Getting HTML autoresponder messages to display properly in the most popular email clients can be a nightmare for email writers. Fortunately, by following these three simple steps you can be sure that your message will be seen as you intended it.
Keep It Simple
Your email reader was never designed to be a web browser and will simply choke on the latest CSS and XHTML layout tricks. The answer is to keep your email layouts and designs simple by using tables to position elements where you want them, like you did back in 1998.
By the same token you should avoid any browser technology such as Javascript or Flash. While they make a web page look pretty they cause havoc with many email programs.
Short And Sweet
Most email software has a limited space for displaying messages, so keep your newsletters concise to save your reader from having to endlessly scroll through your email.
A better option would be to use your newsletter to give your readers a juicy taster of what they can expect and include a hyperlink to send them to a dedicated web page that contains the full story. This web page can also host any video or flash animation that is simply too big or otherwise unsuitable for email delivery.
Text Only Version
Most autoresponder services allow you to include a text only version of your newsletter and it is highly recommended that you do so.
See, while your fancy HTML autoresponder message will be viewed and enjoyed by most readers there are still a few die-hard fans of simple text who would miss out if you failed to include a text only option. Of course you should still include a link to the online edition of your newsletter so they can view your full multimedia version if they wish.
In a nutshell, we have seen that by keeping your HTML autoresponder messages simple you can still make them visually engaging to the vast majority of your newsletter subscribers. Everyone else will receive your text only version automatically.
If it still sounds like too much trouble you can always use and adapt one of the many stylish HTML newsletter templates supplied for free by your autoresponder provider. See how easy it is by watching the video tutorials.
About this Author
Using HTML newsletters to promote your business is cost effective and highly responsive. This is why I wrote Sequential Autoresponder Marketing, a concise easy to read report that covers each aspect of setting up and running a successful email marketing campaign.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Heywood
