Effective E-Mail Campaign Preheaders
Maybe you have never thought of using a preheader in your e-mail campaigns, but that might be a mistake. Why? Preheaders, correctly written, can absolutely impact your click through rates, which after all is your main goal. Knowing a bit more about them and learning how to use them, might just make you a fan.
What is an E-Mail Preheader? A preheader is typically a short line or two of text on the top of an e-mail newsletter, e-mail announcement, or website that appears on top of a logo or graphic. Normally, it is the first thing that an e-mail subscriber sees and notices. Many times, other than the subject line, it is the only test displayed in an e-mail’s preview pane, so you can see its power and potential. There are two main ways that e-mail marketers use preheaders. They are used as the call to action or as an extra text tease or snippet.
As more e-mail marketers are using preheaders, there are many differing opinions on how much or how little should be included. Here are some helpful suggestions to help you get the most out of this strategy.
Make it Relevant – Right to the Point – Keep your preheader short. Don’t let it become another paragraph. Use it for emphasis about a promotion or sale, while having a link on the second line stating: “View online” – that is a live link taking them to a landing page on your website for further reading. A good preheader should amplify your message giving key information with a precise call to action or announcement.
It is important to note, there are no rights and wrongs here. You need to read and see what others are doing and what works for you. Overtime, you will develop your own ideas that will be relevant to your campaigns, e-mails, and website.
How to Use Preheaders
Use your preheaders to:
- Announce a special sale with a link to your landing page
- Link to an online version of your e-mail
- Ask subscribers to add your e-mail address to their address book and white lists
- Deliver a dynamic one line summary of your content to provoke their curiosity to read further
- Remind your subscribers why they are getting this e-mail and who it is from
- Provide an unsubscribe link; don’t make them search for it
- Provide coupon information for a promotion
- Inform subscribers of a time limited sale
Research the Internet for Creative Ideas
We are all getting loads of e-mail marketing messages. Take a look at your competitors’ e-mails, and see how they are using preheaders. Look at website preheaders as well.
Test your Preheaders
As in any marketing campaign, statistical results help you fine tune and optimize your e-mail campaign strategies. The same holds true for a preheader strategy. You can do some A/B testing as you send one type of preheader to one group and another type to the second half. By doing this, you can see which one gets the best results.
There are so many important roles every part of your e-campaign plays in a well designed e-mail campaign promotion. From appearance to content, your goal is to improve your open rates and raise your ROI’s. No stone is left unturned, all content must be tested. Success is not an accident, in fact, it is darn hard work. But at the end, it is worth it.
Preheaders teach us the top matters. Just a few little lines on the top of your e-mail, graphic, or logo, can make the difference between a click open rate, or the trash bin. That little Preheader has power; make it work for you.
