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This text, often hyperlinked, is directly below the subject line. The preheaders should be considered an extension of the subject line and should only be one or two lines long, says Chris Lovejoy, senior e-mail strategist at StrongMail. "So it would again reinforce that content within your message that you're saying to the recipient is most important," he says. The text also can be a call to action and should be words rather than images due to image suppression defaults.
"It's the first thing that shows up in the e-mail, and it actually has a big impact on mobile platforms, as well," Smith says. "Because for [BlackBerry devices] and some of the older readers that don't render HTML, they'll still see that text right there at the top of the message and the link will be there so they can direct people to the Web site."
2. Use HTML wherever possible, as opposed to graphics. Because of spam blocking systems, image suppression still dominates as the first way recipients see messages, Smith says.
3. Ensure the logo is above the "fold." Smith says the most important elements of an e-mail should remain in the top-left corner. "You've got like 350 pixels wide by 200 pixels tall of space ... that's your primary real estate," he says. While some have their preview panes set vertically, most have them set horizontally, Smith says.
In IHG's case, the templates take into account the different brands—Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, InterContinental and Staybridge Suites. But at the same time, Smith says IHG also needs to maintain a core base "from a global marketing perspective." So a common template has different messaging and nuances, based on input from the different property brand managers, he says.
This takes into account the necessary differentiated, relevant editorial aspect of customer interaction, says Smith, who adds that he favors newsletter formats. "There's the need for romance involved," he says. "Don't just hit people over the head with a promotional message."
4. Place the most important message content above the fold. So the preheader, logo and navigation (probably in the preheader) are already placed. Hickey says the "view mobile" prompt helps drive a lot of traffic to the hotel sites.
Now consider the main message content.
If it's a newsletter, consider placing the table of contents above the fold, Smith says. If there's a primary message or a call to action, that should be up top, he adds.
5. Move extraneous information out of the preview pane. "It's really a balancing act of not putting [in] too much content that would, in fact, force the main body of your message further down, or your entire call to action would be suppressed," Lovejoy says.
If all people can see when they click on the message to render it in the preview pane is a tall header, recipients may begin skipping over that sender's messages.
Lovejoy says: "Anything that you can do to get as much information on top of your message will basically help you get ... your message clicked on and read and [taken] out of the preview pane."
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