Emails in Internet Marketing- HTML or Text Format? Part I

Many newcomers to internet marketing get excited when they learn the rudiments of HTML and want to use it everywhere they can, including their emails. At first sight, HTML seems an excellent format for emails since they can be designed to look a lot better than just plain old text. However, there are pros and cons for each.

Why is it that some people love HTML emails and others detest them? One reason for both is that you can include a lot of fancy formatting with HTML and even include graphics or links to graphics. Sometimes this improves the readability of the message. If the message is long with several headers and lists, then it is much better if you can format the text with highlights, bold and underlining.

Lists look better if they are bulleted, and some passages look better in italics. Where links or URLs are provided, then true hyperlinks frequently work better than a simple URL, especially the longer ones that can lose integrity if they flow over more than one line. Some charts are better in color, and in fact color overall is sometimes preferable to an email only in black and white.

However, it is these same features that put many people off HTML emails. To some they look like adverts, and in some cases they are. Excessive use of hyperlinks and graphics by the overzealous user of HTML can add complexity to what should otherwise be a simple email message. For every useful message with an embedded voice mail message, there are several more that have been very badly compiled and are full of adverts.