3 Basic Newsletter Formats with Samples to Choose From

“A newsletter is a publication that is distributed over regular intervals of time to a group of defined individuals. It is an effective communication tool utilized mostly to teach, inform, announce events, and promote new products and services all together.”

Newsletter formats differ from one another in their design, functionality and use. In today’s post we will give you a brief review the three majorly used newsletter formats and their advantages and disadvantages along with examples of sample newsletter formats.

HTML
Plain Text
PDF

Pros/Cons

HTML

Plain Text

PDF
Flexibility V. Good Low Medium
Graphics V. Good Low V. Good
Hyper Linking V.Good Low Medium
Compatibility Low Medium Medium
Difficulty Level High Low Medium
Loading Issues High Low Medium

1. Flexibility with Customization

HTML based newsletters give you more flexibility than any other format. You can play around with fonts, change background colors, add headers etc. These features give your newsletter a lively feel and make them more engaging. Vast options of customization allow you to design your newsletters in many ways.
2. Extensive Options with Graphics

HTML format allows extensive use of graphics. If you plan to promote a product through your newsletter, use of graphics and product pictures can really help you get more customers. Moreover, graphics and pictures make your newsletter more appealing and attractive.
3. Hyperlinks

You can use hyperlinks with HTML format unlike plain text where the links appear broken while in the case of a PDF newsletter, they render browser security issues.
4. Difficulty Level with HTML Knowledge

The main problem people face with this format is that their HTML knowledge is not enough for them to develop their own newsletters. It is possible to acquire sample newsletter formats and tweak them according to your needs, but you might not find one good enough to your liking. If you are serious towards using this format, you can hire a coder who can do the work for you.
5. Compatibility Issues with Various Email Clients

One of the key disadvantages of this format is its compatibility issue with email clients. Not all email clients support this format. Therefore, if your subscriber is using an email client that does not support this format, they will not receive your newsletter.

1. Difficulty Level: No Professional Skill Required

The best advantage of using plain text format is the ease with which they are created. No technical knowledge is required as well. No special software is required as well since a simple word processor can do the job.

The best advantage of using plain text format is the ease with which they are created. No technical knowledge is required as well. No special software is required as well since a simple word processor can do the job.
2. Minimal Compatibility Issues

Newsletters written in plain text format will always be delivered to the subscriber since email clients have no issues with this kind of format.
3. Simplistic Outlook

A simple looking newsletter may or not be a problem depending how you look at it. If you appreciate trendiness, graphics and images, you might say that a simple newsletter is lacking majorly.

On the other hand, some readers might get distracted with flashy looks and color contrasts. Your content is what matters the most in this case. less options with creativity might be a hindrance for you to choose this format.
4. Hyperlinks

Since plain text does not allow hyperlinks, rather longer links in your newsletter will appear broken due to email client restrictions. This situation gets very out of hand with affiliate links since they all look like a URL spread over two, three lines.