Branded Email: The next generation of email

Everybody Wants to Brand Their Email

Me and Branded Email Down By the Schoolyard

• Spam Filters – See what they say about spam filters.  A good system can get past most spam filters (with the exception of extremely strict filters).  If you’re testing the system, can you send an email to yourself?  (If you test lots of systems and none of them get past your filter, consider getting a better one, or making yours less strict)
  
• Email size – If the system embeds or attaches the images to the email, stay far, far away from it.  You don’t want all of your emails going out at 300-1000k in size.  That would be a long download even on a broadband connection.  The typical plain text email is 5-10k your emails shouldn’t go over 100k, and even that is pushing it. – Do note that Outlook, by default, will embed any image in an email when you click send.  You have to turn this off through the Tools > Options > Mail Format > Internet Format > HTML Options checkbox (MS Outlook 2002 and 2003)
  
• Usability – Make sure the product is easy to use.  The last thing you want to do is waste precious time trying to use a bad product while sending your email.  You should be able to set your account up, and send emails like normal.
  
• Functionality – If your email contains links to specific pages or areas in your website, you can send traffic directly to your catalog, your affiliate/reseller site, your online video, anywhere you want them to go.  This is a much better opportunity than “Hey, go check out my site at www.EmailAppeal.com!"  As the old adage goes, on the Internet you’re always 1 click away from losing a customer.
  
• Dynamic Capabilities – Be sure you can easily change your contact information, picture (if the system allows you to upload one) and any other sensitive information on your template.
  
• Control – Do you have control over the aspects of the design, or can the user change the design at will?  Brand control and consistency is a big deal in any business.
  
• Security – Does the system require you to send your email through a different server or to a different email address?  This is a security risk whether they say so or not, as your emails are all being routed through a third party server.  A good system will work without requiring you send your email through a third party.

I Want to Know What Branded Email Is

• Stationary – Microsoft Outlook comes with its own stationary tool, and there are quite a few other stationary companies.  Drawbacks – These systems typically provide little or no customizability, no functionality no usability can be email size issues
   
• Mail Redirect – This type of branded email system can use (or allow you to develop) a custom template, then in order for you to send branded email, you send an email to second- or third-party servers, via an email address like this one -  your.recipient@company.com@MailRedirectCompany.com - which puts your message in the body of the branded email template, then send it to the recipient on your behalf.  Drawbacks – low usability not secure hard to reply/forward email with branding
   
• Web Based – Now we’re getting to the more advanced systems.  This type of system offers custom and/or generic templates that you can use with your email.  You log in to their website and send your email through their site.  Drawbacks – Most won’t allow you to use your own email address not secure hard to reply/forward email with branding
  
• IT Department or Design Department created – If you have an IT guy/department or a design guy/department you can probably do this in-house.  Create the HTML template that you want to use, and add it into your client.  Drawbacks – it takes time to change the templates if your contact information changes you have to duplicate the design and change it for every person in your office you have to host the images on your server, or attach/embed them to the email (size issue)
   
• Integrated – This is the type of system you should be looking for.  Integrated systems integrate with your mail client (Outlook, Eudora, etc) and allow you to send branded email just like you would any other email.  Good systems allow you to do this with as few clicks as possible, and the best ones don’t require you to start another program in order to add the branding aspects.  Drawbacks – if you use an off-brand client, it may not be supported

It’s the End of the Article as We Know It… and I Feel Fine