Are you having trouble deciding between sending HTML or plain text emails when setting up your email marketing campaigns? Doing a simple search on the internet will bring up several lists arguing the pros and cons of using one over the other, but the truth is you’ll be able to better optimize your email design and deliverability if you focus on both. Here are a few important reasons why you should keep both options available to your email campaign recipients.
Increased Accessibility
Any device and email service provider will display plain text, so including both means there’s a better chance that your email recipients will be able to access your email. If you include plain text as well as HTML, your emails will reach the inboxes of people who choose to block HTML emails. Web Marketing Today makes a good point stating, “With so many different smartphones and tablets, it’s important to be able to display your company’s emails in the way that the mobile browser is best suited.” Even though many people have email service providers that display HTML, there are also many applications that provide their users with an option to disable HTML. If you want to increase accessibility, providing an option for both HTML and plain text will help you do so.
Improved Deliverability Rates
HTML emails that haven’t been coded properly run the risk of ending up in spam filters, more so than plain text emails. If your recipients have trouble downloading your images, or if they feel like there’s too many, they may mark your emails as spam or unsubscribe. If you provide a plain text option, there’s less chance of this happening, and a greater chance that your recipients will receive your emails. If you’re worried about deliverability rates due to HTML, offering a plain text version as well will help you cut down the risk.
Ability to Test Engagement
If you want to see if one works better than the other for your campaigns, you can do A/B split testing to figure it out. Sending both plain text and HTML allows you to discover what your recipients are more interested in receiving. Since email marketing involves lots of experimenting with different strategies until you find one that works best for your company, this is a great way to figure out what your audience prefers. If you only send one or the other, you’ll never know if including the other option will improve your campaigns.
Giving your email recipients the option to receive plain text or HTML emails is a great way to ensure access to your campaigns. Does your company run email campaigns? What has worked best for you? Share with us!