Html and Plain Text Email Writing and Formatting Guide

Writing emails that look great on any device is a must in today's digital age.

Plain text emails are the default format for most email clients, and they're read by everyone's email provider.

If you want to add some flair to your plain text emails, you can use simple formatting techniques like bolding and italicizing text.

To make your plain text emails stand out, use asterisks for bold text and underscores for italic text.

Responsive design is crucial for emails that need to look good on various screen sizes. You can't rely on a single resolution anymore, as devices have different capabilities.

The majority of computer monitors used to run at 800x600 resolution, but those times are long gone. Today, phones, computers, laptops, and tablets can run much higher resolutions.

To achieve responsive design, you need to set tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size. This helps prevent parts of your email from being cut off or graphics and text from being too small.

You should thoroughly test your HTML email layout before sending it out to your mailing list. This ensures a better user experience, regardless of the device used to view your email.

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Writing HTML and plain text emails requires a different approach, but some best practices can help you create effective emails in both formats. To improve deliverability, send your emails as plain text, especially if you're a sales professional sending cold emails.

Use clear headers to separate sections, such as all caps or symbols, to make your email easy to scan. This is especially important in plain text emails, where you can't use larger text or different colors to separate headlines from the content.

For plain text emails, use short, succinct copy, ample whitespace between sections, and clear headings that can be quickly glanced over by subscribers. This can be achieved by formatting with bulleted lists, having clearly defined calls-to-action, and avoiding unnecessary links.

Here are some tips for making your plain text emails more scannable:

Using clear headers is a must-have for plain text emails. Clear headers help subscribers quickly scan and understand the content of your email.

You can use all caps or symbols to separate sections. For example, the double asterisk (**) next to each headline and a row of dashes underneath makes the headers clear and easy to scan.

The use of octothorpes (or hashtag or pound symbols) is another strategy that works. Markdown uses a set number of octothorpes to denote specific heading levels (e.g. # is Heading Level 1, ## is Heading Level 2, and so on).

Consistency is key. Adopt a convention for styling those headings in plain text, and consistently apply that convention across campaigns. Your plain text subscribers will thank you for it!

Here are some examples of clear headers:

Using clear headers makes your email easy to scan and understand. It's a simple yet effective way to improve the readability of your plain text emails.

Some brands take a minimalist approach by including only a URL to view the full email in a web browser in their plain text emails.

This approach, while better than not sending a plain text version at all, still feels a bit careless. It's worth spending a few extra moments to honor your subscriber's preferences.

Another minimalist approach is to include only the main CTA, as well as the view in browser link, in the plain text version. This seems like a nice middle ground, providing your subscribers with content from the HTML part of the message.

Creating a well-formatted, scannable, and accessible plain text email just doesn't take that long, so it's worth the extra effort.

Another approach is to create a "plain text like" version of an email, which is actually an HTML campaign that looks like a simple plain or rich text email.

Writing your emails as plain text can improve deliverability. Sending cold emails as plain text will improve your deliverability.

You can write an email in plain text by selecting the option to send it as plain text in Gmail or Outlook. If you're a sales professional, consider using Emailchaser, which sends emails as plain text by default.

Worth a look: Plain Text vs Html Emails

You should avoid sending HTML emails as it increases the chance of them ending up in the spam folder.

Sending emails as plain text by default is a safer option, as seen with Emailchaser, which sends emails in plain text format.

HTML emails can be a risk, but plain text emails are a more reliable choice.

If you want to get in touch with us, you can do so through various channels. We're available to help with any questions or concerns you may have about writing HTML and plain text emails.

You can reach us via our contact form on our website.

We're also active on social media, where we share tips and best practices on email marketing and writing effective emails.

If you prefer to send us an email, you can do so at our email address, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

For more information on our services and how we can help you with your email marketing needs, feel free to contact us.

Plain text emails are ideal for transactional updates, like order confirmations, where clarity and deliverability are more important than visual design.

For contact forms, it's essential to consider the simplicity and focus that plain text emails provide. This format ensures that recipients can focus purely on the message, which can be especially effective for conveying urgent or personal content.

Plain text emails are less likely to be filtered into junk or promotional folders, making them a great choice for contact forms. This is because they don't contain the distractions of graphics or layout designs.

Here are some use cases for plain text contact forms:

By using plain text for contact forms, you can achieve higher open rates and enhanced click-through rates, as discussed earlier. This can lead to more effective communication with your customers and a better overall user experience.

Transactional emails can be plain text emails, and it's actually a good idea to keep them short and to the point. Your readers are skimming these emails for information, so design should be minimal.

However, a little bit of design can boost brand recall and create a more memorable email experience. Look at the way Nike designed this order confirmation email.

Email service providers prefer plain text emails over HTML emails because they're more likely to send them to the primary inboxes of their users. This is because people don't want to see HTML emails, which are usually used for marketing and can be a nuisance.

Plain text emails are better for deliverability, and sending them with Emailchaser by default is a great strategy.

People don't want to see HTML emails, which are often used for marketing and can fill inboxes with unwanted messages.

Email service providers prefer plain text emails over HTML because they don't want to fill users' inboxes with marketing emails.

HTML can be used as a vector for phishing scams, where hackers disguise links to steal login credentials.

Email service providers are more likely to send HTML emails to spam to protect users from phishing scams.

HTML emails invade privacy by tracking recipient actions, which is a major concern for email service providers.

Plain text emails are more accessible, making them a better choice for users with visual impairments.

