Using a blog newsletter can be a great way to send out your most important post to your readers. Not only are they useful for people that don’t want to subscribe to regular updates, they also add to your Feedburner subscriber statistics 
. However, formatting them usually varies on different websites based on different people’s views and design perceptions. I’m here to tell you that using an image in your blog newsletter is a “Bad Idea and can result in a really bad time for email users”.
Problem #1 – Outlook Express
I use Outlook Express for all of my email on the internet, and when I get newsletter update with an image attached.. I get a notice saying:
That filter blocks all of the pictures until you click it, which will then download all of the pictures and make it normal. This is especially noticeable in Ebay’s newsletters.. They are all images! So when I get an Ebay flyer, all I get is the alt tags on the images until I click it..
Most people won’t bother clicking that notice, because if there is text there that tells them about the best posts on your blog/website.. why bother for a logo?
Problem #2 – Gmail
When I don’t have access to OE for my email, I’ll sign into Gmail. The same thing happens to Shoemoney’s newsletter when I try to look at it:
Again, having to click a link in order for a logo to appear usually isn’t worth the effort.
The Simple Solution
Don’t use images and stick with text. Text is compatible with every email browser and doesn’t require a link to show it. You can even bold it.. or use colours!
Do you use a blog newsletter? If so, do you use a large amount of images?
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16 Comments
You may be right at this brad but I hope your readers don’t confuse this with blogging. Because images actually helps in blogging and gets more interaction..
Ben Pei’s last blog post..Be A Top Commentator, Do The Right Thing
I am not sure about this one yet. I know images helping lot when you post on your Blog. However, I am not sure if they help in a newsletter. They might make it more interesting to your newsletter readers though.
Blog Expert’s last blog post..27 DoFollow Social Bookmarking Sites
I go through similar experiences. Whenever I receive a newsletter in my email inbox, and the image doesn’t automatically load, I normally don’t bother to check out the image. I just move on to the next email. So from a newsletter publisher’s point of view, there’s a chance that newsletters which rely a lot on images might not be read at all.
Fernando | Jackie’s last blog post..Jackie Tohn
i totally agree with you brad. Images on newsletter are not a good idea. We don’t want a messy mail that will only make readers to delete it. I think a good example of a newsletter is the one sent by JonCow.
Hugo Santos’s last blog post..Get Free Stumbles and Free Social Submission
@ Ben – I certainly hope my readers don’t confuse blog newsletters with blog articles.. That would be even worse than images in blog newsletters! I agree with the interaction part of pictures.. They really do help.
@ Expert – The point is that the visitors won’t see the picture unless they click the notification bar saying that the email has blocked the images.
@ Fernando – I agree with you completely.. Ebay’s newsletter needs text.. 100% images isn’t going to look good without user interaction.
@ Hugo – Its sad, but I usually delete the ones that make me click on a button to download the images. Just isn’t worth it
Text always rates higher because they always go through. However, not clicking a link seems pretty lazy to me.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Do You Have Blank Blog Advertisement Slots?
Well, when there are 20 new emails in an inbox, I usually get the idea of an email within a couple seconds reading TEXT.. Not looking at an image
Or perhaps I am just a little lazy… who knows?
yeah I agree. I’ve had the same thing, and typically I enjoy it. Often the images aren’t worth me loading, and so it saves my time. But if I want to, the link’s right there.
Jonathan Muller’s last blog post..6 Critical Errors you can make when you Post
This is good timing Brad, as I am about to launch a news letter, and you are totally right about this, I use images in my blog posts and I notice that they are not that well placed in Google reader either, but they are so good for posts.
JR’s last blog post..Blogging Goodies and Lessons
Glad you enjoyed the post.. Send me a link! I’ll subscribe to it
Hmmm, you got a nice point to bring in.. But in my experience with affiliate newsletters I have a nice response when using images. I don’t do blog newsletters do I don’t really have an idea… I use Yahoo and theres no prob w/it..
Melvin’s last blog post..Upcoming Contest And Some Announcements
Are you talking “nice response” as in conversions?
I know what you mean Brad some times I use images when I am promoting a product and my email subscription email looks ugly. By the way sent a good ol’ stumble your way.
Archie Pennies’s last blog post..Reporter vs Expert – Why Most Bloggers Are Stuck Reporting
Thanks for the stumble.. Sent some nice traffic my way
Pictures in e-mails are what really makes me read the e-mails in the first place, lol.
-Mike
It’s a good idea to create e-mail accounts with several different companies to test out the view of your newsletter. Or ask a friend to view the newletter on his e-mail. Same thing is true of e-mail rss or even the website itself when launched (looking at different browsers).