By Pam Neely Could 6, 2022
Don’t overlook plain textual content emails. Typically, they’ll outperform fancier HTML emails.
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Plain textual content emails are a minimalist marketer’s finest good friend. And whereas they’re typically seen as “old fashioned,” text-based emails are nonetheless learn and despatched on a regular basis. You’ve in all probability been sending some your self.
So if paring your e-mail messages right down to their easiest kind, or making your emails readable on units like Apple watches sounds fascinating, maintain studying. This text will cowl:
What’s a plain textual content e-mail?
A plain textual content e-mail is what it seems like: It’s an e-mail message that solely consists of textual content. There aren’t any photos or graphics and no formatting. All of the hyperlinks are written out.
Right here’s an instance of a plain textual content e-mail:
And right here’s the HTML model of that very same e-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 need to have of their emails.
Perhaps most entrepreneurs, however not all of them. One survey of e-mail entrepreneurs confirmed that solely 20% of entrepreneurs desire to ship solely HTML emails. 62% desire to ship a hybrid HTML/plain textual content e-mail, and 16% truly desire to ship solely text-based emails.
That is in keeping with e-mail advertising finest practices. It’s additionally pretty straightforward to do. Virtually all e-mail advertising companies let individuals ship two variations of their emails – textual content and HTML. And plenty of e-mail companies will robotically create a textual content model of each e-mail.
When two variations of an e-mail are despatched (utilizing “multi-part MIME format,” if you wish to get geeky), every subscriber’s e-mail consumer will present both the HTML or the plain textual content model, relying on the settings within the subscriber’s e-mail consumer.
For the e-mail senders who expressly need to ship solely textual content emails, many e-mail service suppliers enable them to arrange their e-mail marketing campaign so it solely goes out as plain textual content.
Because of this you’re in all probability sending plain textual content emails already – as a result of your e-mail service supplier robotically makes a textual content model of each e-mail you ship.
When to make use of a text-based e-mail as an alternative of an HTML e-mail
So why do some e-mail advertising companies robotically create text-only emails? Is there ever a very good motive to ship solely a text-based e-mail?
These are all nice questions.
Plain textual content emails nonetheless have their place. Listed below are 5 causes to make use of them:
- Plain textual content emails have a smaller file measurement than HTML emails, in order that they load sooner
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 individuals in different distant locations. When you despatched them a text-only message, they’d be extra seemingly to have the ability to learn it with out having to attend a very long time for it to load.
- Textual content-only emails will be learn on extra units.
Plain textual content emails will be learn by “web of issues” kind of units like Apple Watches, and even by apps that may learn individuals’s emails to them whereas they’re driving.
This additionally means they’re higher for accessibility. For those who rely on 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 good friend.
How properly this tactic will work will rely in your viewers and your copywriting abilities. As soon as all the gorgeous photos and design are gone, all that’s left is your copy.
- Textual content-only emails could be a good format for transactional emails
One different occasion the place you would possibly see a textual content e-mail now’s if you happen to’ve positioned an order on-line. Not all ecommerce web sites ship text-only transactional emails, however many do.
You received’t be capable of embrace product images or social media icon hyperlinks if you happen to use a plain textual content e-mail, however if you happen to’re simply getting began with what you are promoting, sending a plain-text e-mail is an efficient sufficient begin.
- Some ecommerce consultants say that “ugly” (aka plain) emails convert higher than “fairly” (HTML) emails
Why? They are saying as a result of ugly emails stand out within the inbox higher. There are additionally experiences that ugly emails work higher for fundraising as properly.
The jury’s out on this – however you would possibly need to take a look at the speculation. Create a split-test of some ugly emails and take a look at them in opposition to your prettier HTML emails. Tell us what you discover out!
Do textual content emails enhance e-mail deliverability?
No. However a couple of years in the past, there was some dialogue on-line about whether or not or not plain textual content emails improved e-mail deliverability. Finally, it wasn’t true.
AWeber e-mail deliverability skilled Chris Wong means that any fear about HTML versus plain textual content e-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 participating to the person or are they being ignored, or worse, customers are complaining about them? Repeatedly have a look at your engagement fee traits.
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 detrimental. The evaluation from these could have a robust affect on the place the messages go.
Be cautious of what’s in your messages as properly. After being attentive to your engagement charges and bounce charges, then test if any hyperlink domains are blocklisted, or if there are explicit phrases or phrases that could be contributing to spam detection. It will entail testing your message, making an attempt totally different variations, in addition to performing split-testing, which will be useful to check topic strains and message content material, offering perception into what performs finest.
So set that e-mail advertising delusion apart. There are good causes to ship plain textual content emails, however e-mail deliverability isn’t certainly one of them.
How one can make text-only emails look higher
Plain textual content emails will be “dressed up” a bit extra than simply plain textual content. That is particularly necessary for scannability and calls to motion.
As you in all probability 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 habits, so we have now to adapt to it. Even professional copywriters will make their copy straightforward to scan.
To make your emails simpler to scan, strive:
- 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 spotlight the important thing message of your e-mail
- Often utilizing all caps (please use sparingly)
This textual content e-mail from e-mail copywriting grasp Ben Settle employs a lot 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 in all probability have already been sending plain textual content emails, as a result of most e-mail advertising companies ship each textual content and HTML variations of each e-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 thought to do a fast spot test of your emails earlier than they exit. You’ll in all probability solely have so as to add a couple of line breaks, however it would make your emails simpler to learn. That is very true if you happen to are likely to ship HTML emails in a two or three-column structure.
Right here’s how to do that inside an AWeber account. That is the view of the message editor. It reveals the HTML model of an e-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.
After you click on that, you’ll see the textual content model of your e-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 e-mail advertising objectives, they may work rather well for you. And when 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.
