Update: I switched our product launch email to plain text and open rates dropped 22%
Sent the same announcement two ways last Tuesday, one with our usual template and one as a plain note from our VP, and the pretty one won by a mile, so now I'm stuck explaining to my director why "just make it look like a personal email" backfired on 4,000 contacts, has anyone else had plain text tank on them like this?
Man, that stings. A 22% drop is rough when you were probably hoping the personal touch would win people over. I've seen the same thing happen where a fancy template just pulls better clicks even if it feels less real. Hang in there and just show your director the numbers both ways.