This article explains what plaintext emails are, how they differ from HTML emails, and why they are important to your email marketing strategy.

What is a plaintext email?

When you use Emma's editor to build an email campaign, you are creating the HTML version of that campaign, which usually includes engaging content and colorful images. We send all HTML emails created with the editor as a multi-part message, meaning that a text-only version is sent along with the HTML version. This text-only version is referred to as a plaintext email.

Although the vast majority of email clients are equipped to deal with HTML messages these days, there are still some platforms and devices that can't display HTML. There are also people who choose to block HTML emails, which is why we attempt to send both, to better ensure that your emails get delivered.

In both the new drag and drop editor and the legacy* editor, Emma automatically generates a plaintext email based on the HTML version of your campaign. In the new drag and drop editor, there is no option to edit the plaintext version. However, it is possible to edit the plaintext version in the legacy* editor. This article provides general information about plaintext emails and thus applies to both editors. For more information about editing the plaintext version of a legacy* campaign, please refer to this article.

How do plaintext emails work?

When you send a campaign through Emma, most of your emails will be accepted by the receiving server on the first pass. However, if an inbox is full, or a server is down or simply not responding, we'll try sending multiple times. Occasionally it can take up to 30 hours after you've sent a mailing for it to reach some contacts' inboxes. We label those re-tries as "emails in progress" on your Response page.

After multiple follow-up delivery attempts, we'll try sending the plaintext version instead. This is to make sure the receiving server isn't rejecting it simply because it's an HTML email.

The advantages of including a plaintext version

There are many benefits to including plaintext emails in your overall marketing strategy. HTML emails with a plaintext alternative are spam filter-friendly. Whereas, HTML-only emails are a red flag for spam filters because most spammers are not concerned with taking the time to create a plaintext alternative.

When do contacts receive the plaintext version?

There are many reasons why a contact might receive the plaintext version of a mailing over the HTML version. We've listed some of the most common reasons below:

Your contacts control their mail server settings

All of our email campaign templates include the Emma footer which gives your recipients a convenient way to manage their preferences, opt-out, sign-up for other campaigns, and to view the mailing they have received in a separate window online.

Some companies have strict no-HTML policies for security and privacy reasons. In these cases, when either the recipient has elected to turn HTML off for incoming emails or someone at their company / email host has, those contacts will only receive the plaintext version of your campaign.

Ⓘ	Recipients of the plaintext version can still view the HTML version by clicking on the webview link.

Plaintext emails ensure deliverability on HTML-disabled devices

People who use HTML-disabled devices will only see the plaintext version. For example, someone viewing their emails on a smartwatch may not be able to see the HTML version for space reasons. Not providing these contacts with the plaintext version of your mailing could be a missed opportunity, which is why we offer it as an option.

Subscribers control their preferences

The Emma footer allows your contacts to choose their preferred format when signing up, as long as you've added the Preferred format field to your signup forms. To do this follow the steps described here to edit your signup form and add the Preferred format field.

Ⓘ	The Preferred format field cannot be added to the Subscription Center, so if a contact wants to adjust this preference, they'll need to use a signup form instead.

Signup confirmation emails are plaintext

When a new subscriber signs up through an Emma form, we send them a plaintext confirmation email. You have the option to turn this default email off and can optionally set up an HTML welcome email instead, by creating an automated workflow based on signup.

If only the plaintext could be delivered, Emma will remember

When a server is down or not responding and the plaintext email is delivered instead, the contact's Preferred format field is changed to plaintext for future emails. Of course, should it be requested, they can easily change their preference back to HTML by filling out a signup form that contains the Preferred format field and select HTML from the dropdown

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*In April 2022, Emma's legacy editor was replaced with a new drag and drop editor. Accounts that existed prior to this change still have access to the legacy editor through their previously saved templates and campaigns, however new, from-scratch campaigns can only be created in the new drag and drop editor. Accounts that were created after this change only have access to the new drag and drop editor. Please refer to our new editor FAQ article for more information.