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 Preview Pane Power Manage the Preview Pane to Increase Click-through -- by Chip House The latest studies I've seen show that Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express are used by over 50% of the public. Both versions of Outlook, among other email software, provide the option for a "preview pane," allowing users to see the top portion of an email without having to click to open it. Designing your emails to look great and capture your subscribers' attention in that preview pane is key to maximizing your email open rates. Subscribers determine whether or not they open your email based on the items first visible to them - the subject line, the "from" field, and the top 10 - 20% of your email they can see in the preview pane. (To optimize your open rates focus on crafting a great subject line that draws, or teases out, user interest. See"Double your Email Impact" for more information on subject lines). The key to strong subject line copy is providing a sneak peek into the contents of the newsletter or to use teaser language to encourage the open. The same concept applies to the preview pane, but it also needs to be bolstered with eye-catching images or photography. Here's the catch - most email marketing software will track an email shown in the preview pane as an open. This means that to manage and track the impact of your preview pane you must focus on tracking and maximizing click-through rates. Here's a few steps to follow for success: Echo your subject line in the beginning of your email. You'll want to give the user some of what they're looking for right in the preview pane. If you are doing a newsletter with multiple stories or sections, use a summary at the top of the newsletter with anchor links to the specific content sections below. You'll notice that this will improve your click-through rates on your sub-stories. Don't Bury the Lead Use your lead or "call to action" prominently near the top of the email. The idea is to make sure you let the customers know quickly why you are writing and what you want them to do. For example, if you are providing valuable tips on stocks, provide a headline near the top saying "View our Stock Buying Tips Below." HTML and Photography Entice There's a reason the Internet took off when it became the graphical, world-wide web. The images made it much less fatiguing and much more enjoyable to read. Plus, images and formatted, colored text are more engaging to the user and allow for charts, graphs, or mood-setting imagery. The same thing goes for the preview pane - use images when possible to engage the user, set a mood, tell a story, or communicate a statistic. Using photos in emails is similar to using them on the web, yet you'll need to pay even more attention to image pixel sizing, to make sure it fits easily inside the email, as well as image kilobyte size to make the download quicker. Is there an easier way to get photos for an email? One of the best sources I know of for professional stock photography is Comstock . They've been at it for over 25 years. In fact we formed a partnership with Comstock to include over 150 of their premium CD's in our software. Our Comstock photo library launches next week to provide our clients with the option to add these premium photos, pre-optimized for email marketing, directly to any email. Empowering your preview pane success begins by taking notice of how your emails appear in the pane. Test each email on the preview pane before sending. Did your message get lost below the fold? If so, rework your email until you are happy with the results, then test, track, and test again to maximize your click-through! |
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