Let’s face it; design is not everyone’s cup of tea. But with the competitive creativity of today in mind, it is not something that can be overlooked. And even if you have lassoed in some Photoshop superhero to give your website that tinge of grandness that could, all by itself, make life worth living, without the means to court surfers to your domain you are always going to be just a pretty face.

One such method is email newsletter marketing.

As boring as it may sound at first, and as reluctant as you may be to add to the digital landfill by potentially becoming a junk mailer, an attractive newsletter circular is sure to give visitors pause for thought. However, choosing the right design should be done with great care. Readers should be attracted at a glance and able to digest what you desire to convey within moments, without forcing them to puzzle over your call to action. Inbox flooding due to the high volumes of online traffic has become commonplace. With the normal person unable and unwilling to absorb every bit of information that the mass media is shovelling at them 24/7, cognitive cherry-picking has become necessary to filter all the babble.

The reality is that you literally have but a few seconds to flirt with your customers before they decide to take things to second base. Nobody wants their message to go in the one ear and out the other. This is where effective html newsletter design comes in. But before you start thinking that this means you need to botox your newsletter, have it go on a low fat diet and invest in silicone enhancements, explore how a few basic styling aspects can perk-up your appeal.

Again, design is not everyone’s forte, which is why pre-designed newsletter templates are often the best bet. There are many varieties of these to choose from; though before you commit to one, buy a house and grow old together, make sure it really is a keeper:

• The newsletter design should be industry-specific. This is all too obvious, but often the first major oversight. Show your customers what they are interested in seeing, not what interests you in seeing. So, for example, if you are advertising sports cars your newsletter should fit that paradigm by looking equally slim, extravagant and fast – and not like you are trying to punt a bake-sale.

• Get tested. Whereas many people are contented to just snatch the prettiest one and then rush along without concern for picking up something bad later in the campaign, you should make doubly sure that the HTML Newsletter you choose is tested to render/display across all the big email clients. Accounts such as MSN, Yahoo!, Gmail, Outlook, Thunderbird and so on, are good places to start.

• Everyone likes to play, and your newsletter template should allow you the freedom to do the same. The ability to personalize content goes without saying, but it is the extent to which you can use the template to produce that prized design will rapidly reveal whether a particular one is going to be worth the trouble. See what you are practically allowed to do and what the limitations are. Most designs are generically flexible, but opt for the newsletter template that is pliable enough to rock your socks off.