This is a hot question and many especially today will tell you that text probably gets them more response. Furthermore, HTML emails automatically receive a small score in SpamAssassin a filter offered by many email accounts if turned on. I was reading BtoB magazine, I was reminded of another good reason to send text emails. Mobile devices. There is a good chance your readers would read emails on their cell phones or PDA’s. It’s not that the devices cannot handle simply HTML; they are much better doing that today than a few years ago but it bogs down the device tremendously and takes time to load. Text is much faster and resource friendly.

Beyond simply changing over to text it might also be a good idea to strip off unnecessary introductions and cut right to the chase. Not only is that good for mobile devices but many people do not really open an email, rather they use the preview pane in their email reader and scan quickly. In addition to a strong subject line, this also means you need to capture attention and interest as early as possible within the email body.