Should I send my emails in Text or HTML?

If you're not certain which to use simply test them both!

Which to use – text or HTML email?

Don't over compliment the process as the decision of whether you should use text or HTML email will keep you awake if you let it, I have been there. If ever I am asked my

If ever I am asked my opinion of the best type of email to get results I have to say without question always the one with the best content. If you write highly relevant killer content your subscriber will love your for it and interact with you.

Which Is Better? [New Data] by Niti Shah

In the world of email marketing, opens and clicks are everything, which means email marketers are always testing ways to improve these metrics. We'll tweak subject lines, calls-to-action, images, headers, layout, link positioning, copy, length, tone, content … the list goes on and on.

Through all of this testing, there's one hard truth we've discovered: Aside from proper list segmentation, nothing boosts opens and clicks as well as an old school, plain-text email.
Click here to download our free email guide for more email marketing and deliverability tips.

While the plain-text emails we created had some formatting capabilities (hyperlinks, tracking pixels, etc.), they were as close to plain-text as we could while maintaining the ability to track opens and clicks for testing purposes.

With that said, here's how we came to that conclusion.
Beyond Deliverability

The (relatively) old debate of plain-text vs. HTML is mostly centered around email deliverability. We won't be covering all of the deliverability best practices in this article, but it is important to have some context around that metric.

Having an HTML email does not hurt your deliverability as long as you have two things: a properly coded HTML email and a plain-text version.
1) The HTML email needs to be properly coded.

If there are broken tags in your HTML, the email provider and users can mark it as spam. That'll hurt deliverability — not just for that email, but also for any emails coming from that particular email address in the future.
2) The email should also contain a plain-text version.

Most email marketing tools will let you easily create plain-text versions within their email editor, so take those five extra minutes to create and optimize the plain-text version of your email. Otherwise, email providers such as Gmail or Outlook might think your email is dodgy — they expect legitimate companies to follow this basic best practice.

Sourse article…

The fact is that you will never please all of your subscribers and which some will enjoy a rich HTML formatted email others will prefer plain simple text. Not only that but subscribers to one list will be different to another so the simple solution is to test or even ask your subscribers which they prefer best.

Below is another article I particularly liked on this important subject by Heinz Tschabitscher

When in Doubt, Send Plain Text Email, Not Fancy HTML

Richly Formatted Messages Are Nice, But Not for Everybody

Using fancy formatting in emails is both nice, of course, and often useful to stress a point or pick just the font you like for legibility. Then, all these stationery (for the like of Outlook Express and Windows Mail) or letter (for IncrediMail) creations are fascinating to get started with rich emails.

Not everybody can or wants to receive rich-text messages with formatting and layout, however.

Some email programs are not fully capable of rendering the HTML used for rich formatting in email messages. Others try, but fail miserably (or crash), rendering your message unaccessible to the recipient. Even the programs and services that do support rich formatting can display your emails in unintended ways.

Other recipients have email clients that can properly render HTML messages, but despise rich formatting in email for various reasons (purity of the medium, bandwidth issues, security and privacy among others).
When in Doubt, Send Plain Text Email, Not Fancy HTML

So, whenever you are not sure a recipient appreciates email communication using rich and fancy HTML formatting,

send plain text emails by default, especially
if you have not previously exchanged emails with the recipient.

How to Send Emails in Plain Text

Here's how to send plain text only messages using various email programs:

Windows:
Windows Mail or Outlook Express: Send a Message in Plain Text
Outlook: Send a Plain Text Message
Mozilla Thunderbird: Send a Plain Text Message
IncrediMail: Write a Plain Text Message
Mac OS X:
Mac OS X Mail: Send a Message in Plain Text
Mozilla Thunderbird: Send a Plain Text Message
Outlook for Mac: Send a Plain Text Message

Web-Based
Gmail: Send a Message in Plain Text
Outlook Mail on the Web: Send a Message in Plain Text
Yahoo! Mail: Send a Message in Plain Text
Linux and Unix:
Evolution: Send a Plain Text Only Email

Send HTML to Users of Web-Based Email Services?

It is usually safe to send HTML-formatted emails to users of web-based email services like Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail.

Heinz Tschabitscher

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