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My favorite subject line in a long time – sent from a client – read “FYI… Outlook 2007 is shady.”

Well that’s to say the least. For those of you waiting in giddy anticipation for the privilege of working with Office 2007, let me spare you. At first I thought it was me. If I added up the time it took me to find all of the basic functions that were previously a right-click away … I shudder to consider the productivity lost. But one day I heard music to my ears – the grief stricken cry from a coworker “How the $@#% do you PRINT in Word?” In an effort to “simplify” things for everyone, Microsoft has undone years of routine clicking by reorganizing everything into handy “ribbons”, based on new categories that we must now all learn.

Included in this “simplification” are changes to Outlook 2007 designed to protect us all from the evils of Spam. All whining aside, the changes don’t seem to be too monumental to the way we should all be doing email now anyway. You wouldn’t know this however, from all of the backlash this change has created.

Are you ready for the earth-shattering list? Find each below with my commentary on how it changes (or not) the way we approach email campaigns:

No support for background images (HTML or CSS).
No big loss here. Anyone concerned about getting email past Lotus Notes system has known about this one for a long time. You are better off sticking with colored table cells & regular images to achieve the same goal. If you feel you MUST use a background image, be certain it isn’t pivotal to your creative or message.

No support for forms.
Since most major email clients don’t support the use of Javascripting – and that’s how error checking on forms is handled – it’s generally recommended to skip using forms in email. This has traditionally been done as a spam filtration and security measure. It’s recommended that you link out to the form from the email.

No support for Flash, or other plug-ins.
This type of rich media and plug-ins are typically searched for, and blocked, by spam filtration tools. Additionally, if the end user does not have updated systems to support the plug-in, your message will be impacted. If you want to use media like Flash or streaming video, its best to link to a landing page with a hosted version of the component.

No support for animated GIFs.
This one seems kind of silly. It’s hard to think of a security reason behind it quite frankly. The good thing is that using good design, there should be no limitation here.

No support for CSS floats.
CSS Floats are generally used for bigger scale efforts such as website design. The best use of styles for email is “inline” and in context of the actual HTML files being delivered. For a while now, major email programs have not supported external stylesheets. Experienced emarketers have known to avoid using them as there is a risk of your email rendering poorly.

No support for CSS positioning.
This issue is relative to the other CSS issue mentioned above.

No support for replacing bullets with images in unordered lists.
Anyone using images for bullets was probably avoiding the tag already. Your best bet is to stick with tables and include images in a column next to each bulleted item to control how everything lines up.

There is an Outlook 2007 Tool: HTML and CSS Validator that supposedly helps you identify problem areas in your code if you are so inclined.

So while Outlook 2007 might have a new set of restrictions, the good news is that as long as you are using an experienced agency to design your email, you are in no danger of being “shady”. And no, there is no reason to have Outlook 2007 users receive text versions of your emails. I get plenty of Spam and legitimate marketing email every day that comes through just fine. So relax, take a deep breath and find something else to worry about – like how your emails are rendering.

While I am not typically one to fall into the whole New Year’s resolution “thing” (yes, air quotes would have been appropriate here Britney); I actually have TWO of them this year. I won’t get into too much detail on the first one, except to say it’s fairly standard and involves a battle with myself to exercise a little self control when it comes to all things sweet and calorie-laden. The second, however, I feel is fit to share in this most public of forums.

Those of you managing email programs, it’s time you finally do something about all of the issues that we’ve been reading and talking about for oh-so-long now. How many more conferences and summits do we need to attend to know it’s time? What am I talking about? As technology advances, our emails are starting to look WORSE!

The following have an impact on your email’s performance:

- Widespread adoption of Outlook 2003 with preview pane enabled
- Web based email clients (e.g. Yahoo!) are now using preview panes
- Images not loading by default in many email clients
- People receiving email on mobile devices

What can you do about it? Well, you have to start by wiping-clean the chalkboard board of your mind – no more of the “same old same old” email look. You know what I’m talking about, the old “banner at the top of the email, with the logo on the left, and the offer on the right”. First of all, it’s boring. More importantly, when that banner doesn’t load, no one sees your logo. And, if your offer is part of the graphic, there is a good chance no one can read it. Expecting readers to download images just to get the gist of your email is asking for more effort than most people have the time to output.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but people rarely listen or are afraid to stray from the norm. You don’t NEED a logo on the top left. People should see who sent the email in the FROM field. That’s what they look at to decide if they even want to open your email. But now that Email Labs is saying it, maybe I will be more credible.

Now, I’m not saying to avoid the use of pretty pictures altogether. Just don’t make your email reliant on them to deliver the message. Use a combination of web text and colored background cells for navigational and promotional information. Once the reader is engaged and decides to check out the entire email, you can wow them with great creative that adds to the experience and strengthens your brand.

So back to resolution two … I won’t take “no” for answer when I tell my clients this is how they need to be doing email. Even if I have to do it without the extra energy from a pre-meeting sugar binge.