Dear Emma,

I'm digging the new html & plaintext preview tabs
(http://www.myemma.com/APB_5_20.php), and now that I'm actually paying
attention to my plaintext I'm wondering what I can do to make it look as nice
as, well, a text email can. Any suggestions?

Sincerely,
Hoping for a Plaintext Makeover in Minneapolis


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Dear Makeover,

The plaintext version of your Emma campaigns (automatically delivered to anyone
in your audience who can't receive html) may lack the style and grace of its
html sibling, but it serves an important purpose. After all, recent surveys
indicate that up to 25% of your audience may receive that version - an estimate
that can vary wildly based on your particular audience. So while plaintext may
be the after-dinner mint to your html entree, it shouldn't be a mere
afterthought.

Here are our tips for making your plaintext pretty (and a link to the plaintext
version of this email to let you see them in action):


1. Don't touch the plaintext until the html is done.

Emma builds your plaintext for you from the text of your html version. So it's
easiest if you focus on the html, get that completely done, and then turn your
attention to the plaintext. If you do change the plaintext and then make
changes to the html, you'll notice the option appears to *refresh* your text to
incorporate those changes.


2. Clean up your line breaks.

Plaintext is a fairly ignorant creature, and it doesn't always get line breaks
right. Which is why when you first preview your plaintext you may see some
lines ending abruptly. Spend a minute cleaning up those line breaks and it will
make a big difference (to do this, place your cursor in front of the first word
on the next line and then hit backspace to remove the break and join the two
lines).


3. Use spacing, dashed lines, and other characters to make things more
readable.

Without the benefit of bold headlines, colors and other rich formatting,
plaintext requires a bit more creativity when it comes to making headlines and
important content stand out. Try putting spaces or dashed lines between
sections, and using CAPS and asterisks in place of the bolds you've used on the
html side.


4. For longer emails, consider putting a brief summary or menu at the top.

If your html campaign has two columns, remember that in the plaintext you have
just one. Which means that sidebar that fits nicely at the top of one version
will be pushed down to the very bottom in the other. If the sidebar is
important, consider mentioning it near the top of your email so folks know
there's reason to scroll, or try incorporating the sidebar elements into the
main body. Also remember that those nice images you used in the sidebar of your
html won't appear, so your captions will need to stand on their own.


5. What is the plaintext experience like? Send it to yourself and find out.

Here's an idea that came to us in between writing points 3 and 4. It's like a
stack of pancakes hot off the grill, except that you can't pour syrup on this
idea and it doesn't go well with bacon. The best way to proof your plaintext is
the same way you proof your html - by sending it to yourself or someone in your
test group. So make sure you've got the 'email format preference' field turned
on in your audience, and then set at least one person in your test group to
'plaintext.' If you have two email addresses yourself, even better - you can
set one to receive html and the other to receive text. And you'll experience
each version the same way your recipients will.


We've put a few of these tips to work in the plaintext version of this Ask
Emma. You can see it here (http://www.myemma.com), and compare the basic
formatting there with the corresponding html formatting. And if these ideas
have sparked a few of your own, as always, send them our way.

Cheers (and happy Memorial Day),
Emma


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