Businesses, big and small, publish HTML email ezines to entice prospective clients and keep current customers updated about the latest developments in that particular field. Not all of them, however, are able to come up with a design for their ezine that might do the trick for them. An effective ezine is mixture of great content and design. The design of the ezine has to be such that it does not hinder the flow of the content in anyway. When the flow of the content is maintained, subscribers find it easier to read it. The following are some mistakes that you need to avoid.

Never forget to add an unsubscribe link to your ezine. Prospective and current clients will get annoyed if they cannot unsubscribe from an ezine campaign. As a result they may lodge a spam complaint against you. As per the CAN SPAM act, you have to include an unsubscribe link. Your credibility will get a boost in the eyes of your customers, when you include an unsubscribe link. Once they hit the unsubscribe link, remove their address from the list promptly and do not send them any emails. Remember, an unsubscribe request is always better than a spam complaint.

As mentioned above, subscribers will find it easier to read content that has a flow. So, it’s your job to give it a proper flow. The use of heads and subheads is a good way to ensure that the flow is maintained. Any information which is not divided using heads and subheads, will look highly cluttered. If it does not have breaks at appropriate places, your subscribers will not read the content; no matter how good it is. Heads and subheads also improve the overall appearance of the ezine.

If your ezine has more than three sections, then include a table of contents. It has two major advantages; first, readers will come to know what it’s about, in a single glance and second, they can locate their favorite section easily. The absence of a table of contents, in longer ezines, comes across as something very striking. Your clients may formulate the impression that you have not paid attention to your ezine’s overall formatting.

Never assume that your clients have plenty of time at their disposal. They also may not have vast reserves of patience. For this very reason, the articles of your ezine should be short. Longer articles increase the overall length of the ezine. They may start reading them, but they may give it up midway. If you wish to include a long article, then give a link, instead of adding the full thing. You can also mark it as a special article for that particular edition. Always bear in mind, your clients may not read your ezine should they think it’s too long.

These are some of the mistakes you should avoid, when you design an HTML email ezine. A well organized ezine campaign will definitely give your sales and website traffic a big boost.