Don’t Rely Only on the Subject Line Copy to Get People to Open Your Email

There's a little trick that could make your emails stand out and get clicked on more.

So, I’ve been coaching course creators worldwide for a while now, and I've noticed that many people don't pay much attention to the preview text in their emails. 

But here's the thing - it's a tiny detail that could make a big difference. Adding a brief but compelling preview text next to your subject line can really pique the reader's interest and get them to open your email.

Think about it - when you're skimming through your inbox, what catches your eye? The subject line and, you guessed it, the preview text! These two work hand in hand to draw people in, and I’m going to show you how to use them effectively to stand out in that crowded inbox.

Don't miss out on this simple yet incredibly effective tactic. Take a moment after this podcast to check out your email platform and get that preview text working for you. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Specifically, this episode highlights the following themes:

• Leveraging the power of preview text in email marketing
• Crafting compelling subject lines and preview text
• Maximizing the impact of your email content

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Hi. And welcome. My name is Monica Badiu. I am a marketing consultant turned conversion copywriter and coach. I help online course creators and info product businesses sell more through persuasive, non-spammy, no fluff copywriting.

I teach about copywriting, digital marketing, and conversion strategies tested in my businesses and with my clients. 

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Other links:

• Get to know more about Monica Badiu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicabadiu
• Read Monica’s blogs: https://www.monicabadiu.com/blog
• Visit Monica’s website: https://www.monicabadiu.com
• Get your freebies: https://www.monicabadiu.com/freebie
• Get assistance with your copywriting by scheduling a free discovery call: https://www.monicabadiu.com/contact
• Check out Monica's articles on Medium: https://medium.com/@itsmonicabadiu
• Learn more about running successful email promos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmXZEZDMnLQf1GnQeRfO5nUjNtZwEzoi0
• Learn how to use activecampaign with Kajabi:
  https://help.kajabi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037180033-How-to-Use-ActiveCampaign-With-Kajabi

Transcript

0:00

One quarter of respondents read this first before deciding to open an email, and it's a feature that not many people are actually using. However, it can help increase your open rate and make your email stand out in a very crowded inbox. And today you get to learn how to use that in your email marketing strategy. You welcome to master the inbox, the podcast where course creators, coaches and consultants come to learn how to sell with email marketing in a non spammy, non aggressive way. I'm your host, Monica Badiu, and for the past four years I've been coaching and working with dozens of course creators from all over the world showing them how to use email marketing in an effective, non salesy but powerful way. The average person receives hundreds of emails each day, which means that you, as a brand who has a message to deliver or a sales pitch, you want to make sure that your email stands out in the crowd. Unfortunately, not many people are actually using all the tools we have to ensure that that email actually stands out. The majority of people focus on the subject line, work on that, and then maybe if we do a good enough job, then that's going to draw our readers attention. But we can also add something called the preview text. And this is a little piece of copy that appears next to or beneath your subject line in an inbox. Apple Mail calls it a preview, Google calls it a snippet, and Outlook calls it a message preview. If you skip the preview text, the email client will just randomly decide to showcase a preview of your email. Unfortunately, that's not always optimized to draw the reader's attention, to pick their curiosity, or to simply do a good job for helping you stand out from the crowd. Now, this preview text is a very small piece of copy, but it's so powerful, so you can use it to drive curiosity. And I have an example for this subject line could be Monica, are you struggling with weight loss? And the preview text can say, this makes it easier. So the subject line and preview text work together to pick the curiosity of the reader. We can also use it in the sales section of your promo or in a sales email. Subject line, what's on the other side of fear? And then the preview text could say, twelve modules or this course or these tools or 10,000 people found out. Will you? You can also use it to deliver information and position your email, or something that has such important information that your audience is compelled to open it. So here's an example connected to the first subject line example I gave you. Subject line Monica, are you struggling with weight loss? And the preview text could say, one in six women have tried this, or one in six women are doing this. And it's so easier. You can also use it to deliver personalized content. So the subject line could say something like, need help with your accent? And the preview text is going to be, we've got you covered, Monica. You can also use the preview text as the reminder to take action. So the subject line could say, did you hear? New course now available. And the preview text could say, get access today. To unlock a premium bonus, we can use it to deliver social proof. So the subject line could be a code, a first person code that says, this changed my life, or I'm so happy I tried this. And then the preview text could say, 10,000 students, five star reviews. You can use it to deliver scarcity. The subject line could say, want 50% off our new course? And the preview text could say, limited to the first 20 students. You can use it to deliver urgency. The subject line could be, Monica, what if it works? And the preview text could say, last day to save 50%. I love using this feature, partly because it's so simple and it's also so effective. You can use it to deliver context, additional information, pick your audience's curiosity, even be disruptive or make a joke. This is one of those tiny secrets that a lot of people should know more about because it can really help your content stand out from the crowd. And that can also allow you to have a decent ratio between valuable emails, personalized content, as well as a self pitch together, working so that it draws your reader's attention. Positioning your email as something that is interesting, relevant and also important. There is one more thing I want to add about this. So on a desktop, you can clearly see you have your brand name, you have the subject line, and then towards the right, you're going to have that preview text. Now on desktop or on a laptop, that doesn't necessarily stand out. However, if you look on your mobile, you're going to see that the preview text is the third thing they're going to see. And in this situation, we don't have them linear, we have them horizontally. So we're going to have it like this. We're going to have the name, we're going to have the subject line and we're going to have the preview text. And because on mobile we're working with a smaller screen, the information is going to be cropped. This gives you a really good opportunity to use that preview text to add more context. Pick their curiosity when they're using a mobile device. So here is my action item for you today. Go check your email platform and figure out what is that email preview feature called? Activecampaign drip Kajabi. They have specific tutorials that are going to help you figure that out. Now remember, don't leave it black. It's always important to use all the features you have to make your email stand out from the crowd, and adding the preview text to your email strategy? That's just like one of the simplest, most powerful things you can do right now. If you want to learn more about using preview text for your emails, head over to my blog, monicabadio.com blog and you'll find a whole article that teaches you more about using the preview text. It gives you a few more examples and some of my favorite swipe files. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Master the inbox. Until next time, stay curious.