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By Pam Neely Could 6, 2022
Don’t overlook plain textual content emails. Typically, they will outperform fancier HTML emails.
Plain textual content emails are a minimalist marketer’s finest buddy. And whereas they’re typically seen as “old skool,” text-based emails are nonetheless learn and despatched on a regular basis. You’ve most likely been sending some your self.
So if paring your electronic mail messages all the way down to their easiest kind, or making your emails readable on gadgets like Apple watches sounds fascinating, hold studying. This text will cowl:
What’s a plain textual content electronic mail?
A plain textual content electronic mail is what it seems like: It’s an electronic mail message that solely contains textual content. There aren’t any pictures or graphics and no formatting. All of the hyperlinks are written out.
Right here’s an instance of a plain textual content electronic mail:
And right here’s the HTML model of that very same electronic mail:
The distinction between plain textual content and HTML emails
As you possibly can see within the examples above, plain textual content emails seem like… plain textual content. HTML emails look extra like a web site web page, full with a picture, a coloured background, and embedded hyperlinks – all of the visible components most entrepreneurs wish to have of their emails.
Perhaps most entrepreneurs, however not all of them. One survey of electronic mail entrepreneurs confirmed that solely 20% of entrepreneurs favor to ship solely HTML emails. 62% favor to ship a hybrid HTML/plain textual content electronic mail, and 16% really favor to ship solely text-based emails.
That is in line with electronic mail advertising and marketing finest practices. It’s additionally pretty straightforward to do. Nearly all electronic mail advertising and marketing providers let folks ship two variations of their emails – textual content and HTML. And lots of electronic mail providers will mechanically create a textual content model of each electronic mail.
When two variations of an electronic mail are despatched (utilizing “multi-part MIME format,” if you wish to get geeky), every subscriber’s electronic mail shopper will present both the HTML or the plain textual content model, relying on the settings within the subscriber’s electronic mail shopper.
For the e-mail senders who expressly wish to ship solely textual content emails, many electronic mail service suppliers permit them to arrange their electronic mail marketing campaign so it solely goes out as plain textual content.
Because of this you’re most likely sending plain textual content emails already – as a result of your electronic mail service supplier mechanically makes a textual content model of each electronic mail you ship.
When to make use of a text-based electronic mail as an alternative of an HTML electronic mail
So why do some electronic mail advertising and marketing providers mechanically create text-only emails? Is there ever a great purpose to ship solely a text-based electronic mail?
These are all nice questions.
Plain textual content emails nonetheless have their place. Listed here are 5 causes to make use of them:
- Plain textual content emails have a smaller file measurement than HTML emails, so that they load quicker
Textual content-only emails are nice in case your subscribers occur to have a sluggish web connection. So… say you’re sending emails to hikers within the backcountry or to folks in different distant locations. Should you despatched them a text-only message, they’d be extra possible to have the ability to learn it with out having to attend a very long time for it to load.
- Textual content-only emails could be learn on extra gadgets.
Plain textual content emails could be learn by “web of issues” kind of gadgets like Apple Watches, and even by apps that may learn folks’s emails to them whereas they’re driving.
This additionally means they’re higher for accessibility. For those who rely upon text-to-speech readers, these emails are simpler to be learn aloud for these with imaginative and prescient impairments.
- Plain textual content emails can have a extra private really feel.
Typically copywriters, coaches, or consultants will ship text-only emails as a result of they need their emails to seem extra private. And a plain textual content message does look extra like a message you’d get from a buddy.
How properly this tactic will work will rely in your viewers and your copywriting abilities. As soon as all the gorgeous footage and design are gone, all that’s left is your copy.
- Textual content-only emails is usually a good format for transactional emails
One different occasion the place you may see a textual content electronic mail now could be in the event you’ve positioned an order on-line. Not all ecommerce web sites ship text-only transactional emails, however many do.
You gained’t be capable to embrace product pictures or social media icon hyperlinks in the event you use a plain textual content electronic mail, however in the event you’re simply getting began with your online business, sending a plain-text electronic mail is an effective sufficient begin.
