Creating an HTML Newsletter is very similar to creating a webpage, with some minor twists on the old rules.
Now if you already know how to create a webpage then you won't have any problems. But if you're not sure, then you can always use a WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get HTML editors such as Microsoft Frontpage or Adobe Dreamweaver. Or you can skip all those steps and just download a newsletter template, and add your text.
The only real difference between a newsletter and a regular webpage is how it's designed and how its sent.
Let's Get Started.
1) Remove everything before the open (body) tag, and everything after the close (/body) tag. Then get rid of the body tags themselves. There should be (html) tag, (head) tag, (title) tag, (metatags), and no css stylesheets. The only remaining html code will be what you originally found BETWEEN your open (body) (/body) and close body tags - Tables, images, text, links etx.
2) No more javascripts - Email providers don't allow javascript in their email and they will disable it. So if you have any javascript within your newsletter then get rid of it.
3) No Flash, No DHTML, No Web Forms - Most if not all of time they will not work so your newsletter will be better off if you don't include them.
4) No more ads - Actually you can have ads, but just not the popular Google Adsense Ads. Google's Adsense uses javascript and javascript won't work in the newsletter. You can however find link exchanges, or other advertisers that use plain links for their ads, and include those in your newsletter. These ads, banners, and text links will work just fine.
5) No More CSS - Often designers will use CSS for a webpage's layout, but in the case of an html newsletter it would be better to use tables, instead of writing lines and lines of inline css code. You can set padding, background color, and lots of other table properties, just as you can with CSS. Remember keep it simple.
6) If you must use CSS then get inline - Since you can't import style sheets to style and format your html content you will need to use inline CSS which includes all of the css properties in line. EX: style="background: white; color: black;"
7) Images - When adding images on a webpage we would normally use urls such as image1.jpg, but with a newsletter you'll have to enter the complete or the absolute url.
Tip: Make sure to set your images' border to 0 so that it will show up seamlessly inside your newsletter.
8) The first link in the email should be a link to the online version of your html newsletter. Even if you have option for html or text newsletter, it's a good idea to include a link to your online version at the top of the newsletter.
9) Include an unsubscribe / remove me link at the end of your email, and text for compliance with canspam laws. If you don't have an unsubscribe button then your newsletter could be seen as spam and you don't want your subscribers thinking they have no way to unsubscribe. If you have more then one newsletter then include a link such as Manage my subscription or a link that takes them directly to their online account. Placing this link will allow your users access to their account and allow them to manage their subscriptions. Who knows maybe they'll subscribe to more newsletters.
10) Test, test, and retest on major email providers (Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail). You may notice that with that the new MSN Windows Live Mail Beta the text in your newsletters will be centered. Don't rely on defaults to left align your text, use the left align button on your editor to align them when needed.
During my previous newsletter tests some of the special characters in my newsletter rendered oddly in Yahoo, so make sure to find the character codes for those special characters, and then paste them directly into your html.
For ex: this ' apostrophe will turn into This will allow the text to display properly. For more character codes scroll all the way down or google "Special Character Codes"
11) Before you send your email make sure to set the email's content-type as HTML, so that it can display as an Html newsletter, or it will just show up as plain HTML code.
12) Get Online - Before you get started make sure to upload those pictures and your original HTML newsletter to your hosting account so that your subscribers can visit your newsletter online.
That's it. Happy HTML emailing!
In a nutshell, an HTML newsletter is a web page that is transmitted via some email broadcasting service. Because this format incorporates graphics and color, HTML newsletters are more attention-getting than plain text newsletters. Overall, when compared to a plain text newsletter, HTML newsletters:
--Have a higher click-through rate (more readers click on the links contained within your newsletter that link back to your site, affiliate program, or sales offers)
--Permit you to track your open rate (determine how many readers actually open your email newsletter)
--Help you continue to establish your brand in front of your readers, as it may carry the same look as your website or other marketing materials you may use
--Are read more often than plain text newsletters because of the eye-catching graphics
Here are 10 steps you can follow to make the creation of your email newsletter quick and easy:
1. Select your newsletter distribution service. Many small business owners start their newsletters by choosing to send them out via their email program (Outlook). When their list begins to grow to several hundred subscribers or more, this task begins to overwhelm them. The dangers you face by choosing to send your email newsletter out through your email program are two-fold:
a. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can shut you down if you send out an excessive amount of email each day. If you exceed the daily limit of outgoing emails established by your ISP, they will brand you a spa*mmer and shut down your account, many times without warning and without any ability to reinstate your account.
b. When you start to get a larger number of subscribers, you'll begin to get emails asking you to remove them from the list (yes, it happens to us all!) or to change their email address or requesting your latest newsletter issue. Get 10-15 of these emails per day and you'll soon end up spending all of your time managing your list.
