Believe it or not, if your subscriber list is like most, there is still a portion of it that prefers or can only receive text emails.  It’s important to recognize this and to make sure your text messages are as well received as your HTML messages.

One of the greatest benefits of using IMN’s variety of automated procedures is the “HTML to text conversion.”  The IMN system automatically creates a text version of your HTML newsletter for those recipients who, for one reason or another, don’t accept HTML email. The benefits are two-fold: IMN eliminates the need to “write” your newsletter twice and guarantees that every one of your subscribers will receive a nicely formatted email.

To further customize the appearance of the text version, IMN offers several options.

1.  Content Settings 

The easiest and most hands-off approach is to make any necessary edits to the text version after you’ve initiated a send operation. After clicking Send as Email on the Main Menu, you are presented with some options about how IMN should generate the text version of your newsletter.



The New from Content Settings selection creates a Content Settings button and subsequent dialogue box that allow you to customize the look and feel of the text version.



These settings are pretty straightforward and include global specifications for all the articles in your newsletter.

2.  Edit in Preview

Another on-the-fly option is to edit the text version directly while previewing it. After you hit “Send as Email,” you can make edits to the text version in the preview pane.



Anything you delete or type into the preview window (you could even paste in a pre-formatted text file) will not only be used in the text version that’s sent, but will also automatically update the AOL version’s content as well.

3.  The Layout Editor

For more complex layouts, or if you’d rather create a permanent text formatting solution, you can use the IMN layout editor to create and edit a text version template for your newsletter.



Select the Text Version tab at the top of the layout editor screen to switch to edit mode for the text only template.



The interface is the same as editing the HTML layout, with different options geared towards text formatting.

 

When you’re done editing your text-only layout, make sure you use the New from Template option when sending you newsletter to have the system generate a text version based on the layout template.

Whatever option you choose, the time you take to optimize your text version will pay off, as your readers will recognize the extra care that you have put into it.

If you have any questions, please contact me. 


Want to learn more from Brenden?  Here is a library of his most recent tips:

Writing an Effective Article Synopsis