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From an email development perspective, it's easy to add email preheader text to your campaigns. It can also be an easy way to increase email engagement and increase email open rates.
The preheader text appears next to or below the subject line in the inbox. With preheader text, you can use an average of 50-100 characters in conjunction with your subject line to convince someone to open your email.
The ability to preview and test your subject line and preheader is a crucial part of the email QA process. Previewing allows you to see whether the preheader matches the subject line and whether the message is compelling enough to hook a subscriber. That's why we have a preheader preview in our campaign precheck workflow. The Preheader tool allows you to view your email's subject line and preheader text in 15 of the most popular email clients, allowing you to optimize your emails for the inbox and increase email marketing ROI .
First, you have a big decision to make: Should the preheader text be visible or hidden from the recipient? Your branding and the layout of your template will probably determine this more than anything else.
Visible email preheader text
If there is some space above the email header (perhaps with a “View in browser” link), you can probably include visible preheader text. Take a look at the following example:
As you can see, this generates some pretty disappointing preheader text. Showing a recipient “view with pictures” isn’t the end of the world, but it’s also not the best use of that valuable space.
There is plenty of space in this layout to add a preheader sentence on the left or replace the View with Images link with visible preheader text.
Hidden email preheader text
There are many themes that do not support visible preheader text, or the text does not fit the brand template. If you want to add hidden preheader text to your email, don't worry, it's not difficult!
First, you should choose a place where the preheader text won't cause problems in your layout. Typically the text takes up no more than one pixel of vertical space, but in some cases a small preheader can push the content down. If you are inserting the preheader text into an existing header, you may want to place them individually on a line so that when you move content underneath, they all move by the same amount.
To hide the text, you should include the following inline styles:
As you can see, the above code hides the preheader in several ways. Many of these are replacement solutions for customers who don't know or can't play well with some of the other styles in the list.
Another tip: Don't forget to remove your placeholder text. You can use placeholder text for testing purposes, but be sure to replace it with the real preheader text before sending. The last thing you want is an email being sent with “This is preheader text” as the actual preheader text.
Campaign Precheck's preheader preview tool allows you to identify any issues with your preheader text before sending a campaign, including any placeholder text you may have forgotten to remove. Use the tool to preview your preheader and subject line on 15 of the most popular email clients.
Character limits for email preheaders
How much preheader text should you include? We recommend 40-100 characters. Although some desktop and webmail clients can display more than 100 characters, on many mobile devices the average is 35-50 characters. If most of your subscribers are mobile, keep this in mind.
It is also important to note that many webmail clients vary the length of the preheader text depending on the length of the subject line and the width of the browser window.
Another factor to consider when it comes to preheader length: users who let Siri read their emails will hear the first 499 characters of your email. If you want to test audio calls to action or see how your Siri users interact with your email, consider trying some longer preheaders.
Make the most of your preheader text
If you're looking for more information on how to make the most of preheader text, check out 5 Preheader Text Ideas to Boost Your Email Effectiveness.
Ready to start testing your email preheaders? Sign up for a free trial and try Campaign Precheck's new preheader preview tool!
Have you found new or creative ways to use preheader text? Let us know in the comments below.
This post was updated on December 28, 2018. It was originally published in October 2015.
Author: The Email on Acid Team
Email on Acid's content team is made up of digital marketers, content creators, and real email geeks. Connect with us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook, and tweet @EmailonAcid on Twitter for more great email marketing news and great convos.
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
