Dedicated Email Specs

Ski Utah Dedicated Email Specifications

- 2 Options -
Please read through each option and adhere to requirements accordingly.

Header and Footer
Both dedicated email options will start with the standard Ski Utah header (150px tall) and be completed by the Ski Utah footer. Listed below the header is the identifier, “Sponsored Email”, included to provide transparency to our subscribers.

Deadlines & Deliverables
Following deadlines and spec requirements is imperative to ensuring your campaign launches on time.

Content
Rely on concise, compelling text with clear calls to action and prominent text links rather than excessive graphics. Our readers are information ready and respond best to short, informative emails rather than those that rely on extensive formatting and images.

Tracking
1×1 tracking pixels are allowed but not required. If no tracking urls are included, Ski Utah can provide click performance using its campaign performance tools. Tracking Pixel Warning - Email tracking pixels don't always produce the most accurate tracking statistics. Many email users deactivate images or prohibit opened messages from downloading files from remote servers, which renders the tracking pixel useless. As a result, final stats may actually underestimate the true number of times the message got opened.

Ski Utah will provide a detailed campaign performance report, using it’s ESP’s tools upon request.

Subject line
Advertiser will provide the campaign’s subject line. 60 characters / 6 words is the suggested maximum subject line length. Subject for approval by Ski Utah.

Helpful Resources:

Option 1
Simple Method - no coding skills required

Option 1 - Dedicated Email Example

BODY

  • Delivered as a Word Doc, Google Sheet, or Apple Pages document.

  • 1 column layouts only.

  • Delivered with desired *simple formatting. *bolded text, italics, bullet points, paragraph breaks, etc

  • Full click-through URL for all text links

IMAGES

  • Static JPG, PNG and GIF files only, no animation

  • Full click-through URL for all images

  • Maximum image width 600px

  • Maximum image file size 100kb

  • Alt-tag for each image

    • Adding alternative text to photos is first and foremost a principle of web accessibility. Visually impaired users using screen readers will be read an alt attribute to better understand an on-page image.

    • Alt tags will be displayed in place of an image if an image file cannot be loaded. This can be a deliberate request from users, a result of the subscriber's ESP or a result of a poor internet connection.

  • Desired image location must be displayed in the delivered word doc file. 2 column layouts are allowed for images.

CTA / BUTTON

  • If a button(s) is requested, please denote by including “(BUTTON)” next to the desired button text.

  • Full click-through URL for all buttons

Option 2
Advanced Method - coding skills required

Option 2 - Dedicated Email Example


BASICS

  • Provide full click-through URL for all text links, images and CTAs

  • Maximum of 4 fonts used

  • Avoid Microsoft Smart Quotes - they will show up as boxes. Use plain ASCII characters instead (double dashes instead of em-dashes, etc.)

  • No Rich Media, attachments, scripts or automatic downloads.


CODING

  • HTML code should be W3C compliant. Some clients reject messages with invalid code.

  • Maximum container width 600px

  • Use In-line CSS styles. Always use in-line CSS styles rather than classes. For more information on CSS support in emails, check out this Guide to CSS Support in Email.

  • Use Basic HTML Tables. In order to have your email campaign work across the many different email browsers and clients, use basic HTML tables. Most of the complicated code that works on websites does NOT work in an HTML email. For example, divs and shortcodes do NOT work at all in certain email browsers.

  • Don’t Use Coding Shortcuts. For example, when styling CSS, set each property rather than grouped together in one shortcut code (i.e. use “border-width:5px; border-style:solid; border-color:#000000;” rather than “border: 5px solid red;”). For both HTML and CSS, use all 6 hexadecimal numbers instead of just three for a shortcut (#ffffff and #000000 would be correct, rather than #fff and #000).

  • Avoid Colspans. When building your email with tables, avoid using colspans (column spans that show up as colspan=””) as it usually renders differently for each email client and could “break” your blast.

  • Be Careful With Spliced Images. If you have a larger image that is spliced and placed into your HTML using table cells or img tags right next to each other you will need to test thoroughly. Some email clients may add extra space between your images. Using “display:block” in your style code can usually remedy this.


IMAGES

  • Static JPG, PNG and GIF files only, no animation

  • Maximum image width 600px

  • Maximum image file size 100kb

  • Full click-through URL for all images

  • Include Alt-tag for each image

    • Adding alternative text to photos is first and foremost a principle of web accessibility. Visually impaired users using screen readers will be read an alt attribute to better understand an on-page image.

    • Alt tags will be displayed in place of an image if an image file cannot be loaded. This can be a deliberate request from users, a result of the subscriber's ESP or a result of a poor internet connection.