Outlook 2007: New Editor, New Challenges
Apr 03 2007
This morning’s feature article on iMediaConnection answers a lot of questions that the entire email marketing world has been buzzing with anticipation. Until reading this article, most of us knew that Outlook 2007 is using a new rendering engine (MS Word) instead of the much more intuitive choice of MS Internet Explorer like previous versions of Outlook. Some of my quick observations on the annoyances of Outlook 2007: Background images and colors are removed and rendering of emails using CSS and style sheets gets screwy.
But here are a few things we didn’t know as well:
1. Adoption rate of Outlook 2007 is going to be quite slow, especially among B2C users.
2. The article mentions, “Outlook changes may encourage designers to stick to simple HTML and, as a result, increase compatibility with a greater number of mail clients including those on handheld devices and cell phones.”
The Good stuff: What to do about it. Read the full blog posting and article >>
This is straight from the last page of the iMedia Connection article and is copied in its entirety:
“Education & Understanding
Read the MS documentation on Outlook 2007 so you and your designers understand the limitations and can account for these if you want to design Outlook 2007-friendly emails (Email Marketing Report’s Brownlow)
Outlook 2007 has been available as a no-charge beta for months, enabling many marketers to test and optimize their email in advance of the recent launch. (Microsoft’s Spiezle)
Test, test and re-test
Test, test and re-test campaigns to optimize deliverability. Tools and deliverability resources are available for mailers at www.microsoft.com/postmaster as well as from http://postmaster.live.com/ (Spiezle)
Review your subscriber list to get a feel for the webmail services and likely clients being used by them. Test these services and clients against your design and adjust accordingly. (Brownlow)
Ensure your email service provider has tested any plug-n-play templates that the company offers (GOT’s Vezina)
Test the rendering of your campaigns in all email clients PRIOR to mailing. Use a tool provided by your email service provider, agency or deliverability partner, or just set up test accounts and check manually. (Return Path’s Miller)
Adjustments & New Best Practices
If you’re a beginner or intermediate at web design, simply avoid: CSS (cascading style sheets), background images, animated GIFs and
Add a link to the web version of your email, so if things look grim there’s an alternative for your recipients to view. (Brownlow)
Realize that Outlook 2007 is one of many display environments that can wreak havoc with inappropriately designed email. Designing email just for Outlook 2007 is like designing a road for bicycles only. (Brownlow)
In Q2, start to roll back to simple HTML and try to inform your design as much as possible with real subscriber input. (Miller)
Offer a quick poll asking when your subscribers intend to upgrade (if at all). Talk to your subscribers through online surveys and/or focus groups. Are some of the advanced features you feel you can’t live without really that important to them? Will simple links do just as well as interactive elements or search fields? (Miller)
Sadly, there is no “sniffer” that will tell your MIME formatted messages that the client is Outlook 2007. However, you can add mouse type to your header instructions to easily view the message as a web page or to change preferences to text only. This will at least address any rendering difficulties until Outlook 2007 has a broader share of market. (Miller)
Track subscriber behavior, particularly for B2B subscribers. Are formerly active subscribers suddenly going non-responsive? Maybe they can’t see your email! Are there certain receivers/ISPs where you see a drop off in open and click rates? Perhaps the Outlook 2007 adoption is higher to this segment. This data may give you a clue as to adoption of your own file. Invite those subscribers to re-subscribe to the text version. (Miller)
Give more attention to the words you use. The tougher the limitations on design, the bigger the role your text plays in driving action. A picture is worth approximately zero words if it isn’t displayed properly. Don’t let clever design get in the way of the message. (Brownlow)
Hope for the best: Using Word as Outlook’s rendering engine appears to be some sort of horrible mistake. We can only hope that Microsoft, which is already reportedly at work on Service Pack 1, puts Internet Explorer back in charge of rendering soon so email marketers can avoid some HTML overhauls down the line. (EEC’s White)”
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