Tips for Coding HTML Email Newsletters for Multiple Browsers
Posted by Think.Point.Click. in eMail on March 24th, 2009
If you are reading this than you know the joys of trying to code your email for all of the various email applications out there. Outllook, AOL, Gmail, Hotmail each have their own quirks and rendering methodologies and getting your email to display in all of its splendor and glory in each is well…a pain in the ass.
So now that you are reading this article hopefully you’ve stopped banging your head against your desk and I have you attention for a minute or two. Here are the resources I have used and found helpful to aid you in your process.
- I would start with the Email Standards Project. Here you can find a list of all the major web email clients and how they stack up to the Email Standards Project acid test. When coding, this will give you a head start on what each email client supports and what will render properly before you decide to really flex your creative CSS muscle.
- Another great resource is from Campaign Monitor. You can take a look at the CSS support for both desktop and web email clients so you don’t have to figure it out for yourself. You can download the 2008 CSS guide in PDF, Excel format or view it on their webpage.
- Now that you know what you can and can’t do you will need to test your work. Litmus has a great email testing tool that allows you to view your work in every major desktop and email client application. You will see exactly what you recipients see without having to open 10 different email accounts checking each one every time you make a change.
- If you need a good place to start or some plain ol’ fashioned inspiration. Here is an added bonus. 30+ Free HTML email templates that will look good in all the major email clients tested by Campaign Monitor. They are organized by Left Sidebar, Right Sidebar and Single column layouts.
Well, I hope this helps gets you started or figure out why that image just won’t line up. I want to hear from you. What resources are you using to keep your emails inline?
Setting Meeting Objectives
Posted by Think.Point.Click. in Project Managment on March 10th, 2009
I just finished up a post about Understanding Effective Meeting Agendas and thought it was important to expand on the importance of clearly setting the meeting objectives before you create your meeting agenda. Setting meeting objectives is the first and most important step during the meeting management process. It answers the question of “What do I hope to accomplish when my meeting is done?”.
Before planning the agenda, write down a phrase or several phrases to complete the sentence: By the end of the meeting, I want the group to… Depending on the focus of your meeting, your ending to the sentence might include phrases such as: …be able to list the top three features of our newest product, …have generated three ideas for increasing our sales, …understand the way we do business with customers, …leave with an action plan, …decide on a new widget supplier, or …solve the design problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Understanding Effective Meeting Agendas
Posted by Think.Point.Click. in Project Managment on March 10th, 2009
I have been looking at my meeting calendar recently and realized something. I have no idea what half of the meetings are about. I just know I am supposed to show up and that is about it. When I do get there someone just starts talking about stuff. Do I know who this person is? Do I know why I am there? Do I even know what this mysterious stuff is? Hmmm… I think it’s time for my handy dandy sheet of scratch paper and the para-trooping bunnies.
I think sometimes we miss a step and assume that just by calling a meeting a naming it “Meeting to Talk About Stuff”, that it will be enough information to conduct a productive and effective meeting. We need to take a step back and address one of the most important elements, the meeting agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
The Lucky Charms Scenario: How Did My Meeting Get Off Track?
Posted by Think.Point.Click. in Project Managment on March 6th, 2009
I thought we were talking about …”Fill in the Blank”. How did we wind up talking about pink hearts, green clovers, and purple horseshoes? It is inevitable. We sit in meetings and as they progress somehow they get further and further from the original topic. Your discussion has gone completely off topic and it is definitely no longer related to decisions that need to be made in the meeting.
So what do you do? You are the facilitator of the meeting and you don’t want to offend anyone or stifle creativity. Here is your life saver, the Parking Lot. That’s right, you did not misread anything. My recommendation is to take that person out to the Parking Lot and well… be creative. No, seriously the Parking Lot and meetings go hand in hand. The Parking Lot ultimately increases meeting productivity and generates a launch pad for future decisions. Read the rest of this entry »
Who Should Come to My Meeting?
Posted by Think.Point.Click. in Project Managment on March 6th, 2009
How many of you have been in a meeting and start thinking to yourself, “Ughh, This is such a waste of my time!”, while drawing fanciful doodles of bunny rabbits parachuting out of airplanes or in a meeting mumbling to yourself “I wish John was here. He would do a much better job at explaining this than I can.” I know we have all been there and done that at some point in our careers. Now the question is, what can we do to prevent this and have more productive meetings when it’s our turn to serve up a hot plate o’ meeting and you’re the one asking who should be there?
If you don’t already know meetings are very expensive activities considering the cost of labor and how much can or cannot get done in them. Therefore it is important that serious time and consideration is put into making sure the right people are in the room. Read the rest of this entry »