The debate over [tag]text-only[/tag] vs. [tag]HTML email[/tag] usually ends up with a clear cut winner - the one the author favors.
I send [tag]multi-part email[/tag]s (the recipients sees either a text-only or HTML version depending on the settings in their email program) and my open rate (HTML only) has been running in the 50-75% range.
The HTML version of my emails looks a lot like text. I usually only include one small image and the formatting strongly resembles a text only email. So, why bother? Because, in the HTML version, I can include hot links, track open rate, and have some control over formatting – among other things.
An interesting example of an HTML email that looks like a text-only email came out of the Barack Obama campaign recently and was nicely dissected in the Adventures in Email Marketing blog – you can read the entire post here.
The author make some great points on some of the finer details of this email and how they could benefit you when composing your next communiqué. I especially like the transparency of exposing the https link instead of burying it in HTML.
If you have few minutes, this post is a quick and easy read and could help put some life into your [tag]email campaign[/tag]s.
