H is for HTML

And what I mean by that is HTML Email.  As a heavy Blackberry user, I'm tired of commercial emails that fill my tiny screen with HTML code, to the point where I can't even make out the message without tiring out my Thumb.

There is an easy solution to this, but it's cutting edge-- go backwards.  Give users the option to receive your email as a message; an actual, honest to goodness email with only text, and a actual message that does more than just drive to web.  

Lately in digital marketing, the focus has been a drive to web.  Usually, (I've found), this is a misguided objective, because the 'richer medium' is just used to deliver a

fancier

 message.  Pictures.  Video.  Interaction, and tricks to get me to spread your message.

If the

message

 itself is good.  Just put it in the body of the email as text.  Let me read it like a human, without a web-based Call to Action. Since I may end up reading this email on my computer eventually, (if it's compelling and useful to me) then put a single link at the bottom. Make that link a shortened URL, and make sure all your tracking codes are built-in before you shrink the URL.  

We are very rapidly getting to a point where

Smartphones

 are becoming the norm, and email via these devices will be in a weird limbo state before all the devices can properly display an HTML email (assuming you would agree to that and basically cost yourself money, since images=bandwidth=charges) so the likelihood of people even reading HTML emails in the future on their mobile device is slim.  H is for HTML Email.  It's also for Hassle.