Email pundits are oohing and aahing about the power of "preheaders" or "snippet text" to boost opens and click-throughs. But a casual trip through my inbox revealed that very few companies are using them, even though they're relatively simple to implement.

Is it because you've never heard of them, don't know why they matter or don't know how easy it is to get them right? 

What's a email preheader?

A preheader is a short text blurb that appears at the very top of your email, above your graphics or fancy HTML. This text is the first thing email subscribers see when they view your message, and sometimes, it's the only thing they see in the preview pane. The most common email preheader is: "Can't see images? Click here for the Web version."

But that's not the only way – or even the best way – to put the email preheader to work. Email marketers who put call-to-action links in the email preheader often claim that their click-through rates shoot through the roof. And Outlook 2007, Gmail and the iPhone use the email preheader as teaser text in the inbox, providing an extra piece of information that helps readers decide whether to delete your message or give it a quick peek.

The email preheader as call-to-action

There are two different schools of thought about what belongs in the email preheader. The first school recommends using it for housekeeping tasks, like "view the Web version" or "add us to your safe-sender's list."

The other school says make calls-to-action primary, and make housekeeping tasks secondary. I'm definitely of the second school of thought. “Click here to see images” doesn't take my finger off the delete key, but “Take 20% off your favorite item” might.

The message below from a national pizza chain uses this email preheader: "Get an XL pizza with up to three toppings for only 15.99." It's the first thing I see in the preview pane with images turned off.

This particular email takes things a step further (and some might argue, a step too far) with a four-line preheader: the buy-pizza call-to-action, a second call-to-action about mobile Web ordering, then two housekeeping links about image viewing and safe senders. All of these text snippets appear above the main body of the email.

Check out The Retail Email Blog for additional preheader examples, including The Gap. The Gap pairs the email subject line, "Our New Button-Down Shirts, Starting at $34.50‏" with the preheader "Get a great deal on khakis, too." Then, in smaller type, on the same line, they take care of housekeeping: "Can't see images? Click here."

For more tips on how to turn preheaders into calls-to-action, read Power Up Your Snippet Text.

The preheader as an extra incentive to open

If you have Outlook 2007, try a simple little experiment. Just go to your inbox, click "View" from the top menu, then click "AutoPreview" from the drop-down menu. Voila! A few extra lines of text now appear underneath each email subject line.

In a typical email exchange with a friend or co-worker, this extra text comes directly from the email's first sentence or two.

But in a permission-based message, this extra text is whatever appears first in your HTML code. If it's a picture or image, Outlook displays the URL where the graphic file resides. If it's a link, Outlook displays the full-on URL address, not the friendly, clickable text. If it's preheader text (or any other kind of text), Outlook displays the actual words.

Gmail and the iPhone handle teasers a little bit differently, ignoring images and HTML links, and just displaying actual text.

Gmail displays a shaded bit of teaser text after the subject line. It's generally only about 4-5 words, unless the email subject line is super-short.

The iPhone adds an extra line or so of teaser text directly below the email subject line.

The bottom line? If you carefully craft text snippets and put them at the very top of your email, that's what will show up in these teaser areas.

The pain-free way to make the preheader work for you

1. Decide whether or not you need a visible preheader.
Look at your email message in various email clients, especially in the preview pane with images turned off. 

You may already be in good shape without a preheader. For example, the table of contents for your B2B newsletter may already fit neatly into the preview pane, or your promotional email may already feature a nice, actionable link at the top. Congratulations! When you optimized for the preview pane, you eliminated the need for preheader text without even realizing it.

But what if your primary call-to-action or value proposition isn't visible and clickable? What if your email design is heavy on images that might get blocked? A preheader is called for, and it only takes a few minutes to add a simple, unobtrusive text snippet to the very top of your email.

2. Decide whether or not you need better inbox-teaser text.
Look at your email message in Outlook AutoPreview mode to see what shows up as teaser text. Is it a long, meaningless URL? A housekeeping request that won't entice the reader to open? Or something that adds additional punch to your email subject line?

If your teaser text isn't compelling, consider doing what we did: We added an invisible preheader to the top of the Inside Lyris HQ newsletter.

Again, it only takes a few minutes. Just add a a 1 pixel x 1 pixel clear graphic image at the very top of your email, and add your desired teaser text to the image's Alt attribute. Both Outlook 2007 and Gmail display the Alt copy as teaser text in the inbox, but the invisible graphic won't clutter your existing design.

3. Test to see what works and brag about your results
There's only one way to tell how big a boost you can get from a simple, little preheader: Try it and see. If you've never used a preheader, send the regular version of your email to half your list and send the preheader version to the other half. Or, if you've been using the standard "click here to view images" preheader, send a call-to-action preheader to half your list. Compare your open and click-through rates for each version, and may the best email win.

We'd love to know what kind of results you get. Leave a comment and let us know.

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About The Author

Anita M. Taylor is online marketing manager at Oversee.net.

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