E-Mail Marketing

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How to Format E-Mail Newsletters, Part 3 Dr. Ralph F. Wilson Editor, Web Marketing Today - Jan 13, 2009

In part 1 and part 2 we considered several factors in formatting e-mail newsletters. Now consider these tips about graphics:

6. Use Text for Your Offer, Not Graphics

One of the stupidest mistakes I see on a daily basis involves e-mail ads from major companies that consist entirely of graphics. They look great when all the graphics are downloaded. What they don't take into consideration is the fact that a large percentage of e-mails are opened by web mail users where graphics are automatically blocked by default. Instead of your wonderful graphic message being seen in all its colorful glory, your recipient sees only a bunch of empty boxes. Unless you've used ALT tags in your images, your recipient won't even know what the graphic was supposed to represent.

Yes, it's a good idea to include a message at the top of the e-mail: "Click here to see this message in your web browser" to provide a webpage alternative, but few have the incentive to click unless they see a compelling offer (which is contained in the graphics), so you're out of luck.

I know this advice runs against the mainstream of e-mail advertising today, but I stick by my guns: Use text to convey the essentials of your message; use graphics to add punch to the message. That way you know that at least your message, your offer, got through, even if your recipient didn't see your graphics.

7. Optimize Images for File Size

For the majority of Americans who use broadband, e-mails with large images can be fully displayed in a second or two. But for those who still use dial-up or perhaps a slow DSL connection because they're located some distance from the telephone office, they will have a terrible experience reading your e-mail if it is filled with large graphics. They might even curse you as they wait -- not a good start to building a relationship.

Therefore, best practice is to optimize every image for the smallest possible file size. Your designer should do this routinely, but many neglect this. Here's a good rule of thumb: If the graphic is a photograph, use a JPEG image type with a low to medium image quality. If the graphic is clipart or primarily fonts with few gradients, use a GIF or PNG image type. GIF images can display up to 256 colors, but the file size will be larger. Reduce the number of colors in the image as far as you can without noticeably degrading image quality. I try for 16 to 32 colors if possible. It makes for fast-loading graphics.

8. Create a Spare but Attractive Look-and-Feel

It's tempting to try to cram everything you can into your newsletter. But since people scroll down a newsletter to read it, choose carefully what you want people to see and place that in the downward eye-path.

Create a top graphic that doesn't take much vertical space. A tall top graphic may prevent people from seeing your content "above the fold" without scrolling. For the same reason eliminate any navigation buttons above your content that aren't absolutely necessarily.

Avoid clutter.

Elements to the left and right of your copy aren't usually very effective, so don't put important content there. Rather, use color and small graphics to create the right ambience.  If you need help with your newsletter's look-and-feel, hire a graphic artist to help you -- but make sure he or she reads this series before designing!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson founded Web Marketing Today in 1995, helping to train a whole generation of Internet marketers. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including How to Develop a Landing Page (third edition). All of his Internet marketing e-books are available for download with a $49.95 annual subscription to Web Marketing Today Premium, a $300 value.