Alternate Image has recently upgraded the
mailer application to include a "send test" button in the
preview window of the mailer application. This allows you to
compose your email and then click the "Preview" button. When your
preview window appears there is an option at the top to send to a
specified email address.
Once you click "send", the preview email will be sent
immediately as it bypasses the normal mail queue and will come from
the admin@yourdomainname.com email address
with the subject line of "Preview". You can send as
many tests as you want and we recommend this before sending any
email blast.
Why are test emails so
important?
Since an email browser will
display emails much differently than your website browser, it is
important that you DO NOT rely on
the pop-up preview window to show an accurate display of
your email. In all actuality, your email will display much
differently in Outlook, Zimbra, Gmail, Apple Mail and other email
browsers. Some email inboxes will strip out formatting, not display
images, and revert your text to a standard font type and size.
There is nothing you can do about this except send test emails to
different email accounts to preview your email before it is sent
out.
I recommend keeping your email
simple with a simple layout, this leaves less room for display
errors in the inbox. If you have a lot of information, put it in
a landing page and link that to a "Read more" within your
email. One common mistake we see is that people copy and paste form
Microsoft Word documents. DO NOT
paste text from a Word document or other website. Word
documents will paste over messy HTML code, most of which is not
viewable in many email inboxes. It will look fine on your Internet
browser but once it is emailed the result can be
messy.
Type your story in wordpad,
text edit, notepad, or other common word editing programs that
strip formatting. When you paste your text into the mailer to
compose your email you will have clean, un- formatted text to work
with. Add your images and from there do your text formatting. Send
your test, make necessary adjustments and you will be ready to go.
As always, Alternate Image is available from 9am to 5:30pm during
the weekdays to assist your with any issues. We also offer custom
email design services for clients, just ask!
-Morgan
Seedarnee
Internet
Marketing Specialist
Alternate
Image
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