Tips Increase Conversions with Strategic Subject Lines and Pre-headers

First impressions matter! When sending emails to your customers, don’t overlook your subject lines and pre-headers. Strategically use them to quickly grab attention and promote your offer.

What Are Subject Lines and Pre-headers?

The subject line of an email contains text that summarizes the email content and is the first thing read upon receipt. That line of text often determines whether the recipient opens your email.

The pre-header is a second element displayed after the subject line. You can use the first line of email content as the pre-header, but you can also customize it to fit your needs. Use pre-headers to build upon the subject line to emphasize your promotion.

How to Write Impactful Subject Lines and Pre-headers

Consider the following when writing your promotional subject lines and pre-headers:

• Incentivize your guests. People are enticed by deals, so be sure to include one.
• Be clear. Specific offers will grab attention quickly.
• Encourage recipients to open the email and continue reading with a call to action.
• Use urgency in your message. There is nothing like the fear of missing out to capture the recipient’s attention.
• Don’t repeat the subject line in the pre-header. Take the time to write a supporting pre-header message.
• Be mindful of the length of the subject line and pre-header. Mobile devices display fewer characters so be sure to write a subject line and pre-header that will display properly on all types of devices (desktop and mobile).

Examples

When writing offers and promotions, clearly show the value to the guest in the subject line and pre-header. The actual offer will capture the reader’s attention by drawing their eyes to the numbers.

Some good promotional examples:

While you want to be specific, do not go overboard with using too many capital letters, multiple emojis, and/or multiple exclamation marks. You can include them but use them sparingly. Too many could make the email look like spam and more likely to end up in the junk folder. It is also important to stay away from spam-triggering words or phrases such as Buy Now, Free, Last Chance, etc.

A few examples to avoid:

While subject lines and pre-headers seem simple enough, they are often overlooked as a key part of your marketing campaign.

Need help writing better subject lines and pre-headers? Contact the Inntopia Digital Services team.