An email newsletter software also comes (most of the times) incorporated in the email software. Its functions are to help you manage your mass email campaigns and also to take over some of your editing jobs.
Plain Text vs. HTML
Your email newsletter software should be multi part MIME. MIME is a standard that allows the embedding of arbitrary documents and other binary data of known types (images, sound, video, and so on) into e-mail handled by ordinary Internet electronic mail interchange protocols.
Invoice Payment Processor
Your email newsletter software should ideally offer integrated credit card processing capabilities directly in the email itself. This could include "Buy Now" or "Click To Pay" buttons in the email newsletter program. A high quality should integrate with merchant services such as some of the more popular services including: website, website and link.
That means users who cannot read HTML format will receive the plain text version. Also, your email software can inquire users in the subscriber form whether they prefer to receive the message in plain text or HTML format. You would be surprised to find out that some people still prefer to receive clean text even if their email client can display HTML.
Personalisation
Even if your bulk email newsletter addresses to long time subscribers or customers, it is possible they feel more motivated when receiving a personalised email. If you send your newsletter or ezine to a rented list, you should ask your list broker about the personalization aspect.
A newsletter should not become too personal, too soon. If you target new subscribers, prospects, people that haven't heard much about you, they could feel that a too personal approach is violating their intimacy and take the decision to unsubscribe.
Another limitation for personalized newsletters are the subscribers themselves. They could have filled in fake names, or spelled their own name wrong. They may not remember this, and however, feel discomfort when opening the newsletter. You should find a way to request, in time, a confirmation of the real name, and until that moment not to use personalization.
Do Not Look Like a Spammer
Be even more careful with what you display in the To:, From:, and Subject: fields. A mistaken strategy is to hide/misspell or often change display of your identity in the From: field, using “pennames” that could confuse your subscribers. The most you can achieve is mislead them to believe that they are spammed and accuse you of sending unsolicited email.
The Subject: field should also be correctly spelled, and remind the user who you are. E.g. “This Week's Child Care Newsletter”. Not to mention you should not mislead your readers about the topic, but a pre-defined Subject: field would save you from any accidental errors.
Newsletter Customising
Customising should involve automatic links, auto-signatures, spell-check. Also, you should be able to pre-define the number of characters of a text-line (the best option is a 65 characters setting). Stay away from violently coloured backgrounds, unreadable fonts, too large or too small font sizes. They won't make the reader more interested, on the contrary. They could feel annoyed when forced to change the settings.