a good newsletter is more than style, the presentation HTML offers has continuously proven to deliver better results in the way of maintaining subscriber interest and readability. More notably, it delivers a presentation that helps marketers obtain more clients and increased sales.

Creating HTML Newsletters

The most important thing you should know about publishing HTML newsletters is that creating one requires a bit of coding. This could introduce some complexities whether you are a seasoned designer or someone with moderate skills. However, many tools exist to make the coding process far less labor intensive. A few popular applications that come to mind are Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage, and Expression Web, each of which includes comprehensive HTML editors. There is also a number of third-party services that exist for aspiring publishers who lack the abilities needed to design their newsletter template. The advantages of doing it yourself are cost savings and having complete control over customization and the design itself. Regardless of the route you take, take note that the best results can be obtained when having your newsletter designed by someone with the skills needed to get it right.

The Lowdown on HTML Newsletters and Spam

Even though HTML newsletters offer a plethora of benefits, all publishers and email marketers need to proceed with caution. This programming technology has been widely abused by spammers for many years now. For this reason, any email that contains HTML code is automatically placed under heavy scrutiny by spam filters, the special programs designed to block these intrusive messages and stop them from cluttering the readers inbox. The prevalence of spam has forced newsletter publishers and email marketers to get very creative with their campaigns. One common method is to give subscribers a choice regarding what format they prefer, and making sure your publication looks good and displays the most important information even if HTML is not fully supported by the recipients mail reader. Simply knowing such practices can spell the difference between a successful newsletter, and one that produces failed results.

Gary San is a best practices activist and advocate for Benchmark Email (http://www.benchmarkemail.com/resources/email-marketing-articles/Opt-In-Email-Vs.-Bulk-Email-Spam), a leading Web and permission-based bulk email service.