HTML Email Templates - 5 Email Layout Tips

Posted by admin on Jun 15 2009 | Email Marketing

HTML emails nowadays are being used widely for all kinds of professional correspondence. To have more appeal to your target market and consumers, the need to create your message with style is very important. An email could be read through a number of standalone email clients such as outlook, AOL and Eudora. There are also web-based email clients such as Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail. With these number of email clients, you need to be sure that your HTML email message is going to be displayed correctly to ensure that it will be read by your recipients. Here are some of the tips for you to lay out your HTML messages correctly and effectively.

1. Have enough white space.

Having enough white space in your email is important because having a ton of text in it will result in people not reading them fully. Making sure that you have enough space in between your paragraphs or even putting a line to separate your paragraphs will make it easier for your email to be read. Also, you need to make sure that you won’t put too much space either because this will extend the length of your email. Try to find the middle ground where you can divide your paragraphs with enough space so that it will not look very boring.

2. Have bullets for clarity of reading.

One thing to make your email clearer is by using bullets. Using bullets can give clarity to the readers since this will make it easier for them to follow your text. Bullets naturally lead the reader from one point of your message to the next. Having bullets, especially on the important topics in your email, is very useful because this will allow the readers to see them more clearly, giving you a better chance to point out the main idea of your email.

3. Select the right text format.

Selecting the right text format for your email is also very important. There are a lot of ways that people can read your email, it can be read through an email client program or it can be read through a web-based email client. You need to make sure that the text format of the letters that you are using is being widely used or rather more universal because this will ensure that there will be no errors in opening up your HTML email no matter what email client your reader is using.

4. Choose a good subject line.

Choosing a good subject line for your email is very important because this will be the first thing that people would check before they start to read your email. Your subject line will determine whether your email will be read or not because a lot of people are getting hundreds of emails a day and they rely on the subject line to see if they want to read the email or not. This will allow you to get to the attention of the reader and for them not to disregard your email. You also need to make sure that the subject line you choose is specific enough to get their attention and not just a trick for you get them to read the email. Choose a subject line that is specific enough that it will let the readers know what the email is all about.

5. Limit the scope of your email.

You need to make sure that you limit the scope on each of the email you send out. Each email you send out should have only one purpose. It is important that you only talk about one specific topic because this will allow the reader to understand the point that you’re trying to get across. You don’t want to send an email talking about a lot of things because this will confuse the reader and it will lessen the chance for you to get a response. Limiting the scope of your email will ensure that you will be getting the precise response to a specific topic.

By following these 5 tips, you can be assured that the layout of the HTML email you’re creating is done properly and correctly. With these tips, the chance of your HTML emails being read and responded to will definitely increase.

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Best Practices For Email Blasts

Posted by admin on Jun 13 2009 | Email Marketing

Email marketing has become more complicated as corporate spam filters have become more stringent and the FCC CAN-SPAM Act more refined. Our summary below describes how to increase the odds of your emails getting both delivered and read.

1. The money is in the list. Make sure you have a clean, targeted and preferably double (confirmed) opt-in list. Quality is more important than quantity for deliverability.

2. Get an Email Service Provider (ESP). Professional ESPs stay on top of best practices in deliverability. Research shows high quality ESPs have 30% better deliverability than internal servers. They also automatically purge bounced and bad email addresses. ESPs we recommend include Icontact, VerticalResponse and Constant Contact.

3. Make your subject lines eye-catching but clear and concise. Avoid words such as “New”, “Act Now”, or “Free”; phrases that are likely to be picked up by spam filters. Carefully screen your entire email for keywords that trigger spam filters. A good reference list of words to avoid can be found on the WilsonWeb website.

4. Include web analytics tracking tags in all emails. The ESPs mentioned above all have easy tracking code insertion.

5. Use code with absolute URLs and keep your HTML simple. Refrain from using long-string and dynamic URLs. Use a high text-to-HTML ratio.

6. If you are sending many emails to a particular company or through a particular ISP, consider listing with a Reputation Service. Reputation is a way for the internet service providers receiving your emails to easily separate SPAM from legitimate bulk email. One Reputation Service provider is ISIPP; typical rates are $100-$300 per month.

7. Test away! Test different design layouts with varying numbers of articles and graphics. Test different days and times of day.

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How Can Email Help You Earn Money Online?

Posted by admin on Jun 09 2009 | Email Marketing

Earning money online, especially with the highly advanced spam control of this day and age can seem like a hopeless task, but it doesn’t have to be. If done intelligently, and of course ethically, email marketing can open up a whole host of benefits for your online (or offline) business. The secrets to successful email marketing are setting up a good mailing list, avoid spamming, and making sure you maintain the interest of your potential customers.

Setting up a good mailing list can be relatively simple, and works on the same principle as the maintenance of the interest of your potential buyers. You must make sure to provide incentives for the visitors of your website or for past customers to submit their email addresses to your mailing list. How do you do that? Offer promotions, coupons, discounts or free samples and accessible, useful information in your newsletter.

Avoid spamming. Yes, your subscribers or list members, have agreed to accept commercial messages from you but make sure not to bombard your subscribers with all sorts of advertisements or hard sell marketing campaigns. That would be a major turn-off for anyone, and it would make it very easy for the “delete” button to be pushed. Or even worse hitting the unsubscribe button and reporting you as a spammer.

You could use your own servers and email program to keep track of subscribers, distribute your messages and update the subscriber list for bounces and unsubscribes, but that can be time consuming. A more efficient way is to use the services of an email distribution company such as getresponse.com or aweber.com

Maintain the interest of your subscribers. Keep in mind that nobody will read a fluff-filled, poorly constructed newsletter twice. The next time it shows up in their mailbox it will be deleted unread. Or even worse your subscriber may hit the unsubscribe button. If your newsletters have been interesting in the past, or have been a way for your readers to get free stuff, your email will definitely make its way out of the spam basket, be opened and read.

Keep things respectful, make your offers interesting and exciting. Don’t offend your customers’ intelligence by over-promoting your products, and you will have a long lasting, professional, mutually advantageous relationship on your hands.

As you can see, you can earn money online by way of email can be very easy if done correctly, all you need to do is build a trusting relationship with your potential buyers.

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