The humble HTML autoresponder message has come a long way since the early days of the Internet. Back then most people accessed the web via slow dial-up connections, so anything that could speed up access to information was welcomed.
Nowadays, almost everyone has a blisteringly fast broadband connection that can download and display HTML emails in a fraction of a second.
But just because you CAN send fully formatted HTML emails, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD, right? Well, you actually have the best of both worlds as you can send a combined email that contains both the HTML version and the plain text copy in the same message. The readers email client will display the version preferred by your reader according to their software settings.
But there’s a number of reasons why you would want to use an HTML autoresponder message over a plain text one:
Tracking
With HTML emails you can track open rates, giving you an insight into whether your messages are being delivered as well as the level of interest shown by your mailing list. This information is incredibly useful when you wish to tailor your messages to suit your readership.
Visual Interest
Let’s be honest, in this hi-def multimedia world of ours, HTML emails are just more INTERESTING to read. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so including images of your products or happy, smiling satisfied customers can go a long way toward making the sale.
Branding
With an HTML email you have far more opportunities to brand your business using your logo and corporate colors as part of your email design, without being overly ostentatious or ‘in your face’.
Of course it goes without saying that you need to start out with a stylish HTML email template to modify to your own needs. Luckily, the autoresponders service providers have created hundreds of professional templates that we can alter to our hearts content using their built-in email editor. Watch the video here.
So before you send out another humdrum drab text email, check out just what an HTML autoresponder can do for your business.