Compton Communications

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Combo Enewsletters

OK, combos are part of our fastfood way of life. An email combo
serves the same principle when it comes to newsletters - a combo
saves time and effort A combo email newsletter is kind of like a
multipart alternative format email only better. A combo email is
a combination of the best of HTML and text in the same email. The
email reader or your own preference may decide which version to
display. I use the combo or multipart-alternative format with the
CC newsletter via the CoolerEmail interface. What the HTML email
reader user sees and what the text user sees are different enewsletters.
CoolerEmail allows me to make those differences. Here is how I do
it.

First, I build an HTML email newsletter or enewsletter version
using CoolerEmail program. You can try it yourself at http://www.cooleremail.com
. Since the newsletter formatting and layout are setup in the template,
all I have to do is add the content. For HTML version, I use photographs
and summaries of articles linked to original articles on my Web
site. This allows the HTML-type reader to quickly view the articles
and click thru to the Web for complete article reading or printout.
It also means the HTML enewsletter can be presented in a fairly
short page length.

Although you can have CoolerEmail automatically generate the text
version, in the combo method you remove the autogenerate tag in
the text version window and then click preview to get a rough text
preview. The preview shows a text version made from the HTML with
formatting removed. I then copy this rough and paste it back into
the text editing window .to create a new text version. I then edit
the text version directly to add full URLs, spacing and text emphasis.
I also paste in the full text of the any articles.

Many text version readers prefer text because it is faster, has
fewer ads, and does not require an active Internet connection.

Text email newsletters have special requirements. Line length needs
to be under 65 spaces.(more will not print). Click here tags are
meaningless without the full URL to your Web site. You will also
need to insert an index of article headlines and then the full text
of the articles. You may use spaces, hypens, equal marks and astericks
to provide breaks between articles. Hyperlink URLs need to be on
their own line and not broken between lines.

Cooleremail interface showing the Text only message
window. Notice the formatting using

hypens, spaces and astericks.

CoolerEmail also allows users in either format to update their
profile and select either HTML or text format. The update, subscribe,
and unsubscribe are generated by Cooleremail as it is sent for both
HTML and text.

You should survey readers and see what their preferences for HTML
or text are. If you need to present both formats, then try the combo.

Links:

http://www.cooleremail.com
- CoolerEmail