Bad Image-to-text Ratio Bad Subject Lines Email Rendering HTML Emails by Scott Hardigree September 3, 2009
Target Marketing + Macromark = One Bad Email
You’d think that a email list brokerage and management company like Macromark or the sender/list owner, Target Marketing Magazine, would know a thing or two about email rendering, alt tags, text-to-image ratios, constrained images proportions, snippets, or pre-header text. Apparently not. Check out this little beauty:
- Before the images were downloaded.
Besides the fact that I recognized the sender name, Target Marketing, this email would be a textbook example of what NOT to do.
The subject line “New To The Market at Macromark!” is unmotivated and generally uncreative. I can only assume that Macromark must think I’ve been waiting around all year for their new to market list. Goody, it must be Christmas.
Don’t even get me started on the text-to-image ratio or the countless missed opportunities to engage me. Frankly, there are too many points to cover in a concise post. Put it this way, I would normally show you what the promo would look like once the images were downloaded and give a full critique but this email is simply too bad to give them the exposure. Sorry Mac.
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4 Comments
by Simren Deogun
Completely agree. I have found large retailers sending out email blasts particularly prone to this offence. Why oh why do they continue to develop emails made up of only images (even with substandard alt tags)?! I understand the desire to open up Photoshop and place all the text and graphics exactly where you want without having to touch HTML/CSS but all that tells me is that you’re lazy.
by Email Critic
Thanks Simren. Great observasion!
by Kirk Gray
How do the major emailers get into the inbox doing this? I mean I’m a small email professional, use and ESP, and adhere to proper practices and the guidelines the big ISP’s want, and I get throttled, and then big names send out these single image emails and boom – they are in! I don’t understand it, LOL
by Scott Hardigree
I hear ya, Kirk!