Joy Of Code - Web Design Training and Consulting
Joy Gems Newsletter

Good Lookin' Email: Which Way To Go

By Bud Kraus
bud@joyofcode.com
Joy Of Code
Creator And Instructor

v3 i18
Originally Published: November 1, 2007

Two weeks ago, I re-launched this newsletter with the goal of serving you more effectively in this new format. I'm still using an online email service, Constant Contact (which, OBTW, recently went public). It's Constant Contact that does the heavy lifting, allowing me to send you formatted email every other Thursday, 12:30 PM Nutley, New Jersey Time.

By "formatted email" I mean email that looks good. It is not the more frequent plain text email that is easy to create and common to receive. Formatted email usually requires a good knowledge of Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language (XHTML or HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Make that a VERY good knowledge of XHTML and CSS (not to mention the skills needed to create an esthetically pleasing design for your email).

Why is this? Why do you need to know XHTML and CSS? Can't you just use templates that the online email services provide? Yes, you can go that way, but sooner or later you'll say, "Hey, I need to customize the look of my email. I can't be using this cookie cutter stuff."

When you send formatted email you are, in essence, sending a web page to all of your subscribers. That web page has to look right in a wide number of email clients (programs) which are, by no means, standardized. You have to deal with web based email systems such as gmail, yahoo and hotmail, plus the email programs installed on computers - Eudora and Outlook, for example. All have their unique ways of working with - or against - your designs.

Getting your formatted email to look right in a wide variety of email programs is something I can help you with - but I will save that commercial for another day.

At an early point you'll need to decide whether to use an online email service or to install a program which will blast out your email from your computer to your subscribers. In my case, I resolved that issue several years ago and chose an online service. Let me tell you why this is the way to go.

4 Reasons To Choose An Online Service Over Installing An Email Distribution Program On Your Computer

1. You're Not As Likely To Get Blacklisted.

Using an online service to handle your email marketing campaigns will spare you the possibility of being considered a spammer, and hence having your email blocked. Why? Instead of using your email address to send out your email from your computer, you'll be using the resources of the online service. That will protect you from having your emails considered as spam.

The last thing you want is for major Internet Service Providers to gang up on you and block any email you send from reaching its recipient.

2. You Won't Need To Be Concerned With Software Updates.

If you install an email distribution program on your computer, you will have to keep it up to date. Who wants to bother with that when, by using an online service, updates and upgrades are all done on the server side. You'll have one less annoying "Update Your Software Now" message popping up every 10 minutes.

3. You Can Track What Your Subscribers Are Interested In Using An Online Service.

Fess up. Isn't this a big reason why you send out email newsletters and campaigns - to track what your recipients are interested in? Of course that's why you're doing this. You want to turn their interests into actions.

When a recipient of your email clicks on something in the email, that event is recorded and made available to the sender. Online services archive all of this data which can be used in many ways.

4. Collecting Subscriber Email Addresses Can Be Integrated With Your Web Site.

Your web site can have a form to ask people if they want to receive your email. Once a user fills in the form's information, it is sent to the online service.

That's right. Grow your email list while you're sleeping.