• Avoid using images as your sole content. Try to use the 80/20 rule: 80% text to 20% images. The main reason for this is that images may be automatically blocked in email clients (such as MS Outlook).
• Break your email up into short blocks of text. Large blocks of text appear more daunting and may never be read.
• Use bullets.
• Include a clear call to action.
• Include several links back to your website.
• Place important content to the top and left of your newsletter and avoid very large headers or logos. When testing your newsletter, look at the newsletter in the MS Outlook preview pane. Is enough of the content visible to inspire your recipient to scroll further down the newsletter?
• Fonts: Try to stick to fonts that are widely available.
  Sans serif: Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet
  Serif: Times New Roman, Georgia


• Text size: try to avoid text that is either too small or too large. Large text in a newsletter may well cause the email to be filtered out as spam. And don't forget - NO SHOUTING!

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May 2009:

Better Metrics Part 1 of 3: – Improving your Open, Click, and Forward Rates Could Have You Smiling Too

Better Metrics Part 2 of 3: – Segmenting Your List

Better Metrics Part 3 of 3: – Creating Targeted Emails
 

February 2009: Tips for Creating effective e-Newsletters

May 2008: Top 3 email marketing companies

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February 2009

September 2008
Top 10 Email Clients used by Businesses and Consumers
The biggest study of email client usage ever conducted, using a sample of almost three million email recipients! This will help you decide which email clients to test on.
From Litmus

2008
Guide to CSS support in email clients
From Campaign Monitor

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