Better Preview Text Will Improve Your Email and E-Newsletter Open Rates

· by · in , , ,

Every day I receive at least a dozen emails that missed a great opportunity to connect with its intended recipient because it has poor preview text.  The preview text is what appears below that subject line in my Outlook viewing window.

Here is a typical example of that:

Here are more examples of preview text that appear on every email I get on e-newsletters I subscribed to:

  • To view this as a web page, go here.
  • Thank your for being a valued subscriber of our blog.
  • We hope you enjoy our content.
  • Here is your weekly newsletter.
  • Make sure you receive this email by adding XXX to your Safe Sites.
  • No images?  Click here.
  • Or, worse, absolutely no preview text.

And here are examples of preview text that stop me from trashing the emails and to even open them right away:

  • Two American women were lost at sea for months.  Then came the Navy — and “pure relief”; Strippers, surveillance and
  • As a Good Sam member, we’re happy to give you the best renewal deal we’ve ever offered!
  • Put $9.00 back in your wallet.  Special limited-time offer.
  • Conde Nast Bans Terry Richardson From Working With Its Magazines . . .
  • 200+ 4-Star Reviews for Comfort and Quality

I see the weakest email preview text examples in e-newsletters.  Think of how much better your e-newsletters will be if you entice your subscribers to open them with a juicy preview of an article within the e-newsletter!

So make your preview text more powerful.  Get more opens.  Get more conversions.  Don’t waste a great opportunity by just plugging in the same copy over and over.

For more information on preview text, here is an excellent blogpost from  Litmus.

Tags: , , ,