[WebPub] Help Concerning MIT VPF Email Newsletter

[Jeannie Finks]

Hi Scott

Doing it in-house too, I spent a tremendous amount of time on these  
newsletters.
Some of the issues may have to do with way its coded.
A great online resource I found (and I am mentioned this purely as a  
resource; I am not affiliated with or work for MailChimp):

Quarter of the way down, there are free downloadable templates  
properly rendered to work on all major email platforms:
http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/html_email_templates/

This is also a good read as many people do not realize the details  
mentioned:
How to Code HTML Emails
http://www.mailchimp.com/articles/how_to_code_html_emails/

> 1. The formatting doesn't hold when a recipient forwards the email  
> or replies to it.


> 2. I have tried to provide the html file to others for importing  
> into a new Outlook or Thunderbird email but the formatting does not  
> display properly once imported.

> 3. Some recipients have complained that the images come through as  
> attachments, even though the img sources point to the image  
> locations on our server.
>
> Any thoughts on how (if at all) I can rectify these issues? I can  
> provide the source file in an email individually if that would be  
> helpful in assessing the issue. Here is the process I use for  
> creating the email.
>
> 1. Post images on our server.
> 2. Prepare HTML source in TextEdit on Mac. Stylesheet included in  
> header.
> 3. Open HTML file in Safari. Select all and copy.

> 4. Open new email in Mac Mail and paste copied material into body of  
> email.


Various email clients offer clues for recipients of forwarded/replied- 
to emails to distinguish between original and new text such as  
indenting, additional characters (>), etc. And this gets in the way of  
an HTML email’s original formatting. Because email clients also have  
numerous preferences on how an HTML email is processed when forwarded,  
usually beyond an average user's attention span, it's pretty difficult  
to retain formatting under
these conditions. If you notice, many retail companies do these large  
single image layouts for similar reasons to avoid a broken forwarded  
email. Some basic workarounds are to keep your newsletters very  
simple. (The more
images that get added, the higher chance of spam filters catching it  
as you may/may not know...). Also, including a "Forward to a friend"  
link which really points to an online archive or a method to communicate
this online alternative.

I'd go with Thunderbird's Insert HTML option.  In the code, you will  
also want to make sure the path to the server is correct and didn't  
get changed by a temp or encrypted URL.
Always use the original code and not the code generated by the email  
client.

Lastly, if you have a diversified recipient list, it's best to have  
both a Mac and PC test environment, multiple email clients, browsers,  
etc. Lotus Notes tends to be difficult target client, but one on our
requirements list.

Good luck!

Jeannie Finks
MIT Media Lab