Using images in email newsletters

Introduction

Most email marketing packages are able to display images in people’s inboxes by having them loaded onto a website. That is why programs like Microsoft Outlook have the text ‘Click here to download images’ when you first start receiving emails from somebody that contain images.

It is different when you insert images into the body of your email (eg. using the Insert menu in Microsoft Outlook) as this process actually embeds the image(s). Whether the recipient likes it or not, these embedded images will be sent to them and downloaded when they download their emails (similar to an attachment). Some email software treats embedded images similarly to attachments.

Where to save your images for use in email newsletters

For the purposes of email marketing, images need to be set up using the first method (saved to a website). How long you leave the images on the site depends on your email newsletters, your recipients and your business. If at all possible, leave them there for a year or more, if not permanently. You never know when someone is going to find an old email and want to look at it with the images. Email images should be very small in file size so they do not take up much space on your web host (server) or consume much bandwidth when downloaded by your email recipients. You should always save your own copy of the images for each email you send out as opposed to linking to images that are on other websites or even on pages on your own website. That way, you have complete control and know for certain that the image you need to display in your email is saved in your email images directory for one purpose only—your email newsletter.

How to set up images in email newsletters

Consider the following things that are different for different people who may be receiving your emails:

Monitor size and screen resolution
Email software or web-based
Email inbox orientation (full screen or reading pane: vertical or horizontal)

As with website design, there are certain best practices you can adopt to increase the chances your email newsletters display properly in the majority of inboxes. Personally, I design email newsletters at a width no greater than 600 pixels so that people with vertical inboxes are less likely to need to scroll left and right to view the email. This would not necessarily work for someone with their screen set to 800 x 600, but it is reasonable to suppose that most people have their screens set on a resolution of 1024 x 768 or more and what we need to do is bring a positive experience for the majority. When working with images, you may need to make a decision like this.

The biggest problem with different email software displaying images differently occurs in complicated email layouts. A simple way around this is to download existing templates from the web that have already been tested in the majority of email programs and websites. If you have Microsoft Outlook, you can also be a bit sneaky and save other email newsletters that have landed in your inbox, displaying correctly. After you’ve done that, you can load the HTML in Dreamweaver and change it to suit yourself. By creating images of the same height and width in Photoshop, you can simply change the links in Dreamweaver and voila! An inbox-friendly email of your own.

If you are designing a fairly simple email newsletters, such as one with a banner up the top, text in the middle, the odd right-aligned image and a banner down the bottom, there is probably only one thing you should be mindful of:

Since Microsoft released Outlook 2007, it has been unwise to send out email newsletters without specifying the height and width of the images in the HTML code. The results of being lazy about this can be images being displayed smaller than they are supposed to or even skewed (out of aspect) such as this email newsletter by Women's Network Australia:

Women's Network Australia not doing email newsletters properly

Be aware of what email software you are using and the fact that not all people will see the email as you see it. When you first set up your email newsletter, it is imperative to test it in as many email programs and web-based email inboxes you possibly can. At the very least, test it in the following:

Some programs to test your email template in

Web-based email inboxes to test your email template in

Please email
Amanda@GreensladeCreations.com
or call 0403 124 533
to discuss your needs.

For details of all of Amanda's services, including how she can train your staff to maintain your website, email newsletter, image collection and more, please download this Greenslade Creations brochure.

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