Why Consider Writing Plain Text Sales Emails?
In studies online, it was found through A/B testing that the more images in an email the fewer open and click rates the message had. It's not surprising if you consider that we typically receive so many marketing emails with images that we (or at least I) delete a large majority without reading more than the subject line and sender. However, when I receive a personalized email with mainly text, I'm much more likely to read through it because it looks like it came from a "real" person.
Another issue with HTML emails is that they can be difficult to read on mobile devices (including wearables). Plain text emails are much easier to read on any device, which means that the recipient will have a better experience reading and interacting with your message.
How to Design an Email That Looks Like Plain Text in Act! Marketing Automation (AMA)
Here are the steps to follow in AMA:
- To create a new email template in Act! Marketing Automation (AMA), click "Email Templates."
- Then click the "Actions" button and choose "New Template."
- In the window that comes up, choose "All Templates" and then "One Column" WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
- Click Continue and then enter a name for your new template. If you want to be able to generate these from a contact, select the "Allow Sales Access" box
- Click "Save."
The design interface looks very different from the drag-and-drop designer you may be used to. Just write your email as you want it to appear to the recipient. You can personalize with merged fields from Act!, include hyperlinks, insert pictures, link to assets, and many other items that are available in the drag-and-drop interface. (This is also where you can insert HTML code if you're designing your template outside of AMA.) Make sure you send yourself a test!
Conclusion: Make Your Marketing Emails More Engaging by Writing Them in Plain Text
A personalized plain text email is easier to read and is also mobile-friendly. If you aren't getting the e-mail engagement you're looking for, it's worth trying the WYSIWYG approach to see if this method gets your message read by your audience.