introduction to web2.0

HTML Email Templates: Making the Most of Your Newsletter

Your email newsletter is one of those tools that you would use to communicate with your prospective customers, employees, and other entities that have signed up to know the latest developments on a certain topic. The key word to remember is 'signed-up.' This is one of the imperative aspects of newsletters and bulk emailing today, in general. Before you start to make any fancy design changes or go out looking for the fanciest HTML email template, the basic requirement that you must cater to is that you must get users to opt-in to receive updates and not send people unsolicited mail. Assuming that this very basic tenet has been accommodated, what should you look for when you are window shopping for templates for your newsletter?

One of the first things that you should look for is a template that reflects your corporate branding. This can be done by looking for a template that would already have your corporate colors in it. This is half the battle won. The next thing to look for is a template that will allow for logo customization or inserting a logo in the right spot. Most HTML email templates would allow a special designated place for your logo but if you can't find one that matches these requirements, then simply choose the simplest template and ensure that you get the source files for imagery and other aspects so that you can make the necessary modifications yourself. Remember that if you are going to end up doing this, you had better not be spending money on the template and that you choose a free template instead.

The next task is to set the layouts. Always try and keep the humble newspaper in mind when you create a newsletter. There is a danger that you could be setting the design up to look like an ezine but if this is not a worry then continue with this layout. If this might be a problem using a format of simple images on the left to corresponding with articles on the right with links is the simplest and easiest layout.

Most email clients will be configured in such a way that your images and downloadable information would be blocked out. Therefore, do not rely so much on images that their absence can completely derail your entire newsletter itself. This simply means good headlines and more robust content.

Some HTML email templates tend to be spam filter magnets. This means that you need to modify them or use templates that do not consist of one big graphic, bold and garish formatting, and other mistakes like calling from a non-http source. Fundamentally, this also requires some education from your side when it comes to spam filters. Take some time, do some research before you send emails, about spam filter backend logic and how they work so that you do not end up creating spam mail that will never end up reaching the people you are targeting.