Email can be sent either in HTML (Rich-Text) or Plain-Text format. Both formats have advantages and disadvantages.
Plain-Text email enjoys higher inbox delivery rates, but they cannot include images, hyperlinks, or any design or style formatting. Furthermore, you cannot track the open rates of your email campaigns when they are sent in plain-text format.
HTML-only email allows you to include font styles, images, and stylish design elements to your email, but sometimes, HTML design is not displayed consistently in different email clients because of a lack of HTML standards for email. Because of the added layer that HTML adds to email, inbox delivery rates for HTML email are often not as good as those enjoyed by plain-text email.
GroupMail allows senders to send both an HTML and plain-text version of their email at the same time. This is done using a format called Multi-Part MIME. When a multi-part MIME email (read: an email that includes both an HTML and plain-text part) is created in GroupMail, they will be sent out together as one message.
For most of the people on your mailing list, the HTML part of your message will be displayed. This is the default setting for most email clients. Some people on your mailing list might choose to receive only plain-text email. In this case, those recipients will receive the plain-text part of your email.
Nobody will receive both parts. If HTML is possible, HTML will be displayed. If HTML isn’t allowed, then the plain-text part will be displayed.
Most email deliverability authorities agree that sending email in both HTML and plain-text (multi-part MIME) format is the best approach to take. Most antispam content filters agree with them!
So how do you create a multi-part MIME email and add a plain-text part to your beautiful HTML email?
At the bottom of the GroupMail Message Editor, you will see several tabs. The middle tab says Plain Text Message Part. Click that tab.
Then, check the “Optional: Include a Plain Text only part with this Rich Text (HTML) message” and click the radial button that says “Include the specified text as the Plain Text part.” Here, you can copy and paste or write a custom text-only version of your HTML email. Remember that you can’t include any formatting, images or hyperlinks in text-only messages, so you will have to use full URL paths (//…) if you want to link recipients to information on your website.
The only people who will see the plain-text part of your message are those recipients who have their email client configured to receive text-only email and the antispam content filters looking for some text to balance the images in your HTML message. Everyone else will only see your beautiful HTML email design.
Interested? You can send multi-part MIME email with GroupMail.