#again the alt text box is a bit too short for me to include all the details I want but that's. eh

[craftykit]

For christmas I got a set of POSCA paint pens! these two are some practice drawings I did. They’re fun to use and the colors came out just how i hoped they would!

[berthastover]

9 Preheader Text Mistakes that Nosedive Your Email Open Rates

Getting your business emails opened is like threading a needle.

You fail more times than you succeed.

Inboxes are jammed as brands jostle for people’s attention on the most profitable channel of all— email. In such a highly competitive environment you have to go an extra mile to succeed with your email marketing campaigns.

Success starts with subscribers opening your emails; otherwise your campaign’s dead in the water.

But how do you get your nose in front in the tight race for the inbox?

Stretch every element of your campaign, by, among other things, optimizing the preheader. Sidestepping common preheader text mistakes will put you ahead of the pack and hike your open rates.

First, let’s get the basics out of the way.

  What is email preheader text?

The preheader is the bit of text that appears under the subject line when an email is viewed in the inbox.

Here’s an example from my inbox.

    In the above screenshot, the line ‘Everybody’s doing something. We’ll do nothing!’ is the preheader.

Sometimes it’s called the Johnson Box. This refers to a snippet of copy found at the top of direct mail letters, containing the key message of the letter. Other terms used to describe it are:

Preview Text.

Second Subject Line.

Snippet Text.

Why bother with a preheader in the first place?

  5 reasons why you need a preheader

  1. The design of the preview pane demands it

The preview pane is structured in a way that affords subscribers a chance to get a foretaste of what a message is about.

It seeks to quickly address three crucial questions your audience might have about an email:

Who is this message from? ( Sender) Is it from a trusted sender?

What is it about? (Subject) Is the subject catchy enough?

Why are they writing? (Preheader) Is the message worthwhile?

If you are like most small business owners, your main focus is the subject line. You probably know that research shows up to 50% subscribers decide to open an email based on the subject line alone.

But what happens to the other 50%?

They linger and then look at the next component that falls within the eyeline of their reading path—the preheader. This gives you a second chance to tease users to open your email.

  2. The mobile-first world reality requires it

These days most people read emails on mobile devices.

Not only do mobile users read on the move, but they also check their email 3x more than desktop users according to research conducted by Google.

Preheaders are more pronounced on mobile devices.

That’s good news.

A longish snippet text line gives you a great opportunity to expand your subject line and boost your open rates.

  3. The number of preheader characters warrants it

Depending on the email client you are using, your preheader can be anything from 40-100 characters long.

That’s between 8-20 more words to support your subject line or say more about your business.

In fact, preheader text dominates your inbox.

    As you can see, the preheader uses up to twice as much space than the subject line in some cases.

Surprising, hey!

Don’t let all this precious space go to waste. Use it to bolster your subject line and market better.

  4. The position it occupies encourages it

Mobile users tend to do a lot of scrolling.

The preview text is visible without having to scroll.

Its strategic above-the-fold position makes it a powerful tool for engaging subscribers right off the bat before they are tempted to leave.

  5. The role it plays in avoiding the spam folder

If users mark your email as spam, your emails won’t see the light of day.

Good preview text reduces spam alerts.

How?

It sums up what the newsletter is about. Once recipients appreciate the content, they won’t mark your email as spam. You’ll avoid the dreaded spam folder and increase deliverability rates.

  Now that you’ve got a good handle on preheader fundamentals, let’s move on to blunders SMB marketers typically make with them.

    Mistake #1: Omitting the preheader

What’s the biggest mistake can you make with the preheader?

Underestimating its power and totally excluding it.

By doing so, you miss an awesome opportunity to get more people clicking on your email campaigns. Research shows including a well-crafted preheader can boost opens by almost 7%.

Imagine the difference such a margin can make to your bottom line.

If your email doesn’t have a specially composed preheader:

Your email’s first few words may be displayed in the designated preheader space.

