HTML / CSS portfolio emails?!
February 22, 2009 2:39 PM Subscribe
I would like to send a lovely designed HTML / CSS email to some design agencies as a CV / resume and portfolio sampler so I can ring them up before and after and chat to them about it in the vain hope that there are jobs out there in recessionland.
1. Where on 'tinternet to I go to find out how I can do this for free?
2. What should I look out for when designing said email?
3. Would it be better to send a PDF as an attachment to a plain 'covering letter' style email?
Opinions and thoughts from the HiveMind welcome.
HTML / CSS email is not that easy in practice.
posted by robtoo at 2:53 PM on February 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by robtoo at 2:53 PM on February 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
The best way to figure out the html email thing is to take advantage of a company who does this for a living such as Constant Contact. They have a 60 day free trial. You can use their templates which have been battle-tested over years, although you will likely want to modify them.
However, i have to agree with the jenkinsEar that an html email is not really the best idea, especially if you're targeting design agencies. You'd be better off with option number three: giving them a nice pdf and cover letter. Most people in design agencies hate html email with a passion because it's so terribly implemented and it's really not what email is good at.
posted by jeremias at 3:28 PM on February 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
However, i have to agree with the jenkinsEar that an html email is not really the best idea, especially if you're targeting design agencies. You'd be better off with option number three: giving them a nice pdf and cover letter. Most people in design agencies hate html email with a passion because it's so terribly implemented and it's really not what email is good at.
posted by jeremias at 3:28 PM on February 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
I think you're right to go the HTML/css route. If they have to fire up a pig of a PDF reader it is just one more barrier to getting noticed. Campaign Monitor is an email delivery service, but they have some nice tools for converting an HTML page into something that can be emailed. Also myfonts has an email newsletter which is the gold standard for an attractive newsletter that you can't help but read when it appears in your inbox.
posted by kamelhoecker at 3:28 PM on February 22, 2009
posted by kamelhoecker at 3:28 PM on February 22, 2009
You shouldn't do HTML email unless you absolutely have to. HTML email rendering still varies too much among email clients, meaning the only thing you can be reasonably confident will work in common clients is simple designs, making the whole exercise kind of pointless. If you want to demonstrate your ability to design HTML, do it on the web where browsers are relatively standardized in how they render pages. Put a link in your email pointing them to your online resume.
posted by scottreynen at 3:37 PM on February 22, 2009
posted by scottreynen at 3:37 PM on February 22, 2009
I would absolutely not try to send a funky fresh email. Emails like this are a complete and total pain in the ass to people that receive lots and lots of resumes by email. My order of preference is 1st PDF or 2nd Word Attachment.
Attach one of those things to a brief introductory email that contains a link to an online portfolio of your work.
posted by Edubya at 3:39 PM on February 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
Attach one of those things to a brief introductory email that contains a link to an online portfolio of your work.
posted by Edubya at 3:39 PM on February 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
You may want to consider putting some money into this and have some of your work printed out and sent to your target agencies. Mail usually ends up in someone's hands and gets at least a look. At the agencies I've worked at, if something particularly pretty/intriguing/interesting comes in the mail, it gets passed around.
Otherwise, I think a PDF attachment will be best. Designers and/or art managers aren't going to mind opening up a PDF. They do it all the time. If your design focus is web/css, why not send them a link to a really well-done website?
posted by bristolcat at 4:37 PM on February 22, 2009
Otherwise, I think a PDF attachment will be best. Designers and/or art managers aren't going to mind opening up a PDF. They do it all the time. If your design focus is web/css, why not send them a link to a really well-done website?
posted by bristolcat at 4:37 PM on February 22, 2009
This is a disastrous idea. No matter how much testing and tweaking you do, some significant proportion of your recipients are going to get an e-mail that is an absolute layout mess. Mail clients are not web browsers, and oughtn't to be -- it's simply not safe.
Focus your efforts on making a wonderful resume/portfolio website, and send a link to it in a very conservatively styled e-mail. You'll earn points for this from anyone who hires designers.
posted by gum at 5:15 PM on February 22, 2009
Focus your efforts on making a wonderful resume/portfolio website, and send a link to it in a very conservatively styled e-mail. You'll earn points for this from anyone who hires designers.
posted by gum at 5:15 PM on February 22, 2009
Best answer: As one who works (and sometimes hires) for a design agency, I would receive an email like this as a sample of your work and your skills/expertise. Since part of your AskMe question reveals that this is not the kind of work you typically do, I don't think you would be representing yourself in an ideal way by sending an HTML mail.
You don't want to get into the interview, start talking about this email, and have the interviewer disappointed by your lack of knowledge of all the considerations that go into designing a piece like this for a real client.
I prefer to see a smart, simple, professional-looking portfolio, a resume designed in the same "brand" (with absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors), and a plain-text email.
Good luck!
posted by nadise at 5:50 PM on February 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
You don't want to get into the interview, start talking about this email, and have the interviewer disappointed by your lack of knowledge of all the considerations that go into designing a piece like this for a real client.
I prefer to see a smart, simple, professional-looking portfolio, a resume designed in the same "brand" (with absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors), and a plain-text email.
Good luck!
posted by nadise at 5:50 PM on February 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
Technical note: the only way to get HTML email to work in various email clients is to use deprecated code: <font> tags, <table> tags used for layout and so on.
So in a way, you could only get it to work by apparently demonstrating that you didn't know how to do modern web pages.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 7:44 PM on February 22, 2009
So in a way, you could only get it to work by apparently demonstrating that you didn't know how to do modern web pages.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 7:44 PM on February 22, 2009
Not only is HTML email variable in appearance across mail clients, some users might restrict their inboxes to just plain text, or have images turned off or something, so if you include images in your HTML email, they'll just be blank to the user. Not very appealing.
posted by curagea at 8:15 PM on February 22, 2009
posted by curagea at 8:15 PM on February 22, 2009
Best answer: I think you'd be better off putting the time into ensuring your portfolio site is well-designed, easy to use and promotes your work in the right way. Then send out individually-tailored emails to the right person at each company, and follow up with a phone call a few days later.
Remember, some of these people will get many emails every day from freelancers, recruitment agencies, overseas outsourcing firms, etc., and you need to stand out by appearing to be a competent, efficient, interesting person they can deal with. Get straight to the point, offer to pop in if they're local, and make sure it comes across as one person trying to communicate to another rather than waffle or business-speak.
If you go the route of trying to impress with a fancy HTML email then you're going to have to learn the ins and outs of getting it right, and even if you don't screw up the recipient might either hate fancy emails or assume you've used a ready-made template. Or just get the impression that it's a bulk mailing you're firing at anyone you can get hold of (I think that'd be my reaction).
posted by malevolent at 10:51 PM on February 22, 2009
Remember, some of these people will get many emails every day from freelancers, recruitment agencies, overseas outsourcing firms, etc., and you need to stand out by appearing to be a competent, efficient, interesting person they can deal with. Get straight to the point, offer to pop in if they're local, and make sure it comes across as one person trying to communicate to another rather than waffle or business-speak.
If you go the route of trying to impress with a fancy HTML email then you're going to have to learn the ins and outs of getting it right, and even if you don't screw up the recipient might either hate fancy emails or assume you've used a ready-made template. Or just get the impression that it's a bulk mailing you're firing at anyone you can get hold of (I think that'd be my reaction).
posted by malevolent at 10:51 PM on February 22, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Maybe sending real world stuff would work better for you?
posted by jenkinsEar at 2:51 PM on February 22, 2009 [1 favorite]