If you are designing and building a DNN based HTML email or newsletter, we have compiled a list of top tips to aid you in a successful campaign.

1. Old school HTML - Build your email using old-school, table based HTML. Email client support for CSS is limited, so to ensure the best results nest tables, use font tags and if you are using css keep it limited and inline.

2. Link images absolutely not relatively from your server - If you're including images in your design they will need to be hosted on your server and absolutely linked into your html.

3. Provide a web based alternative and link to it from the top of your email - By providing a link to an online version, recipients who cannot view images in their email client can view the content in 1 click.

4. Skinny Design - Viewing space on email clients vary depending on the users setup, screen resolution and many other factors out with your control. To ensure the majority of people can view the email without horizontal scrolling, keep the width of the design at 600px or less.

5. Use background colours, not images - Support for background colours is better than it is for images. So if your design has HTML text displayed over a background, try to incorporate it within a block of colour.

6. Test your HTML thoroughly - The most important item to cover before a broadcast is testing. Try to use as many browsers and email clients as possible, so you can check that the email, and online version, looks presentable in all.

7. Respect the un-subscribe - If one of your recipients decides to opt-out of the HTML email, respect this and remove them from the list. The built in DNN newsletter facility doesn't have an automatic opt-out, however if you create a newsletter user role, removing the role from un-subscribers is easy.

8. For repeat emails, keep it similer - Brand awareness and continuity is a big thing for most sites, so when you have a monthly newsletter or list of products keep the layout and design similar so recipients know where to look.

9. Provide ALT text for important images - If you use alternative text for important images, such as your logo, product imagery and links, the email client should display this as the email loads, and in place of images that haven't loaded. This means that viewers who don't have images will still get a good idea of the email's content.

10. Keep it simple - A simple design translates into an easier HTML build. By keeping it simple the chances of the HTML getting through are increased, and therefore the desired result of the email being achieved.