Other HTML Newsletter Best Practices
There are several other factors that your marketing firm must be aware of when creating HTML newsletters as these items can affect deliverability and usability of your email messages.
Email size: HTML emails should fall into the range of 500-650 pixels wide because this is the size of the message windows of popular Web-based email services, like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail - varying on the user's screen resolution settings. Emails that are wider than that will require subscribers to scroll horizontally in order to view all of the information. Also, important information and links should be kept above the fold, or the vertical point of the message that is visible without scrolling. While scrolling vertically is not as big of a deal as scrolling horizontally, the main point of the message should still be visible to subscribers upon opening the message. That way, you can capture their attention and they can scroll down for further information.
Links: Like images, other rich media functions such as audio, video, and Flash should be hosted online instead of embedded in the email message itself. Using links to these items in your emails will make it easy to track which subscribers click-through to receive that information, and it will help prevent your emails from being filtered or blocked.
Landing pages: The website page that your subscriber visits after clicking-through your email message should be optimized so it is easy for subscribers to find the information they want. If the message simply links to your home page, many subscribers will leave the site instead of taking the time to search for the information. Landing pages should reiterate the offer from the email message, include additional information not found in the email message, and contain a link that makes it easy for subscribers to take advantage of the offer.
- CAN-SPAM compliance: The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 calls for unsolicited email campaigns to have several items in place in order for the message not to be labeled as spam. However, even if sending permission-based emails, these items should still be included in all messages:
- An opt-out feature
- A valid subject line and header (routing) information
- The physical address of the mailer
- A warning label if the email contains adult content
Also, it is very important that recipients may unsubscribe through the opt-out button or by replying to the message with common phrases such as “unsubscribe” or “remove” in the subject lines. In the past, responses like these sometimes bounced back to the members as the sender’s email address either did not exist or spam block would not allow the message to go through due to the subject lines. Senders must set up a valid email address for responses and the inbox must be monitored daily.
Subscriber management: Instead of just adding an unsubscribe button to the bottom of your email message, consider adding a link that takes subscribers to an account management page on your website. This is particularly useful if you offer more than one email newsletter as subscribers can choose to unsubscribe from one or all of your email lists with the click of a button, and it makes it easy for them, and your marketing firm, to manage their accounts.
Forwarding capabilities: Including a forward to a friend button makes it easy for your subscribers to share your emails with colleagues and acquaintances, which will increase your marketing reach. Plus, it gives you tracking capabilities that are not available if subscribers simply forward emails on their own.
RSS: The web-based nature of RSS goes hand-in-hand with email marketing. You can use this technology to drive more customers to your website, update your subscribers on corporate or industry news, and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. All of this translates into additional business and increased ROI.
Personalization and segmentation: To increase relevancy and response of messages, it is helpful to add recipients’ first names to the subject line as well as the body of the email and it reminds the subscriber that you have already established contact with them and have started to develop a relationship. Segmenting your list is another great way to increase relevancy as it allows you to target specific groups of users for offers that are tailored to their needs. More advanced email marketers can create messages using dynamic content which allows them to build one to one email messages that are highly personal to each individual subscriber.
Testing: Another way to ensure relevancy is to perform A/B split tests on email messages before sending them out to your entire list. All areas of an email should be tested, including subject line, graphics, offers, and call to action buttons. To perform a test, extract 10 percent of your list and divide those users into two or three groups. Send each group a different version of the email and carefully track response. This will show you who email produced the greatest results, and you can send that version to the other 90 percent of your list.
Spam Score: Another form of testing that should be done prior to sending out messages is to run the emails through a Spam Score feature. Spam score evaluates messages using specific tests that determine whether or not the message will be delivered as spam. Spam Score not only rates the message, it also gives detailed reports on the areas of the email that may present a problem so marketers can edit the message prior to sending it to the list. A low Spam Score greatly increases the deliverability of the message.
Tracking: Tracking campaign results goes beyond the number of subscribers that opened or clicked-through your message. Today, many ESPs have integrated Google Analytics so you can gain a better understanding of your subscribers’ online habits, which will allow you to better predict future responses. To learn more, read Listrak’s white paper “Using Google Analytics to Increase Reporting Capabilities”.
Reputation: A poor reputation will negatively affect the deliverability of your email campaigns. Email reputation is not determined by one single thing, it is the sum of many data points gathered over time. These include number of complaints, number of bounces, number of messages sent, and the size of the messages. If your marketing firm is deploying your messages, be sure to test their reputation at www.senderscore.com. To learn more, read Listrak’s white paper “How Reputation Impacts Deliverability.”
When used properly, email marketing is one of the greatest marketing tools as it is fast, personalized, interactive, inexpensive, and easy to use. Following email marketing best practices, such as the items listed above, will help you optimize your campaigns so you reach your goals, enhance your subscriber relationships, and increase your marketing return on investment.
