Reading time: 6 minutes
You literally have three seconds to grab the attention of the subscriber and motivate him to open the letter. Otherwise, the message will be lost in a series of mailings from other brands and will forever remain in the “Unread”. You must use all available means: the name of the sender, avatar, theme and preheader. We will just talk about the latter. Let s figure out together what it is, what to write in it and how to set it up in Mailigen.
What is a preheader?
This is the text that is displayed by the mailer immediately after the subject. It is also called a snippet. It increases the likelihood that the letter will be opened. The sender s name, subject and avatar are not always enough to grab the subscriber s attention, and the pre-header becomes the decisive element.
The sender can fill in the snippet or leave it blank on purpose. If he forgets to set it up, it will reflect the contents of the letter instead of the pre-written text.
Preheader Tips
According to Mailerlite90% of senders still don t make the most of this element. As a result, users see the first words from the text content. As a rule, these are links to sections, the offer “Unsubscribe here” or “View the web version”. It s uninformative and unnatural – subscribers don t like it. The chances of the letter being open are less.
Get ahead of the competition – use a snippet! Here are some tips on how to style it.
Without many words
For example, Gmail allows you to fill a string with a maximum of 120 characters, including spaces. But write briefly, you still have to register the topic.
More informative
In the snippet, you can expand the topic, use a call, specify the validity period of a promo code, discount or free shipping.
Call to action
Call to action already warms up the attention in the preheader.
Emoji
Emails with emoticons in the subject line and preheader are perceived as more soulful and creative. But don t overdo it, it can cause rejection, especially if the subject of the message is serious.
Personalization
Mailings with a call by name get more attention and, accordingly, have a better Open Rate. Users are pleased when they are contacted in person.
Please everyone
42% of users read letters from the screens of mobile devices. In such mailers, preheaders are shorter than in the desktop version. The limit is 35 characters, including spaces. But if you wish and a creative approach, you can fit the main idea into such a short text.
What to write about in the preheader?
There is no clear answer, it all depends on the specific mailing list. But here are some tips that might help:
- Write about what s important. The snippet should answer the question why the user should waste time on your letter.
- You re kidding. Because everyone loves humor. But good.
- Intrigue. Let subscribers want to quit everything and quickly read the message
- Avoid yellow ads. No clickbait slogans like “Shock!”, “Sensation!” and the like. This way you run the risk of getting into spam, but not increasing the open rate in any way.
How to set up a preheader in Mailigen?
In the block editor
You can set up a snippet in Mailigen on the fourth step of sending the “Content” campaign in the DND editor. It is impossible to register it immediately in templates.
Get to the fourth step of the setup. Go to the “Settings” tab and click on the “Preheader” button.
You can write a snippet up to 85 characters long. But take into account the length of the subject and how many characters will be visible in the desktop and mobile versions of mailers.
Save the text. You will now see a snippet above the letter.
In HTML editor
We recommend using the built-in solution in Mailigen Reactor. But if you are working with HTML code, then add this text to the :
How do I add an invisible preheader?
To make the snippet invisible, enter this code instead of the preheader text
Option 1
Worked at Yandex.ru, Gmail.com. Didn t work in Mail.ru.
And yes, you need so many letters.
Option 2
Worked at Mail.ru, Yandex.ru, Gmail.com.
And yes, so many symbols are needed.
IMPORTANT! Our colleagues say that if you decide to use the second option for all providers, most likely your message will end up in spam everywhere except Mail.ru. We did not notice such problems, but just in case, we recommend combining the methods: for mailings to @ gmail.com and @ yandex.ru, use the first code, and for @ mail.ru and everyone related to it (@ bk.ru, @ list.ru, @ inbox.ru), write the second one.
What is the bottom line?
The pre-header is an important element of email newsletters. It largely depends on him whether the subscriber will pay attention to your letter and open it. Therefore, you should not neglect it. But with the design, you can do different things: make it long and catchy, short and intriguing, or completely empty. You decide.