Broadcast spec - Alli

Sep 30, 2020

Broadcast Mailer Materials (sponsor-supplied content)

This document is intended as a reference for you, our advertiser, or your agency. We will send your broadcast to our subscribed members on your behalf. We want to help you submit your materials on time and within the required specifications. Please submit your final broadcast materials, according to the following specifications, to [email protected]. If we notice that your artwork does not meet the required specifications, we will notify you as soon as possible so that you can revise and re-submit.

ADVERTISER-SUPPLIED MATERIALS

☑Layout file - HTML, maximum width 700px
☑Graphics - GIF,JPG or PNG; 400kb max for all graphics
☑Subject line - up to 90 characters
☑Proofer(s) - who's approving this mailer?

Coding HTML for Email
Coding HTML for email is not like coding for a website. There are dozens of popular email clients and platforms, and all of them have their own quirky way of rendering HTML. Many of the techniques you use for a website are not supported by email clients. Here are some things to keep in mind.

JavaScript - Most email platforms will not accept messages with Java, Javascript, forms, frames or ActiveX code. If any of this type of code is in your file, it will be removed.
Stylesheets - External stylesheets are not supported by most email clients, and links to external stylesheets will be removed. Internal stylesheets can be problematic, and should be avoided or kept to what is absolutely necessary. Instead, define your styles inline.
Layout - Keep your layout simple and flexible, preferably hand-coded. The maximum width of your layout file is 700 pixels. Use tables for positioning, not layers or divs. As a general rule, 250 lines of code or less is best. It is nearly impossible to achieve pixal-perfect alignment across all email cleints, so make sure your design does not depend on precise placement.

Responsive/Mobile-Friendly Design
A large percentage of our mailers are viewed on mobile devices. With responsive design, your mailer scales to different screen sizes. Our goal is to help you maximize your ROI by improving readability on a variety of devices. Please be aware that it may not be possible to achieve pixel-perfect alignment. If a layout code problem prevents your mailer from looking its best, we will attempt to resolve it, or we will send it back for adjustment. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the advertiser to design a mobile-friendly mailer.

Graphics
Maximum allowable file size for all mailer graphics: 400kb. There is no limit to the number of graphics you may use. Please be aware that some recipients block graphics; some mail clients do not display background images; and some clients display only the first frame of animated GIFs. All mailer graphics used in special broadcasts reside on our servers. You may image-map portions of your graphics, however, we do not recommend it.

Miscellaneous

JavaScript - For security reasons, we do not accept any mailer layouts with Java, Javascript, forms, frames or ActiveX code.
Click tracking - We will provide tracking for open and click rates of each link in your mailer. Third-party tracking is available upon request.
Stylesheets - Please define your styles inline rather than using stylesheets.
Personalization - We do not allow personalization in our broadcasts, i.e., Dear [First Name]. The From: line is not customizable.
Advertiser Identification - It is editorial policy that the advertiser be clearly identified either in the subject line or in the body of the mailer.

READY TO SUBMIT?
We realize that advertisers have their own legal regulatory and internal review processes for broadcast mailers. We are committed to staying on schedule, and we ask that you submit materials by the given deadline. Please don't ask us to compromise our production or broadcast schedule. Late submissions or revisions may result in delayed deployment. Your materials must be in their final format with allowance for one round of changes.

APPROVAL PROCESS
Our copyeditor will preview your broadcast (*except for DrBicuspid) for spelling and grammar before we send your proof. Although there is no guarantee we will catch every typo, we will make every effort to help make your broadcast look its best. In the event that our editor makes a suggestion for edits, you will have an opportunity to preview the proof and agree/disagree to our proposed edits. If you find an error on the proof, just send us the details so our designers can fix the existing layout file. We will not have time to start over from the beginning. Please be assured that your broadcast does not go out without your approval.