Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / How Email Content Formats Drive Revenue
Transcript
- Lucas: If you look at the average email sent by a mid-market SaaS company today, it’s a visual maze: hero images, multiple columns, footers with social icons, and links that go nowhere. But here is the thing that keeps me up at night, and it is not the design. It is the fact that most of these emails are being opened on devices where those pixels don’t actually render correctly, or worse, they just distract from the single action we want the reader to take. Luna: Right, because if I am on my phone, scrolling through a cluttered inbox, a clean block of text feels like a breath of fresh air compared to a brochure that takes three seconds to load. Lucas: Exactly. And the data supports that intuition. We looked at a recent case study from a major e-commerce platform that ran an A-B test last quarter comparing a highly designed HTML newsletter against a pure text version. The text version didn’t just win; it crushed the HTML version in click-through rates by nearly twenty-two percent while maintaining identical open rates. That is a massive shift in revenue per subscriber. Luna: Twenty-two percent is huge. Was the subject line different, or was it purely the body copy structure? Lucas: The subject lines were identical, and the offer was the same. The only variable was the body format. The HTML version had a big banner image, a short paragraph, a button, and then a footer with four different link options. The text version was just a conversational note from the founder, two paragraphs long, and one clear link at the bottom. It felt less like marketing and more like a personal message. Luna: That makes sense because people are tired of being sold to; they want to feel like they are getting insider info from a peer. Lucas: Precisely. And this brings us to a critical point about how we define success in email marketing right now. For years, we have been obsessed with open rates as a vanity metric, but open rates are becoming increasingly unreliable due to privacy protections like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection. So, when open rates are noisy, what do we look at? We look at the quality of the click. A click on a text link is intentional. A click on a large, colorful banner button is often accidental or impulsive. Luna: So, are you suggesting that brands should strip back their designs entirely, or is there a middle ground? Lucas: I am not saying strip everything back. I am saying we need to be strategic about where we use visuals. If you are selling a product that needs to be seen, like fashion or furniture, images are necessary. But for services, software, or thought leadership, text often converts better because it reduces cognitive load. When you remove the visual noise, the reader has to engage with your words. And if your words are good, that engagement translates directly into revenue. Luna: It’s interesting because I feel like many marketers are afraid to send plain text emails because they think it looks unprofessional or cheap. Lucas: That is a legacy mindset. In 2026, a well-crafted text email looks premium because it respects the recipient’s time and attention. Think about the emails you actually read. Are they the ones with flashy graphics, or are they the ones that feel like a direct conversation? Most people check their work email on mobile devices during commutes or breaks. They want information quickly, not a gallery walk. Luna: But what about brand recognition? If every email looks like a text thread, doesn’t the brand lose its visual identity? Lucas: Brand identity is not just a logo or a color palette. It is tone, voice, and consistency. You can build a strong brand with text alone. Look at Substack newsletters. Many of them have zero images, yet their readers feel a deep connection to the writers. The brand is the writer’s perspective, not the template. If you rely solely on visual cues to establish trust, you might be neglecting the actual substance of your message. Luna: That’s a fair point. Trust is built through value, not just aesthetics. But how do you test this without risking a drop in engagement if the audience isn’t ready for the change? Lucas: You segment your list. Don’t roll it out to everyone at once. Take ten percent of your subscribers, send them the text-only version, and compare their behavior against the control group. Monitor not just clicks, but downstream metrics like page views, time on site, and actual purchases. If the text group shows higher intent signals, then you expand the test. This is low-risk, high-reward experimentation. Luna: So, it’s about measuring intent rather than just interest. Interest is clicking a banner; intent is reading a paragraph and deciding to buy. Lucas: Exactly. And this leads us to another layer of content strategy: the call to action. In HTML emails, you often have multiple calls to action, which creates decision paralysis. In text emails, you typically have one clear call to action. This simplicity drives higher conversion rates because the path to purchase is linear. There are no distractions, no secondary links, just a direct route from problem to solution. Luna: I love that. It’s basically the minimalist approach applied to marketing. Less is more, but only if the core message is strong enough to stand on its own. Lucas: Right. And this requires better copywriting skills from marketers. You can’t hide behind a pretty layout. Every sentence has to earn its place. This is why I think we are seeing a rise in hybrid models, where the email is mostly text, but includes small, functional images like a product shot or a testimonial quote. It’s the best of both worlds: the clarity of text with the context of visuals. Luna: Hybrid sounds like the sweet spot. But even in a hybrid model, how much visual weight should we give those images? Should they be integrated into the text flow or kept separate? Lucas: Keep them integrated. Inline images that support the narrative perform better than banners that interrupt it. For example, if you are talking about a feature update, include a screenshot right next to the description, not above it. This keeps the reader’s eye moving naturally down the page. It mimics the way we read documents online, rather than flipping through a magazine. Luna: That feels very intuitive. It’s like designing for the user’s natural reading pattern rather than forcing them into a rigid grid. Lucas: Exactly. And this brings us to the technical side of things. Text emails are faster to load, which matters for users on slow connections or older devices. Faster load times mean lower bounce rates and higher engagement. It’s a small detail, but in aggregate, it impacts your overall deliverability and reputation. Internet service providers see high engagement and fast loading as positive signals. Luna: So, optimizing for text isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s also about technical performance and algorithmic favor. That’s a compelling argument for skeptics. Lucas: It is. And finally, let’s talk about accessibility. Text-based emails are inherently more accessible to screen readers and users with visual impairments. By prioritizing text, you are also broadening your audience reach. Inclusivity is not just a moral imperative; it is a business opportunity. You are tapping into a segment of consumers that many brands ignore. Luna: That’s a powerful angle. Accessibility as a competitive advantage. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it makes perfect sense when you consider the total addressable market. Lucas: Yes. So, to summarize, the shift toward text-heavy content is driven by clarity, speed, accessibility, and higher intent conversions. It challenges marketers to write better, think clearer, and respect their audience’s intelligence. It’s a return to fundamentals in a digital age saturated with noise. Luna: Fundamentals over flash. I think that’s a lesson that applies to almost every aspect of modern business, not just email. Lucas: Absolutely. And as we move into the end of the year, when inboxes are crowded with holiday promotions, standing out with simple, honest text might be the most effective strategy of all. Luna: Or the least effective if everyone does it. But doing it well is still a rare skill. Lucas: True. Which is why those who master it will have a significant edge. Before we go, I want to mention something important about how this show operates. Luna: Yeah, we deliberately keep this network ad-free to maintain editorial independence. If these conversations have been useful to you, you can support that choice directly via buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: It helps us keep producing detailed, research-backed episodes like this one without compromising our standards. Thanks for listening, Luna. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. Now, back to the topic at hand. Lucas: One final thought on implementation. When you start testing text-heavy emails, document your findings rigorously. Track not just the immediate click, but the long-term engagement of those subscribers. Do they stay active longer? Do they respond better to future campaigns? Data from your own list will tell you more than any industry benchmark ever could. Luna: Build your own evidence base. That is smart advice. It turns a creative experiment into a strategic asset. Lucas: Exactly. So, start small, measure carefully, and scale what works. It is a disciplined approach that pays off in sustainable revenue growth. Luna: Discipline over dazzle. I will remember that phrase. Lucas: Good. Let’s see how that plays out in your next campaign. Until next time. Luna: Until next time. Keep writing clearly.