That's why you need to pack in the benefits of your product or service and get straight to the point without wasting any space! And that's something you've probably heard before...
But did you know that this doesn't just apply to your web site? It also applies to your e-mail marketing...
Many e-mail programs have a "preview pane" that allows recipients to view the top two to four inches of your e-mail without actually opening it.
Business e-mail programs like Outlook and Lotus Notes have used these for years... but now, two of the most popular free e-mail providers -- Yahoo Mail and Hotmail -- plan to offer a preview pane feature to their users in 2006.
(I actually just received an invitation to test the beta version of Windows Live Mail -- Microsoft's Hotmail replacement -- and have been playing around with it.)
That means that now it's more important than ever to treat the preview pane of your e-mail messages like the first fold on your web pages. You need to get your reader's attention quickly -- and convince them to keep reading!
With that said, here are five tips for making the most of that critical top two to four inches of every e-mail you send:
-
Avoid
placing a large
image or banner ad
at the top of your
e-mail.
Banners and images
take up far too much
space that should be
spent getting your
message across and
encouraging readers
to read the rest of
your e-mail!
-
Include a
table of contents or
a brief contents
summary. If
your e-mail talks
about more than one
topic, include a
break down of what
you plan to cover.
For example, if
you're sending a
newsletter, you may
want to include an
"In this
issue..."
section at the top
of your e-mail.
-
Write a
"teaser" paragraph
or
attention-grabbing
headline at
the top of your
e-mail that compels
recipients to
continue reading it.
-
Include the
benefits that are
most important to
your target audience
in the top section
of your e-mail.
Answer the question
"What's in it for
me" as quickly as
possible.
- If you are including images, remember that some recipients may have their e-mail setting configured to block images... so include enough text that your message will make sense to them, too!
Yahoo Mail and Hotmail addresses make up large segments of many e-mail marketers' lists, so I recommend you sign up now to get access to Yahoo Mail Beta and Windows Live Mail Beta ... and start checking out what shows up in the preview panes!



