There are 4 types of Newsletters:
1)
ASCII is the standard text mail agent. Content-Type:
text/plain
2)
AOL is a standard text mail but with
an AOL format agent.
3)
HTML email lets you surf an email
in-box with a browser and will have the look and feel of a Web page. Content-Type: text/html
HTML email brings designer layouts, graphics, animation, sound, and interactivity to the genre. It encourages clickthroughs to a web site.
The
only caveat is that HTML email will make you wait, it's email through the speed
of a Web site.
To use HTML
email, you need a Web-based email account - one that supports standard mail
protocols like POP (Post Office Protocol), IMAP (Internet Mail Access
Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and MIME (Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extensions).
How
Newsletters Work.
Incoming mail is stored in your POP account on an Internet server as multipart
MIME documents. A message is divided into a text component and MIME file
attachments. These attachments are associated with a URL that calls in the
graphics, animations, sounds, and other elements at viewing time.
Outgoing HTML email is
sent like any other piece of Internet mail using SMTP - the trick is to
manipulate the header information that accompanies your message.
In addition to To:,
From:,
Cc:,
and Bcc:,
an email header specifies content type, transfer encoding, and display
properties of the mail. The most important of these header fields for HTML
email is Content-Type. Mail agents send mail with Content-Type:
text/plain or Content-Type: text/html.
Friendly unsubscribe instructions should always be
included as a basic courtesy on any email sent to a subscriber list.
