Does it sound like a foreign language? It's not and we really don't need to know all that much. But going over a few basic email formats is important so we'll start here.

Text emails are the most basic and everyone that receives email can read text.

PDF stands for "Portable Document Format" and it is commonly used on the web. PDF files are sent as attachments with the email message.

HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a document format language used on the World Wide Web. It is expected that all emails will favor HTML-only in the near future based on current trends. Plus, they are preferred by readers.

Text Emails

Text emails are basically any email message sent with just plain text. No graphics, tables, or sophisticated anything. They're like watching black & white TV - pretty boring. But they can be effective in some cases.

It is common to send a "text" email message with an attachment such as a Microsoft Word document or a PDF file, but the reader must take an additional step to view your attachment (extra steps are not good) and they must have the appropriate software on their computer to read the file, which is not always the case. In addition, some email programs don't allow attachments to be downloaded or opened by the recipient (user choice).

• Rather than sending text messages to some members and HTML to others, most email programs allow us to send both in one "multipart" message.
• Sending both lets the recipient's email program decide which one to open (user preference default setting). If you don't see any graphics in the email you receive, your default may be set to text instead of HTML.
• Text files have a ".txt" or ".doc" file extension
• Given text email newsletters are on their way out, my recommendation for those just getting started is go with HTML. As HTML becomes the standard (we're almost there), you won't need to first learn text emailing, then start over in a year or so and learn HTML.
• You're already ahead of the curve!

PDF or "Portable Document Format"

• Basically, PDF files enable documents to be distributed on different computer systems while preserving the layout of a document. The documents look the same on everyone's computer whether it's a Dell computer or a MacIntosh computer.
• The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems. PDF files are electronic documents that must be read with Adobe Acrobat software. You can download the software program from the web for free to "read" PDF files. It comes already loaded on most computers and more than likely, Adobe Acrobat "reader" is on your computer.
• The naming convention for PDF files is Mydocument.pdf (the ".pdf" extension tells your computer to open the file using Adobe Acrobat software.

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language

HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a document format language used on the World Wide Web. Web browsers read HTML code and so do most email programs. Using HTML allows you to bring together text, pictures, sounds, video, and links.

• HTML files have ".htm" or ".html" file extensions
• HTML files can be created using a simple text editor such as Microsoft Word or numerous others; many are available for free on the web
• When you're looking at a web page, you can "right click" your mouse, click on "view source" (or "view page source") and you'll see the HTML programming code.

By the way, you don't need to know how to write HTML code any longer to create an email newsletter. But it definitely helps to understand the basics.

Greg Magnus is a freelance writer and owner of eoecho.com; a strategic marketing consulting company. He can be reached at: greg@eoecho.com
http://www.eoecho.com/gregmagnus/