There are a number of distribution options available in various price ranges. If you plan on designing an ezine template yourself using an HTML editor, I recommend aWeber.com, which offers sequential autoresponders in addition to being able to send out your email newsletter. If you don't want to learn HTML and want to use a template-driven system in which all you have to do is cut and paste your text, I recommend ConstantContact.com. Both of these services offer automatic subscriber management (where subscribers can go in and change their email address or take themselves off a list) as well as the ability to customize your opt-in and thank you pages.
2. Determine your software needs. There are several heavy duty website design and HTML editing programs out there to help you design your newsletter template. If all you plan to do is create a newsletter, there's no need to spend lots of money. I recommend that you try this easy-to-use HTML editor found at CoffeeCup.com. If you're really interested in web design, I recommend you purchase DreamWeaver, which has a steep learning curve but will serve you well over the long-term.
3. Create your newsletter template. Your template will probably be a simple table format that incorporates your logo and a few other graphics. Your newsletter should not exceed 600 pixels in width, as you want to ensure that your readers won't have to scroll across the screen to read your newsletter. And, in the case of HTML newsletter, size does matter. A newsletter that is large in size (greater than 25 MB) is tough to deliver through many email systems. Less than 20 KB is optimal for greatest chance of delivery to your subscribers.
4. Link all graphics to the full graphic URL. In order for an image to display, it must be hosted on a website. Some distribution programs, like Constant Contact, will host images on their server. However, if you're creating your email newsletter from scratch, you need to tell the newsletter distribution program the full URL that will help it locate the image. So, for example, in your website design program, you might see an image URL listed as ...images/yourimage.jpg. In an email newsletter, the full path of the image URL needs to be indicated, as in www.yourwebsite.com/newletter/images/yourimage.jpg in order for the image to display. So, be sure that any images your paste into your newsletter are also uploaded to your website, and check to see that the full URL for the image is listed in the image properties of your graphic. If you need an FTP program to help you upload images or pages to your hosting account, I recommend CuteFTP.com.
5. Create the content in a plain text editor program. Have you ever gotten a newsletter and it's filled with funny characters like "youâ??ll"? If you create the text of your newsletter in MS Word and try and cut and paste it into your HTML editor, many times you'll bring unwanted Word formatting in the text. Consequently, when you send out your newsletter, it appears in your subscriber's email client with the funny characters indicated above. In many cases, the punctuation in Word (quotation marks and apostrophes, in particular) are the culprits. To ensure that you've created ASCII text (the most basic, format-free text), you'll want to compose your articles in a plain text editor program, like Notepad, found on computers with Windows operating systems.
6. Finalize your newsletter content. Open your newsletter template and cut and paste your new content into this edition. Save this edition on your hard drive with a different file name than your template so that you don't overwrite your template. If you want to create a newsletter archive, you'll also want to upload the newsletter to your website. Check your content for typos, punctuation mistakes, and grammar mistakes.
7. Sp*am check your ezine. Some distribution services have this feature built into their broadcast service and will evaluate the content, colors, images, etc. of your email broadcast and point out if there are any attributes of your broadcast that might be caught in sp*am filters. If your service doesn't offer this feature, you can run both the body and subject line of your broadcast through this fr*ee evaluation service: http://spamcheck.sitesell.com/. Some subject line sp*am triggers include; all caps, exclamation marks, or the word "fr*ee". If you have a score of 5 or higher, you'll need to change the problem components of your broadcast.
8. Upload the ezine. In most cases, this means you need to copy and paste the HTML coding from your editor into your broadcast program.
9. Use personalization. When a subject line of an email contains your first name, doesn't that quickly grab your attention? If your broadcast service permits you to personalize either the subject line of your broadcast or the content of your broadcast, take advantage of this feature and use it! This is an easy strategy to increase your newsletter's open rate.
10. Send out a test broadcast. To ensure that your content displays like you think it will, send yourself a test copy to yourself. I also send test copies to my AOL, Hotmail, Google, and Yahoo addresses, as many of my subscribers have those addresses. Evaluate your test copy and make any corrections or adjustments needed.
Now that you've completed these steps, you're ready to send your broadcast.
An HTML newsletter that is published regularly is a great "stay-in-touch" marketing mechanism. Showcase your expertise and begin your newsletter today!
Both Sameep Shah & Donna Gunter are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Sameep Shah has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Site Promotion and Children. Sam runs www.FreeNewsletterTemplate.net - A Website filled with tools and information from email marketing to email list building. Try out their FREE Html Newsletter Tester at. Sameep Shah's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Donna Gunter has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Property Investment and Nutrition. Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To sign up for more FREE ti. Donna Gunter's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.