A default phrases like “This email was sent in HTML only, to view it please copy it into your browser” may appear.

An image’s alt-text may appear if your message contains an image.

Your code might be dragged into the preview text place.

The preheader space will showcase placeholder gibberish text like ‘Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetuer’.

Talk about blowing a great chance to craft a well thought out preview text and entice more newsletter subscribers to click on your email.

Still think having a preheader isn’t a big deal?

Well, think again.

Marketing Experiments did a test to see the impact of having a preheader in an email. One email had no preheader. It simply displayed the URL of the first image in the email. Meanwhile, the treatment displayed a specific type of text.

The results were impressive: the treatment saw a huge 104% increase in clicks.

  Mistake #2: Duplicating the subject line

Repeating your subject line verbatim in the preheader is a bad idea.

First, it’s just being a lazy marketer. Second, it demonstrates a lack of creativity—not a good attribute for a marketer. Importantly, readers might think you are a spammer and ban you from their inboxes forever.

Your preheader should complement the subject line, not copy it.

It should add more valuable info not contained in the subject line. Combined, your subject line and preheader should tell one complete story. Below are some quick tips on how to nail it:

Use figures to concretize the subject line.

Inject a sense of urgency by adding a deadline to your offer.

Ask a loaded question that piques your audience’s interest.

Highlight your offer’s second benefit.

Personalize the preheader if you haven’t personalized the subject.

Captivate through visually appealing emoji.

Weave fear of missing out (FOMO) into your copy.

In essence, treat your preheader like your second subject line.

Here are a couple of examples of some of the above strategies in use.

Philips Chrysler used personalization to good effect.

  Source: Practical Ecommerce

  Using the recipient’s name makes her warm up to the message.

Wayfair wooed their newsletter subscribers by using the clapping hands emoji.

  Source: Ometria

  The emoji adds a touch of color, emulates a certain feeling, and lights up the dull text.

In short, be creative not repetitive.

  Mistake #3: Including unsubscribe option

Yes, you must make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your list.

And, yes, the opt-out option should be in a prominent area so people see you’ve got nothing to hide.

But the preheader might not be the best place for it.

In the example below from my inbox, the word ‘stop’ is capitalized, drawing more attention to unsubscribing than to the offer.

    One moment you’re excited about saving, then in the next instant you are hit with a message telling you to pull out of the list.

Ugh.

Not inspiring for the reader if you ask me.

It kills the momentum generated by the subject line.

Why not let readers see your offer first and then give them the chance to remove themselves from your list later on inside the email?

Besides, newsletter readers expect the unsubscribe link in your footer. Seeing it much earlier can be unsettling for them.

  Editor’s note:

While adding the unsubscribe link in the preheader isn’t providing the optimum experience for your email subscribers, there are times when it pays off to move this link further up in your newsletters.

For example, if you’re having deliverability problems and your emails are often marked as spam – for no good reason – then it’s worth giving your email recipients the option to opt out, instead of reporting your message as spam.

High spam complaint rate may for example be related to the local customer habits. In some markets, for example in Russia, you’ll notice that email campaigns get reported as spam more often, as the users there don’t usually trust the unsubscribe links and have become used to opting out this way.

To make sure your email deliverability is intact, follow the email marketing best practices and make your subscription process as transparent as possible.

  Mistake #4: Making a whitelist request

Surely, using the preheader to ask subscribers to whitelist your brand so they never miss an email from you is a great idea, right?

Wrong.

Here’s why.

To begin with, it’s wasted effort. When was the last time you manually added companies you want to hear from to your personal address book?

Rarely, if at all.

And yet you still receive business newsletters. Here’s the thing.  Inboxes have become complicated enough to detect the emails you want to receive without you whitelisting the sender.

So whitelisting isn’t the best use of the preheader.

You are better off focusing your energies on crafting an irresistible welcome email. Once subscribers engage with your first email, future emails won’t get stuck in the spam folder. Your deliverability rates will go higher.

