We think you’ll really like using rich-text templates because they combine the aesthetic cleanliness of a text-based email (meaning no extraneous design elements) with the ability to embed URL strings.  Designers, this means you will be able to track opens and clicks while still giving your readers a more standard email experience.  You will also be able to format your text, giving you control over things like text color and font selection.

There are a couple important things to note about this new template type.  First of all, text will be left-aligned, as opposed to centered– more like the traditional one-on-one email experience that most of us are used to.  Secondly, you can insert a logo or header if you choose, but it’s completely optional.  In addition, you can now adjust the width of your email (in pixels) to make it as wide or as narrow as you’d like.  Last but not least, you can use rich-text templates with both RSS-to-Email and A/B Split campaign types.  Woo-hoo!

Before, if your recipients hovered their mouse over those links, they’d see MailChimp’s domains (actually, we made them look pretty generic, like “foward-to-friend.com” or list-manage.com).

Some people told us they were too generic, and some others (really paranoid people) told us they looked a little suspicious. Good point. So we changed them to automatically include your own company name in front, as a subdomain. It’s a nice little touch to help make your emails look even more professional and trustworthy.