It appears we’ve come full circle with regards to speaking with our prospects and purchasers. I seen just lately that I’ve been paying lots much less consideration to on-line newsletters and people fairly HTML bulletins that arrive in my in-box every single day. There are a couple of exceptions in fact. However for probably the most half I’m within the CONTENT of what’s being delivered, not the design or graphics. When given the selection I not ask for the HTML model of something – as an alternative I select the text-only model.

There was a time when it was uncommon to obtain something however plain textual content into your e-mail field. Then we moved to designing branded newsletters and “postcard-like” invites that might seize the eye of our readers. Now, due to ever-improving SPAM filters quite a lot of these fancy invites, bulletins and emails aren’t even making it to our desktop. And for people who do get via the fire-wall, we’ve develop into jaded and bored with taking a look at all these designs. We simply need the knowledge – brief, candy and easy.

Taking part in on this hunch we just lately experimented with a consumer that has been holding a sequence of seminars. As is typical, invites had been despatched out utilizing HTML and branded design. However registrations had been down and we had been on the lookout for a solution to drive attendance. So we despatched out one other announcement concerning the occasion, besides this was a easy textual content e-mail. Within the “from” part we had actual particular person’s title. Within the “topic” line we inserted the title of the seminar. Within the physique of the e-mail was a sentence inviting the recipient to attend the seminar. We had about 3 key “what you’ll get” bullets and the essential description of the two hour session.

Inside 24 hours of sending out the textual content e-mail we acquired a further 10 registrants for the occasion. Because the occasion was capped at 25 attendees, this was nearly 50% of our viewers! We thought we may be on to one thing, so we did once more for one more consumer occasion. And once more, the outcomes had been comparable. The plain textual content e-mail out carried out the HTML invitation by over 50%. Why? I feel our brains are just a bit drained. You may examine this to strolling down the Las Vegas strip at evening. At first the lights are stunning and every part captures your consideration. However stroll the strip each evening for months and months and after some time these fairly flashing lights aren’t going to seize your consideration any longer. You’ll merely concentrate on arriving at your vacation spot.

Due to this, I consider that we’re coming full circle again to a extra old style method of speaking. I don’t have time to learn my on-line newsletters as usually as I would really like. However I discover that on Sunday afternoon I sit down and skim a number of print journals I get within the mail every month. The “cold-call” e-mail blasts by no means seize my consideration however final week I received a really intelligent unsolicited mail piece that gave me pause and truly received me to name the service supplier. And I just lately signed up for a webinar on superior search engine advertising and marketing methods that I realized about from a plain textual content e-mail that was delivered to me from the proprietor of the interactive consultancy.

Am I advocating that we eliminate HTML newsletters and bulletins utterly? In fact not. These have a spot in our advertising and marketing combine as does every part else. I’m suggesting that you simply contemplate alternating HTML with plain textual content and that you simply experiment with each. For those who’re holding an occasion, why not alternate every discover — the primary in HTML, the second in plain textual content, and so forth. And the day earlier than the occasion — ship out a plain textual content reminder. And let me know in case your response charges begin rising with this “old style” method to e-mail advertising and marketing.