Marketers are always striving to improve their businesses. Some of them particularly pay attention to email marketing and continually look for ways to increase open-rates and engagement. But only a fraction of the emails you create will ever get seen in a world where our inboxes are constantly overflowing. In fact, 24% of respondents look at the preview text first when deciding to open an email.
The ‘from name’, ‘from email address’, ‘subject lines’ and ‘preheader text’ are powerful tools when it comes to inbox recognition. Don’t panic! It may seem very simple, but often the pre-header text is the last thing considered when creating an email.
What is a preheader text?
Preheader text or preview text is the area at the very top of your email body, above the header. It is the first bit of text a recipient sees in their inbox before they ever open the message. As a result, it can have a huge impact on email performance and should always be considered by email marketers. This small portion of text can capture your subscriber’s attention and encourage them to open your email.
What should preheader text say?
The worst practice when recipients see “Is this email not displaying correctly?” or “Having trouble viewing this email?”. You have to be creative- These sentences do not give a good first impression and do not make you want to open these emails. The email inbox in a very competitive place. Think about the content being sent and which sentence you should highlight to generate more opens.
Your preheader text can be a great place to include a call-to-action and create a sense of need. Just tell people to open the email! It increases the chance of the subscriber to take the next step inside the email.
Let your email stand out with a symbol or an emoji. It can visually convey a message that is difficult or too long with words. But, be careful- They work well for younger brands, but they might not be a good choice for companies like healthcare or law firms as they want to convey a more serious impression. Most emails are read on smartphones now, so many subscribers will be able to see your stunning emojis.
Create a teaser for your email- Use preheader text to give an overview or a summary of the content contained in your email. If your email includes a special offer, let your subscribers know in it the text.
Preheaders give your email a reason to be opened, read and clicked. You can also use personalization. It is a powerful way to increase conversions and it is easy to add a name field in the preheader text. Your prospects will feel exclusive and this will enhance your relationship with them, leading them to engage more.
Test your Preheader: A/B Testing
Every prospect is different. Test variations of your preheader text to learn what resonates best with your subscribers. Once you’ve run your email campaign with the two different email versions, it’s time to take a look at the results. You mind find that some strategies produce more open rates while others generate more clicks inside the email.
Next time you create an email take the time to strategize, you'll find that email marketing is among the most powerful tools you have available.
