Using web-based images in emails
By Trent Dozier
As you may have read in my earlier article regarding
the use of compressed images in emails, many people
are struggling with images in their email campaigns
and getting them to function as they desire. The
problems range from slow sending and delivery
of messages, to failed sending and delivery.
There are two ways in which I recommend overcoming
this issue. The first is to compress the images
for embedding, discussed in the earlier article.
The second is to use web-based images. When at
all possible I recommend using web images rather
than embedded images.
To understand web images, you must first understand
a little background on how the web functions with
images. For example: if you view http://www.arialsoftware.com
you will see the Arial Software logo at the top
of the page. However, the address or location
of that image of the logo is not http://www.arialsoftware.com,
but is actually hosted from a separate location
at that address, http://www.arialsoftware.com/images/ariallogo.gif
Why web images?
When sending an email campaign out to a large
subscriber list, you will save time by using web-based
images. The greatest benefit of web images over
embedded images is the fact that the images themselves
do not have to be uploaded to the SMTP server.
They are actually hosted by the website or public
server on which they reside.
Another benefit of using web images is the control
you maintain over the images after the campaign
has been sent. As long as you have administrative
access to the server on which the images are hosted,
you have the ability to change the size of the
images, improve their quality, or provide updated
images in the email, even after it has been delivered.
Use of web images provides great deal of flexibility
over embedded.
How to get started
There are two elements required to complete this
job successfully. The first is an image; the second
is access to a public server. If you do not have
access to a public server, there are websites
that provide free image hosting. I recommend doing
a search of the web to locate one that will work
for you.
After assembling these elements you are ready
to begin this quite simple process.
- Upload the image
to your public server. If you have a website
and are unclear of the exact process for doing
this, I recommend speaking with your web-designer
to have he or she assist you in placing an image
on the server.
- Get the image
address. Once the image has placed on the public
server the image should now carry a web address.
In the first example of a web-based image, the
Arial Software image has been uploaded to the
web server that hosts the Arial Software website.
The address of this image is http://www.arialsoftware.com/images/ariallogo.gif
Note that you will need the entire address --
including http:// -- in order for the image
to function correctly in an email message.
- Insert the image
address in your campaign. If you are using an
external editor to create your html message,
you can consult with the manufacture of that
program for instructions on properly inserting
a web image, or you can manually insert the
html code yourself.
As a friendly reminder, both Campaign Enterprise
and Email Marketing Director by Arial Software
(that's us) have a button in their built-in HTML
editors. Just click the “Insert Web Image”
button and type or paste the web address of your
web-based image for insertion in your email message.
Using a web image really is as easy as 1-2-3,
especially when using email marketing products
from Arial Software.
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