Comments on: Online Newsletters: How to Present Links? http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/ Amy Gahran's news and musings on how we communicate in the online age. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:02:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Seshu http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/#comment-52845 Seshu Mon, 16 Jan 2006 23:43:12 +0000 #comment-52845 Amy To answer Christian's question about having a non-descript snipped URL (such as Snurl.com or TinyURL.com), I use http://urlx.org/ (this a similar online service that allows for the first part of the URL to give the user some indication of where on the Internet you are being taken. Give it a whirl! Seshu Amy

To answer Christian’s question about having a non-descript snipped URL (such as Snurl.com or TinyURL.com), I use http://urlx.org/ (this a similar online service that allows for the first part of the URL to give the user some indication of where on the Internet you are being taken. Give it a whirl!

Seshu

]]> By: Alicia McBride http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/#comment-52080 Alicia McBride Fri, 13 Jan 2006 20:24:31 +0000 #comment-52080 Thanks for the suggestions on this issue - I'm responsible for sending the e-newsletters for my organization and I've been looking for ideas about best practices on doing links for a while. Judging from the e-newsletters I receive, there's no consensus on the best way to do links. Our audience tends to be older and have older machines and email setups - so in our HTML email I usually leave the URLs visible but clickable. Aesthetically it bothers me but anecdotally we hear from people when we embed the links that they can't get them to work and without a URL they can't cut and paste something into a browser. It seems like overkill to both embed the link and list the URL, so we just leave the URLs hanging out. Thanks for the suggestions on this issue - I’m responsible for sending the e-newsletters for my organization and I’ve been looking for ideas about best practices on doing links for a while. Judging from the e-newsletters I receive, there’s no consensus on the best way to do links.

Our audience tends to be older and have older machines and email setups - so in our HTML email I usually leave the URLs visible but clickable. Aesthetically it bothers me but anecdotally we hear from people when we embed the links that they can’t get them to work and without a URL they can’t cut and paste something into a browser. It seems like overkill to both embed the link and list the URL, so we just leave the URLs hanging out.

]]> By: Mark Figart http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/#comment-51901 Mark Figart Thu, 12 Jan 2006 16:03:08 +0000 #comment-51901 I personally prefer to see links embedded in HTML-based emails. Unfortunately, such links are often overlooked in scenarios where the majority of readers are not web savvy. So if the purpose of a link is specific and important -- more than just an item of convenience -- then we find it sometimes pays to also include the url, spelled out in its entirety. Whether the url is displayed beside the embedded link -- in parenthesis, for example -- or some other way, it can make a big difference in click-through percentages. I personally prefer to see links embedded in HTML-based emails. Unfortunately, such links are often overlooked in scenarios where the majority of readers are not web savvy. So if the purpose of a link is specific and important — more than just an item of convenience — then we find it sometimes pays to also include the url, spelled out in its entirety. Whether the url is displayed beside the embedded link — in parenthesis, for example — or some other way, it can make a big difference in click-through percentages.

]]> By: Amy Gahran http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/#comment-51895 Amy Gahran Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:33:27 +0000 #comment-51895 That's a good point, Christian. Well, for years when I was manually producing the content for my Contentious e-mail alerts, I included SnipURL redirects instead of full-length URLs to avoid presenting links that would break across lines in e-mail readers and therefore fail to function. That didn't seem to hurt my readership at all. With each e-mail alert, I'd get lots of clickthroughs. I do know that most of the people who get my e-mail alerts tend to be one the nongeeky end of the spectrum -- that's why the prefer e-mail alerts to feeds. However, I don't know how typical their behavior is. Most of those people signed up for my e-mail alerts years ago and I've built a history of trust with them. If you think your e-mail newsletter audience might be concerned about the safety of clicking on redirect URLs, then clarify in the newsletter header what they are. For instance, your header could say, "I used the SnipURL service to create URLs that are short enough to work well in your e-mail reader. However, these links will take you to the correct destination. They are not spam or viruses." ... I dunno, what do you think about this approach? - Amy Gahran That’s a good point, Christian.

Well, for years when I was manually producing the content for my Contentious e-mail alerts, I included SnipURL redirects instead of full-length URLs to avoid presenting links that would break across lines in e-mail readers and therefore fail to function.

That didn’t seem to hurt my readership at all. With each e-mail alert, I’d get lots of clickthroughs.

I do know that most of the people who get my e-mail alerts tend to be one the nongeeky end of the spectrum — that’s why the prefer e-mail alerts to feeds. However, I don’t know how typical their behavior is. Most of those people signed up for my e-mail alerts years ago and I’ve built a history of trust with them.

If you think your e-mail newsletter audience might be concerned about the safety of clicking on redirect URLs, then clarify in the newsletter header what they are. For instance, your header could say, “I used the SnipURL service to create URLs that are short enough to work well in your e-mail reader. However, these links will take you to the correct destination. They are not spam or viruses.”

… I dunno, what do you think about this approach?

- Amy Gahran

]]> By: Christian Spannagel http://www.contentious.com/2006/01/11/online-newsletters-how-to-present-links/#comment-51777 Christian Spannagel Thu, 12 Jan 2006 06:54:27 +0000 #comment-51777 Hi Amy! I fully agree with you. Perhaps some readers are afraid of clicking on a tinyurl-link, because they don't know which page they are forwared to (in days of spam, viruses and trojan horses, you have to be careful :-) ). Do you have experiences with tiny links? Or do you know how people can be assured that the link is ok? Have a nice day, Christian Hi Amy! I fully agree with you.

Perhaps some readers are afraid of clicking on a tinyurl-link, because they don’t know which page they are forwared to (in days of spam, viruses and trojan horses, you have to be careful :-) ).

Do you have experiences with tiny links? Or do you know how people can be assured that the link is ok?

Have a nice day,

Christian

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