- Some ecommerce consultants say that “ugly” (aka plain) emails convert higher than “fairly” (HTML) emails
Why? They say as a result of ugly emails stand out within the inbox higher. There are additionally stories that ugly emails work higher for fundraising as properly.
The jury’s out on this – however you may wish to check the idea. Create a split-test of some ugly emails and check them towards your prettier HTML emails. Tell us what you discover out!
Do textual content emails enhance electronic mail deliverability?
No. However just a few years in the past, there was some dialogue on-line about whether or not or not plain textual content emails improved electronic mail deliverability. Finally, it wasn’t true.
AWeber electronic mail deliverability knowledgeable Chris Wong means that any fear about HTML versus plain textual content electronic mail supply is misplaced. He suggests,
The higher inquiries to ask are the next:
1 – Who’re your subscribers (are they Gmail, Yahoo, and so forth, customers, or are they B2B customers)?
2 – Has the person subscribed to be mailed and supplied their consent to be mailed, and are they anticipating your messages?
3 – Are the messages being despatched partaking to the person or are they being ignored, or worse, customers are complaining about them? Often have a look at your engagement fee tendencies.
There are numerous alerts concerned that contribute as to whether messages go to the Inbox. Relying on who you’re mailing and the Mailbox Supplier they reside with, that can dictate the place your focus ought to be. Main Mailbox Suppliers will closely weigh person engagement, each constructive and damaging. The evaluation from these can have a powerful affect on the place the messages go.
Be cautious of what’s in your messages as properly. After taking note of your engagement charges and bounce charges, then examine if any hyperlink domains are blocklisted, or if there are explicit phrases or phrases that is likely to be contributing to spam detection. It will entail testing your message, attempting completely different variations, in addition to performing split-testing, which could be useful to check topic strains and message content material, offering perception into what performs finest.
So set that electronic mail advertising and marketing fantasy apart. There are good causes to ship plain textual content emails, however electronic mail deliverability isn’t considered one of them.
make text-only emails look higher
Plain textual content emails could be “dressed up” a bit extra than simply plain textual content. That is particularly necessary for scannability and calls to motion.
As you most likely know, most individuals don’t learn all of the copy on a web page (you aren’t the one one who skims!). We are able to’t cease this conduct, so we now have to adapt to it. Even professional copywriters will make their copy straightforward to scan.
To make your emails simpler to scan, attempt:
- One-line or very brief paragraphs
- Bullet factors
- Easy characters to emphasise textual content
- Placing your name to motion on a line by itself
- Utilizing a postscript to focus on the important thing message of your electronic mail
- Often utilizing all caps (please use sparingly)
This textual content electronic mail from electronic mail copywriting grasp Ben Settle employs lots of these finest practices, together with one-line paragraphs, the decision to motion by itself line, and some phrases in all caps.
Clean up auto-generated plain textual content emails
So that you most likely have already been sending plain textual content emails, as a result of most electronic mail advertising and marketing providers ship each textual content and HTML variations of each electronic mail.
However have you ever ever checked how your plain textual content emails look?
Typically auto-generated textual content emails get a little bit garbled, so it’s not a nasty concept to do a fast spot examine of your emails earlier than they exit. You’ll most likely solely have so as to add just a few line breaks, however it can make your emails simpler to learn. That is very true in the event you are likely to ship HTML emails in a two or three-column format.
Right here’s how to do that inside an AWeber account. That is the view of the message editor. It exhibits the HTML model of an electronic mail message. To edit the plain textual content model, simply click on on the plain textual content icon within the decrease left-hand nook of the display screen.
After you click on that, you’ll see the textual content model of your electronic mail.
Even now, plain textual content emails have their place
In order that’s the 411 on plain textual content emails. They deserve extra consideration than they get. Relying in your viewers and your electronic mail advertising and marketing objectives, they may work rather well for you. And if in case you have any outcomes to share about plain textual content emails that outperformed HTML emails, we’d love to listen to about them within the feedback.
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