How not to do email campaigns
No text in this email makes it a simple decision for the user what to click
The only text that can be seen, even if they decide to scroll, is the unsubscribe link.
Users on small screen devices
Smartphones like Blackberrys, Android or iPhone devices who are on the move won’t have the attention span or time to read alt text – it may as well not be there.
Emails like this really miss the point with the current state of the web and how content is delivered.
If a user wants HTML they should visit a web page not through their email client, HTML based emails has a long history of not being supported by the major email client vendors like Microsoft.
Done Correctly
With images still off, see how much of this email you understand compared with the above. Pretty much all of it. Some nice copy and deep links to the main web site too. Not difficult, just well structured and crafted.
Further information
For the latest guide on best practices for email marketing check out www.slideshare.net/DaveChaffey/email-marketing-tips-2012