email preheader best practices for improving your open rates
E-mail pre-header Definition and briefing:
An e-mail pre-header conjointly referred to as a second subject line, e-mail preview text, and Johnson Box is that the snip of text that seems straightaway following the topic line of any given e-mail.
The e-mail pre-header could be a short outline of what's contained at intervals in your e-mail. This area is most frequently utilized in one amongst of the two ways: as a descriptive preview that displays the primary few sentences of your e-mail body, or as a decision to action. The manner that you just use this pre-header area can vary reckoning on your business and also the purpose of your e-mail.
The e-mail pre-header (preview text) is what shows a lot of your subscriber’s inbox straightaway once the topic line. These snippets of text are pulled from your e-mail or story and seem on most mobile devices as well as iPhone and Samsung Galaxy furthermore as desktop e-mail purchasers like Gmail and Outlook.
Preheader best practices that boost up the open rates:
E-mail pre-headers follow plenty of equivalent best practices as writing e-mail subject lines, particularly around connectedness, personalization, and also the ability to check and optimize.
The first step is to scrutinize your e-mail content to uncover the foremost attention-grabbing or vital items. However, are you able to total up your content in but two hundred characters (subject line + e-mail pre-header)?
Your subject line and preview text ought to let the reader grasp specifically what to expect. However, being descriptive isn't about to cut it. Your subject line + pre-header combination should even be compelling.
Here square measure seven ways to make good pre-headers.
Highlight your e-mails worth proposition:
- Every e-mail you send ought to have a goal. Some e-mails promote special deals or sell merchandise, whereas others share news or content. What’s the worth to your reader?
- Use your pre-header to speak the foremost compelling good thing about the e-mail. Provide your readers with a reason to open by highlight the one factor that drove you to make the e-mail in the 1st place.
- Tell subscribers what’s in it for them, and they will be additional possible to click. This MailerCheck example highlights its price proposition within the subject line and uses the pre-header text to strengthen two compelling edges.
- If you wish somebody to open your e-mail, generally, it’s as straightforward as asking them confidently. Add a transparent decision to action (CTA) to your pre-header and let individuals grasp that gap the e-mail is price their time.
- This means going on the far side of the everyday CTA, like “Read now” or “Learn more,” and constructing text that offers them a reason furthermore as a directive.
Add a decision to action:
Mix your subject line and pre-header:
- Instead of writing two utterly separate lines of text for your subject line and e-mail pre-header, producean additional compelling story by combining the two.
- Because they seem along, you'll be able to return up with attention-grabbing ways that for the topic line and pre-header to figure along. You’ll be able to raise a matter, so answer it, or begin a sentence within the subject line and end it within the pre-header.
- This technique will work very well. We tend to like this instance below, wherever the topic line presents a cryptic statement that's quickly explained within the e-mail pre-header.
Build curiosity with e-mail pre-header:
- Copywriters like to use psychological triggers to inspire readers to require action. Oneof the additional common approaches is exploitation FOMO (fear of missing out).
- You can incorporate curiosity or raise the sense of urgency by exploiting FOMO. However, it’s important that your e-mail delivers on the promise you create within the text. The payoff should match your claim. If it doesn’t, you run the danger of writing clickbait or “spammy” pre-headers.
Alter your e-mail pre-header:
- There is little doubt that e-mail personalization improves engagement. Once the reader sees one thing acquainted regarding themselves like their name, city, birthday, etc., they're far more likely to open your e-mail.
- You can add personalization to your e-mail pre-headers within the same manner you are doing for your subject lines or e-mail text. If you haven’t used custom fields to alter your e-mails, you'll be able to learn all regarding them here.
- While exploiting the recipient’s name is that the commonest use of personalization, the majority have return to expect it. You’ll be able to take personalization a step more by as well as additional info regarding the recipient
Use (but don’t overuse) emoji:
- There is no denying that emojis catch your eye and create reading a touch of additional fun. These colorful graphics can even facilitate your e-mail ‘pop’ at intervals in an untidy inbox.
- People love emoji’s, however what regarding business? Whereas it’s vital to use acceptable pictures in an exceedingly business e-mail, a recent Adobe survey found that the bulk of people thought exploitation emoji’s causes you to additional likable and credible.
A/B, take a look at your pre-headers:
- MailerLite’s A/B testing practicality is particularly helpful, thanks to learning what styles of electronic messaging works best together with your readers.
- You can take a look at two completely different e-mail pre-headers at intervals of a campaign and set it up to mechanically opt for the pre-header that generates a better open rate.
- In MailerLite, you'll be able to take a look at pre-headers by selecting to check E-mail content, so making two e-mails with an equivalent content apart from the pre-headers.
What is the simplest length for an e-mail pre-header?
We advocate aiming for around 100-140 characters (an old-school tweet). If your pre-header text is simply too short, it'll obtain the text from the body of your e-mail. For this reason, it’s higher to stay it over a hundred characters to make sure that doesn’t happen.
If you scan five articles regarding e-mail pre-headers, you’ll possibly get five completely different opinions for the proper preview text length. One reason is that the character length depends on the e-mail shopper (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) and device (desktop, mobile, tablet, etc.).