Getting that HTML design right...

Getting an email in HTML format is usually more interesting than a one in plain old text, unless of course, it looks terrible, in which case, it is probably going straight to trash without passing go.

So I thought this article about HTML design was very useful (it is a good web site for information about email generally actually)

I think I have seen people send emails that do all seven things they recommend not to do, and in all cases, not only do I not read that particular email, I tend to be more reluctant to read any more from the same address.

So when designing HTML emails, keep it simple, use a good template, and remember the email is usually just a means to get them to your website, where you can use more sophisticated techniques to impress your visitors.