The goal of email preview text is to draw the reader in and convince them to open the full message. Since the preview text is a crucial part of your email marketing campaign, you should always take the time to craft it carefully.
Keep it short and sweet. The preview text should be creative and attention-grabbing, but it should also be concise. With a preview text, you have limited space, so make sure you’re getting your most important points across in the fewest words possible. The ideal length for a preview text is between 40-70 characters.
Make use of action words. Action words like ‘discover’, ‘enjoy’, ‘gain’, or ‘unlock’ can be used to drive home the value you are offering in your email. Including action words in your preview text will give the reader a clearer picture of what they can expect from your email and make them more likely to open it.
Include an incentive. An incentive in the preview text can be a great way to get a reader’s attention. Offering something of value, such as discounts or freebies, is a surefire way to tempt users to click and open the full email.
Focus on customer benefits. Make sure you include language that highlights the many customer benefits of reading your email. Ask yourself what’s in it for the reader to encourage them to click and start reading.
Personalize it. If you’re segmenting your audience and customizing your email content to fit specific customer segments, make sure to include personalized welcome messages in your preview text to make the content more relevant to each individual reader.
Make it more intriguing. Use phrases such as “It’s time to” or “You won’t believe” to draw in the reader and raise their curiosity. A reader that is intrigued is more likely to continue reading.
Test it out. A good way to determine which type of preview text performs best for your business is to test out different combinations and see what works best for you. If possible, try A/B testing on different customer bases to get more detailed results.
Email preview texts don’t have to be boring or generic. With such a limited space to work with, it can be difficult to craft something attention-grabbing — but it’s possible. Keep these best practices in mind the next time you craft email preview text to get the greatest open rates possible.
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