Dedicated HTML Blasts
Samples
Click on the subject line links below to see some of our highest performing HTML blasts.
Subject Line: Free E-Book from WinePress Publishing!
Subject Line: Free 6-Week DVD Series: Help Your Church Members Become Debt Free
Subject Line: Preview the updated NIV Church Bible!
Subject Line: TEN COMMANDMENTS – Free Movie Clips and Ministry Materials
Subject Line: FREE Passcode - Take a Sunday morning mission trip with World Vision
Specifications
Email advertising is an exceptional marketing opportunity, but also an interesting advertising challenge, because it lacks broad industry standards and theories abound with conflicting ideas. After processing, creating, and revising several hundred dedicated HTML blasts and tracking the results, I have narrowed my theory down to this: success will be directly related to: deliverability (spam rating and sender integrity), subject line (which gets your email opened) and the content (which prompts a click-thru). Below you will find specifications along with some additional recommendations to help you get the best return on your investment.
| Dimensions | Image Size | Materials Needed | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 x 600-800 pixels (recommended) | 300K maximum (40K recommended) |
1) .HTML file 2) Subject Line 3) Zipped folder with images 4) Text Backing (not required) |
9 days before send |
*Please make sure your material is optimized for both Outlook 2003 & 2007. Please submit FINAL artwork/material. If you need to resubmit artwork after it has been processed for approval there will be an $85 'reprocessing fee'. |
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Email materials to webads@outreach.com
Advertisers should optimize their HTML emails across the various common email clients and should check their appearance before submitting materials to the Outreach Media Group. Special attention should be given to optimizing for Outlook 2007 as that one most commonly has issues. Advertisers are responsible for the proper format of the materials they submit. The following information will help with proper formatting of HTML's:
- Designing Your HTML Emails: Designing an HTML email is similar to creating a web page. However, there are several techniques, rules, and suggestions that will help your emails display properly within the email clients of your customers. For more information, check out this article on basic HTML email coding as well as this quick list of email design mistakes.
- Coding for Microsoft Outlook: Starting with Outlook 2007, all HTML emails are rendered with MS Word's HTML engine rather than Internet Explorer. As a result, most of the commonly accepted HTML standards are no longer supported. Learn more about Outlook 2007's supported HTML features.
- CAN-SPAM compliance: We comply with the CAN-SPAM legislation and each email we send contains a footer with the required information and unsubscribe options. In addition to compliance with CAN-SPAM we protect the integrity of our list and our reputation as a sender by running a spam check on every email - this rating to be lower than 2.0. If your email triggers a higher rating we will work with you to make necessary adjustments to reduce the rating.
- Image Maps: Although we are able to track click-throughs on Image Maps, we do not recommend using them because they rely on technology that is not supported by many email clients. So, even though they may track on most email clients, they won't actually click at all on others. Slicing-up an image and placing the pieces within a table (a very easy alternative to image maps in most design software) will lower your spam rating and increase your deliverability.
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheet): A large amount of mail browsers remove or modify CSS coding in emails. Please design your HTML following guidelines on what CSS works in which mail browsers, click here for a site that Outreach designers refer to.
Additional Recommendations
- Subject Line: The subject line is one of the most important parts of your email as it determines the open rate. A strong subject line should be no longer than 60 characters in length. Beware of using too many spammy words and/or punctuation marks as this can trigger the spam rating.
- Prominent Messaging: The most important part of your message should go in the top left corner as this is the first thing a viewer will see. This messaging should be similar/connected to your subject line - consistency with messaging will increase your click rates.
- Images & Text: An ad consisting of multiple images and text will achieve a higher deliverability rate than an HTML with a single image. If you will only be using images I recommend having your designer slice up the image into several pieces, making no image larger than 480x480. I also recommend providing ALT tags on your images as a majority of mail browsers do not automatically download images.
- Linking & URLs: Insert as many links into your email as possible (all of your images should be linked), as the more “real estate” on the page that is clickable, the better the click-through results. Use "Click Here for more information" on your links instead of putting the actual URL, as displayed URLs increase spam ratings.
- Text Backing: We provide automatically generated text backing to reduce your spam rating, increases your deliverability and allow more subscribers to see your message. If you would like to provide specific text that will display when a subscriber has their preferences set to "text only" please send a .txt file along with your other materials.
