Email basics 4: Create the plain text version of your campaign

Learn how to create a plain text version of your campaign.

Overview

After creating the HTML version of your email campaign, it's time to create a plain text version. A plain text version of your campaign is important for two reasons:

  • Some spam filters penalise emails for only being in HTML without a plain text alternative. The HTML and plain text versions are sent as a combined email, and spam checking software looks at the combined file and checks the copy in the HTML and plain text versions are consistent. Spammers don't usually concern themselves with this.
  • Contacts might want to receive plain text because they're partially sighted, or their email client or the older mobile device won't display HTML emails.

plain-text-editor.png

Before you start

Things you need to know:

  • You can't generate a plain text version of your campaign if it's using advanced personalisation.
    To learn more about advanced personalisation, check out the article Advanced personalisation - an overview.

Create the plain text version of your campaign

To create a plain text version of your campaign:

  1. Create an HTML Email campaign as normal.
    To learn how, check out Create, test, and send an email campaign.
  2. After creating your HTML campaign in the EasyEditor, select SAVE & CONTINUE.
    This takes you to the plain text email editor.
  3. Select GENERATE PLAIN TEXT VERSION to automatically generate a plain text version of your HTML email campaign. You can make edits to the plain text content if you want to.
    When you generate a plain text version of your campaign, you see a message which states Replace all your existing content with a converted plaintext version of the HTML content? Select OK. This does not affect your already created HTML version of the campaign.
    Alternatively, you can manually enter your plain text content into the box.
    The unsubscribe link is present in the plain text version of a campaign by default. You must not remove this.

gen-plain-text.png

Add an action or personalisation to a plain text email

To add an action or personalisation to your plain text email:

  1. On the plain text editor, select INSERT ACTION.insert-action-preview.png
  2. To add a data field or link action, select the relevant tab, find the action or data field you want, and then select Insert.
  3. To preview your campaign, select PREVIEW.
  4. Select SAVE & CONTINUE.

Limitations of plain text emails

This table shows items you can and can't include in your plain text emails.

Can include ✔️ Can't include ❌

Actions

Dynamic content
Personalisation Advanced personalisation
Links  

Next steps

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