Why your emails look nonsensical

Came a question: “Most email service providers recommend emails with lots of graphics. Why is that and why do you prefer straight text emails?” I could go on about my usual shtick with this. But instead, let's put it this way: We are currently testing out paid ads for BerserkerMail as I type this. And during one of the calls we had, we were discussing themes and ideas for ads they could test. And one of the ideas I had to test was to: 1. Show a screenshot of an email with images all prettied up and slick in an inbox. 2. Show that exact same email, in the exact same inbox, but with images turned off - like some 30%+ (last I checked, at least) of email clients have set by default due to protect their customers from viruses, malicious code, porno, tracking, etc. Not to mention the growing number of people using emails worried about privacy who manually make sure they are turned off. The reason for testing this? Because Email Players subscriber Shane Hunter is spearheading these tests. And one of the angles he wants to take is to demonstrate how BerserkerMail's No Images policy protects our clients, increases their deliverability, and gives a better end-user experience. And with images turned off, an email with pictures will almost always look completely nonsensical, with even the text parts being tainted by empty squares where the pictures are supposed to be. And oftentimes even the alt text put in place that people will see in case images don't load also look just as nonsensical. Do what you want with that info as you see fit. But more and more are coming around to this on their own lately. Besides the above, as far as why I personally prefer plain looking text emails? It is the same reason I don't put pretty little HTML formatted tables in emails hoping mobile phone's screens don't force readers to have to finger scroll to read each sentence in an email (makes emails not even worth bothering to read), and instead let text wrap naturally: I am all about controlling the user experience as much as I can. Guys like Steve Jobs with Apple and Walt Disney with his animation knew the power of doing this, and were often ridiculed for wasting time & money on such details… only to blow right past their lazy, boring competition valuing flash & dash and completely unreliable & inconsistent metrics over substance and starting with the market first vs the marketing first. I prefer to start with them, then work backwards to the marketing. Do that and you probably will never go wrong. I can already hear some dorklord IM goo-roo parrot the typical: "NO! You have to test it!" Sure, Spanky. Tell that to the guy with a 1,600 person list with only a handful of sales each blast. Very few email marketers have a big enough list, much less the discipline required, to get anywhere close to a legitimately useful test. My biz partner at BerserkerMail Troy Broussard - a trained scientist who was a Nuclear Engineer and former Executive Director of Technology for Encyclopedia Brittanica - spent a lot of time as one of our industry's "go to" email automation guys. He also wrote what was considered to be the "bible" for marketers using Infusionsoft especially. And he did the tracking/testing/automating for as many as 50 million emails per month in some cases. He can (and has) go on for hours about all the dumb info that marketing goo-roos trawling social media spread about this topic to impress the make muney online mopes who believe anything they are told. More: I go into more detail about this particular topic about pictures in emails - there is much to say - in the October Email Players issue. Including an approach I have profited immensely from over the years, from observing unethical spammers (applied ethically, of course) and also The National Enquirer, which can potentially help make your emails even more engaging, profitable, and, more likely to be delivered to inboxes. Tomorrow’s the deadline to get in on time for this issue. Here’s the link: []( Ben Settle P.S. Here’s a taste of what is inside the October issue: * A clever way (I first heard back in 1998 in an MLM training from a sales genius) to ‘hack’ your brain into becoming more successful, having a bigger business, being more influential, or whatever your goals are. * The case for purposely looking like an asshole to all your friends, loved ones, and business peers. (Especially useful and profitable if you’re a hopeless people pleaser, and you know it’s hurting your business, your income, and peace of mind.) * A powerful merchandising secret (used for decades by the billion dollar retail store industry) that the late, great Gene Schwartz used to create some of his most memorable and profitable ads. * A “crash course” on how to set up your merchant accounts on rotation… with no one account getting all the sales, staying off radars during launches, and protecting your business from being shut down by a nervous Nellie bureaucrat if you make too much money too quickly. (I also show you the exact services I use… a guy you can contact right away to get the ball rolling who also can help coach you through chargebacks… the ideal number of merchant accounts to have… the exact best time to shop for a new merchant account… and where to find people to help you with the tech side if you are not comfortable doing it yourself. This one part of the October issue alone can potentially be worth 100... maybe even 1000 times the price over time — not only in lower fees, but peace of mind, time saved, and the list goes on.) * Best place to put a link in an email if you could only put one in and HAD to make the sale. (I put all mine in the same place in 99.9% of my emails — but that does not mean YOU should, or that I even would put it there, in every case. See inside for my take on this.) * A NON-email goo-roo approved fact (whether they like it or not) about placing links in emails to help your business get the best inbox deliverability. * How Steve Jobs and Walt Disney approached their content and product creation for maximum engagement, sales, and user-experience. (That you can apply to your emails just like they did to computers and animation.) * A clever method of crafting emails (found in The National Enquirer in all places) that can help get more of your emails delivered, opened, read, and clicked. * A geopolitical insight (straight from a respected Israeli military historian’s work about what causes wars and genocides) you can apply directly to your emails to get more sales, have more influence, and seize more engagement in your niche. * A little known insurance salesman trick from the 1950’s that can help give qualified prospects on your email list almost no choice but to buy your offers. * A sneaky way to use email to know what people on your email list want to buy before they even do! * Advice for whether or not you should sell something right away after someone buys or wait a week or two. * Why I recommend avoiding probably 99% of copywriting books, courses, programs, or training created post 2005. * The paranoid copywriter’s 10-word secret that can help make your copy as engaging (and, thus, as responsive) as you possibly can from headline to close. * An insider look at what Gary Halbert taught one of his #1 students about what the most important part of advertising is. * My uncensored opinion (probably nobody wants to hear) on the latest bit of jargon used by copywriters: ‘dimension’. * The “Faustian” secret to getting zero (or, at least, nearly zero) opt outs and spam complaints. * The world’s greatest living copywriter’s secret to more than tripling your skill level at writing sales copy within a year or less. 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