Best Practices: Steps to Inbox Success

Be the email message that stands out.

It's a battle for attention in the inbox almost every day as email is the most reliable and most used digital communication tool available. 

Any highly successful email marketing campaign demonstrates use of a powerful subject area. Make it clear that your subscriber knows you and can trust you. Give a reason your email message needs to be opened. Try the following steps to Inbox Success:

1. From Line - Sender: the sender should be whatever or whoever is most likely to be recognized. If this is your business name, then send from Business Name. If this is a person at the business, then send from John Person. 
   
   
2. From Line - Email Address: the email address you send from needs to be familiar, and also to display professionalism and trust. It is best to include your business name in your email identity, and it's more professional to have that business name as the sending domain. Example - Choose to send from [email protected] (NOT [email protected]). 
   
   
3. Subject Line: Depending on your target audience, there's actually a better chance your subscriber will be seeing your email for the first time on a mobile phone than on a desktop computer. A great subject line is short, honest, enticing and relevant - all within just one line of text. Consider adding one or two very specific details toward the end of the subject line. If the front end of the subject line is short, honest, enticing and relevant, then your reader is more likely to scroll or tap to read the remainder of the subject line. And remember your subject line is NOT trying to convert a new client or get a sale. The entire goal of the subject line is to move your reader to open the email message. 
   
   
4. Preheader: This is the sentence that appears below the subject line on a mobile device. This is the second chance you have to entice readers to open the message. Make sure your preheader is not a string of HTML code prescribing a link to a web page. A preheader needs to be deliberate, and it can accomplish many things, such as more details, personalization, even a call to action. 
   
   
5. Test: Test your subject line for maximum success. Try an A/B split at the exact same time to two different groups. Try running an online subject line test at one of many resources such as SubjectLine.com.

Related Resources:
Improving email open rates 
Email Best Practices: Subject Lines 
9 ways smart email marketers are using preheader text 
WinCommunications Email Marketing