How To Create A Simple Custom HTML Email

As promised in the last post, here are the simple steps for creating your own custom email campaign.

HTML Email is still somewhat new, but it’s a great marketing tool. Try a simple email marketing campaign by following the steps below:

1. Create a new directory for your email campaign files.
For example: www.yoursitename.com/email_campaigns. In this directory you should include all the graphics and html pages.

2. Create a simple html email page design (the person receiving the email will be viewing in their email application not a browser). Remember to focus on your message. Save the page in the new directory that you previously created for your html emails.

3. DON’T use Javascript, Flash, style sheets, framesets rollovers or nested as the receiver of the email may not be able to view them.
LIMIT your use of graphics so as to ensure quick download and viewing of the email.

4. Always use correct absolute urls addresses for your graphics and links.

5. When your design is ready, upload all the necessary files to your web site. Now you are ready to test your HTML email document.

6. Open your Email Software. For example, if you are using Outlook Express (since it's the most popular), go to: create mail - insert - text from file - scroll to your saved HTML document.

7. Email a test to email to yourself before you sending to your subscriber list. You may want to send it to a colleague or family member who has a different email program to further test if most of your subscribers can view your email the way you intended. You may also want to create a ‘text based’ email for subscribers that may not be able to view your graphics.

8. To ensure consistency for future email campaigns, you should save your html page design as a template.

That’s all there is to it!

Create and Send HTML Email
These days it's quite easy to create and send your own custom designed emails.
Currently HTML email is so much more appealing than its predecessor 'text based email'. Studies show that text based email is falling behind fast in popularity.

What is HTML email?
A custom designed email looks like a custom designed web page. You can design the page layout using any color scheme you like. You can add photos of friends and family or if it's business related you can add your logo, product images, sale 'hooks', specials . . . the sky is the limit!

However, there are some things to think about before deciding to create a custom email.
1. Not everyone will see your custom design when they open their mail.
2. Graphics are slower to load and take up much more room than text.
3. There is not 100% support of HTML email on all computers.
4. Hackers can send viruses or other intrusive code embedded in an HTML email.
5. Users may have some settings on their computers turned off preventing the HTML email from being viewed.

Even with the aforementioned caveats, HTML email is rising rapidly in popularity and to top it off - it's easy to create your own custom HTML email!
Wanna know how? Stay tuned and look for our new post on 'How To Create A Custom Email Design'.
:-)