Number 64: August 11, 2004

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This week in Katydid:

• XP SP2 KOs HTML
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XP SP2 KOs HTML
Right now, Microsoft is rolling out security enhancements for Windows XP in a second major upgrade to the operating system. The upgrade, called a service pack (SP2), addresses some of the many security issues that have plagued users of Microsoft software since the release of XP. Of course, it does more than plug holes in the operating system; it makes major modifications to Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. If you do any e-mail marketing, the changes to Outlook Express will significantly affect how your recipients see your messages.

You've seen some of this before when Microsoft released Outlook 2003 (part of the Microsoft Office Suite), which also included security features that altered the display of messages. Now, some of these changes have been ported over the most ubiquitous e-mail client. Your recipient will see all messages in plain text and your HTML messages will not download (or display) graphics by default.

Now that more than 80% of all e-mail is unsolicited, Microsoft thinks it is safe to treat all e-mail as suspect. And since most users won't know how, or won't take the time to learn how to change their settings, you can't be certain what your recipient will see.

Outlook 2003 allows the recipient to identify certain senders as trusted. A reader can add you to their trusted sender list and subsequently every HTML e-mail you send will display correctly. Outlook Express does not have this feature. By default, your e-mail will display in plain text. If the recipient chooses to view the message in HTML format, it will not download your graphics, unless the recipient explicitly selects that option from a toolbar.

Microsoft blocks external content (your HTML graphic files) to keep spammers from identifying valid e-mail addresses. Legitimate direct marketers also use embedded graphics to track open rates on e-mail. With the new Outlook Express, your open rates will go down, but they will also be a more accurate measure of your copy's effectiveness since the copy will induce the recipient to view the full HTML content.

Standard text links should still work because Outlook Express uses the rich-text format for plain text display. However, I would no longer embed forms or link images such as buttons in e-mail. They will appear as placeholder boxes unless requested.

Avoid using tables or spacer graphics to control layout in HTML e-mails. For example, some designers put bulleted lines in a separate cell from the introductory text to avoid an extra line break between the introductory text and the bullets. If your table is too complicated, when the content displays in plain text, it may be out of sequence.

Is this another nail in the coffin of e-mail marketing? In a word, no. Marketers have already begun the process. Many are combining e-mail with other direct marketing techniques to increase open rates. Also, more marketers avoid cheesy graphics and select strong central images paired with strong copy, much like postcards. It may be time to take one more step away from images and a step toward imagery.

Though a picture may be worth a thousand words, you should avoid the impulse to make the even trade. Saying more with less requires a poet more than an editor. E-mail marketing works best when it respects the time of the recipient. It's better to send short messages that offer one decision – encourage the recipient to take some action such as visiting a targeted landing page, making a phone call, or setting an appointment.

Essentially, your goal with e-mail marketing should be for the message to be either completely self-contained or to drive the recipient to your web site. Strong copy is even more important because of the need to draw in the reader with vivid imagery, active verbs, and compact, provocative language. The environment may have changed yet again, but you can use this to spur changes in your marketing that will make it even more effective.

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Kind regards, 
Kevin Troy Darling

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