There are many security vulnerabilities associated with HTML emails that are not present with plain text emails.

Having your cold emails sent to spam is not worth the risk of using HTML emails, despite their small benefits.

Transactional emails can be plain text emails, but a little bit of design can boost brand recall and create a more memorable and enjoyable email experience.

You don't really need to track transactional emails, which lowers the technical overhead of coding HTML email templates.

Nike designed a simple yet effective order confirmation email that gets the point across.

Transactional emails are best kept short and to the point, so your readers can quickly skim them for information.

You can't just slap together an HTML email format and expect it to work perfectly. You need to test it to see how it renders in different email clients and devices.

Testing is a crucial step in sending successful campaigns. You can try sending your emails to various accounts connected to different email clients, or use email testing tools to save time.

To thoroughly test your emails, ask readers for feedback on the format. If you get complaints about images not showing up properly or emails taking too long to load, it's a sign that you need to improve your design.

If you want to make email marketing easier, consider using Mailchimp. They offer HTML templates and tools to help with email marketing and automation.

Here are some key types of testing to consider:

Email on Acid offers unlimited pre-send testing with all their plans. This means you can perfect your HTML email designs without worrying about running out of previews.

Responsive design is key to making your emails look good on any screen size. This means designing your emails to adapt to different resolutions and aspect ratios, so parts of your email aren't cut off or graphics and text aren't too small to read.

You can achieve this by setting tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size they're being viewed on. This is especially important in today's world where devices come in all shapes and sizes.

Thoroughly testing your HTML email layout before sending it out to your mailing list is a must. This will help you catch any issues with responsive design.

Whitespace is another essential element for scannability. It involves including line breaks between different content sections, headlines, and CTAs. This makes links easily clickable and touch-friendly on mobile devices.

Don't make the mistake of using too little whitespace, like in the example of the plain text email with virtually no breaks between content sections.

Suggestion: Content Type Text Html

HTML is a markup language that uses tags to define the structure and content of a web page.

HTML documents are written in plain text format, which means they can be opened and edited using any text editor.

HTML tags are used to define elements such as headings, paragraphs, and links, making it easy to format and organize content.

A basic HTML document starts with the HTML tag, which indicates the beginning of the document.

The HTML tag is typically followed by a series of tags that define the structure and content of the web page.

Additional reading: Html Meta Http-equiv Content-type Content Text Html Charset Utf-8

What Is a Plain Text Email?

A plain text email is an email that only contains text.

Plain text emails don't contain links, inline images, or HTML code.

You can't expect to see bold or italic text in a plain text email.

Plain text emails lack formatting, making them simple and easy to read.

A plain text email is the most basic type of email, and it's still widely used today.

It's great for situations where you want to keep things simple and avoid any potential security risks.

HTML emails are the opposite of plain text emails, with the potential to include elements like headings, different fonts, images, hyperlinks, buttons, animations, carousels, and even interactivity.

They can be less boring than plain text emails, but require focus on accessibility and responsive designs to accommodate subscribers who open emails on mobile devices.

HTML emails also face the challenge of inconsistent rendering among email clients, which can make them look different in various email programs.

A plain text email, on the other hand, only contains text and doesn't include links, inline images, bold/italic text, HTML code, or formatting.

Plain text emails look personal and are great for one-to-one communications, whereas HTML emails look like highly formatted marketing emails.

You can't have hyperlinks in plain text emails, HTML is required to add them.

Responsive design is a must for emails, as it ensures they look good on any screen resolution, from phones to computers.

There's a huge range of screen sizes and resolutions out there, and you can't even count on different devices to use the same aspect ratio.

You don't want part of your email to be cut off because it doesn't fit a user's screen.

To avoid this, thoroughly test your HTML email layout before sending it out to your mailing list.

Set tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size they're being viewed on to achieve a good balance between display and legibility.

Responsive design is a must-have for email, as it ensures your emails look good on any screen size. This is because there are now phones, computers, laptops, and tablets with varying resolutions and aspect ratios.

You can achieve responsive design by setting tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size. It's also essential to thoroughly test your HTML email layout before sending it out to your mailing list.

Part of your email shouldn't be cut off because it doesn't fit a user's screen, but graphics and text shouldn't be too small to read either. This can be a delicate balance to strike.

Responsive design is key to ensuring your emails look good on any screen size. This means your emails are designed to adapt to different screen resolutions, aspect ratios, and devices.

The days of 800x600 resolution monitors are long gone. Today, phones, computers, laptops, and tablets run much higher resolutions, and devices often have different aspect ratios.

To avoid emails being cut off or hard to read, you can set tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size. This helps ensure a smooth user experience.

Thoroughly testing your HTML email layout before sending it out is crucial. This will help you catch any design issues that might arise on different devices.

Designing for email is crucial to ensure your message reaches your audience effectively.

You don't want part of your email to be cut off because it doesn't fit a user's screen, but you don't want graphics and text to be so small that they're hard to see, either.

Responsive design means your emails are designed to look good no matter what screen resolution they're being viewed at.

There was a simpler time when the majority of computer monitors ran at an 800x600 resolution, but those times are long gone. Today, there are phones, computers, laptops, and tablets capable of running much higher resolutions, and you can't even count on different devices to use the same aspect ratio.

You can do this by setting tables and images to different widths depending on the screen size they're being viewed on.

It helps to thoroughly test your HTML email layout before you send it out to your mailing list.