By Pam Neely Could 6, 2022
Don’t overlook plain textual content emails. Generally, they’ll outperform fancier HTML emails.
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Plain textual content emails are a minimalist marketer’s greatest buddy. And whereas they’re generally considered 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 all the way 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 feels 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’ll be able to see within the examples above, plain textual content emails appear to be… 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.
Possibly 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% really desire to ship solely text-based emails.
That is in step with e mail advertising and marketing greatest practices. It’s additionally pretty simple to do. Nearly all e mail advertising and marketing providers let folks ship two variations of their emails – textual content and HTML. And plenty of e mail providers 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 shopper will present both the HTML or the plain textual content model, relying on the settings within the subscriber’s e mail shopper.
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 a substitute of an HTML e mail
So why do some e mail advertising and marketing providers robotically create text-only emails? Is there ever purpose to ship solely a text-based e 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 dimension 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. In case you despatched them a text-only message, they’d be extra probably to have the ability to learn it with out having to attend a very long time for it to load.
- Textual content-only emails might be learn on extra units.
Plain textual content emails might be learn by “web of issues” type of units 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 depend 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.
Generally 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 expertise. As soon as all the beautiful 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 may see a textual content e mail now’s when you’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 embody product images or social media icon hyperlinks when you use a plain textual content e mail, however when you’re simply getting began with your enterprise, sending a plain-text e mail is an effective 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 stories that ugly emails work higher for fundraising as properly.
The jury’s out on this – however you may need to check the speculation. Create a split-test of some ugly emails and check 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 number 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. In the end, 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 many others, 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? Usually take a look at your engagement price developments.
There are numerous indicators concerned that contribute as to if 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 needs to be. Main Mailbox Suppliers will closely weigh person engagement, each optimistic and unfavorable. The evaluation from these can have a robust 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 specific phrases or phrases that may be contributing to spam detection. This may entail testing your message, making an attempt totally different variations, in addition to performing split-testing, which might be useful to check topic traces and message content material, offering perception into what performs greatest.
So set that e mail advertising and marketing fantasy apart. There are good causes to ship plain textual content emails, however e mail deliverability isn’t one in all them.
The way to make text-only emails look higher
Plain textual content emails might be “dressed up” a bit extra than simply plain textual content. That is particularly essential 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 will’t cease this conduct, so we’ve got to adapt to it. Even professional copywriters will make their copy simple to scan.
To make your emails simpler to scan, attempt:
- One-line or very quick 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 e mail
- Often utilizing all caps (please use sparingly)
This textual content e mail from e mail copywriting grasp Ben Settle employs lots of these greatest 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 and marketing providers ship each textual content and HTML variations of each e mail.
However have you ever ever checked how your plain textual content emails look?
Generally auto-generated textual content emails get a bit garbled, so it’s not a nasty thought to do a fast spot examine of your emails earlier than they exit. You’ll in all probability solely have so as to add a number of line breaks, however it can make your emails simpler to learn. That is very true when you 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 exhibits 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 screen.
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 and marketing targets, they may work very well for you. And when you’ve got any outcomes to share about plain textual content emails that outperformed HTML emails, we’d love to listen to about them within the feedback.