A good welcome email:

Urges subscribers to open it ASAP.

Appreciates the subscriber for joining your list.

Sets the tone for the user’s relationship with you.

Quickly establishes rapport with subscribers.

Spells out what to expect in the coming days.

Gives instructions on how to whitelist you.

Describes who you are and what you do.

Delivers the promised information.

Since welcome emails have insanely high open rates, once you get your foot in the door you are guaranteed your audience will see forthcoming emails.

  Mistake #5: Too many links

Most people read emails on mobile devices, remember?

Have you ever tried clicking a link on your phone?

It can be quite a challenge, to put it mildly. According to an MIT study, the average width of an index finger is 1.6 to 2 cm for most adults so tapping on a 12pt font can be frustrating.

It gets worse.

In a pioneering study on how users hold their mobile devices, UX Matters revealed that 75% of phone users touch their screen only with the thumb, the fattest finger.

Chances of inaccurate touches become multiplied.

As if clicking on a link isn’t bad enough in and of itself, too many links are worse because:

Readers may end up clicking on the wrong link because links are cramped. This is another reason why putting an unsubscribe link in the preheader is a bad idea.

Readers will be overwhelmed by too many choices and end up not clicking on any of the links, a classic case of analysis paralysis.

Readers might miss the link they’re interested in because it’s been cut off.

Readers may be frustrated by the bad user experience and abandon your email.

Keep things simple.

Trim the copy in your links to the barest minimum. Or, better still, avoid text-heavy links in some campaigns.

And, instead of cramping links into the preheader, try a button CTAs in the copy.

Buttons are bigger, brighter, and nicer, hence they’re more likely to be clicked.

But don’t take my word for it. Test to see which works best for your audience.

  Mistake #6: No call to action

Why do you send newsletters in the first place?

To get people to act on your offers, isn’t it?

Whether you want them to try your product, enlist your services or attend your event, one thing is clear – tell them exactly what you want them to do.

Failure to include a convincing CTA is a big blunder that might reduce the success of your campaign.

Like any good result-getting CTA your CTA should be;

Clear, not clever.

Short, not lengthy.

Active, not passive.

Specific, not general.

Simple, not complex.

Cut to the chase by leading with a convincing CTA in the preheader.

  Mistake #7: Making it too long

Crafting a lengthy preheader is a big mistake, and here’s why.

Your words get chopped off before you get your message across. This drastically reduces your chances of users checking out your emails. And, with most people reading emails on space-starved mobile devices, this is a real problem.

Litmus released useful research that reveals how many preheader characters popular email clients usually show on mobile devices.

  Source: Litmus

To quickly get your message across on most devices before it gets truncated, aim for around 50 characters or 11 words. Since you have very little wiggle room, for best results:

Put the most important part of your message at the beginning.

Lead with an active verb that instantly grabs attention.

Turn the whole header into a CTA and take people straight to your landing page.

Get rid of filler words that take up space without saying much.

Bear in mind also that your preheader length is connected to the size of the subject line. A long subject line means a short preheader and vice versa. Play around with both until you hit the sweet spot.

Still having trouble getting the length right?

Don’t despair.

Take the guesswork out of the equation by using email header preview tools like Zurb to see how exactly your preheader and subject line will look on different devices.

  Mistake #8: Preheader and subject line mismatch

If your preheader doesn’t fit your subject, you’re erring.

No matter how nice sounding your preheader is if it doesn’t expand on the subject line, it’ll fail.

A disconnect between the two is jarring for users.

Combined, the subject line and the preview text make up 58% of the first thing people look at when deciding whether to open an email.

By marrying the two so they complement each other and communicate one full story, you raise your chances of getting your email opened.

Here’s an example:

Subject: 50% off our new collection

Preheader: Save big on all latest denim jackets, jeans, and dresses for 3 days only!

The subject line introduces a massive discount. And then the preheader adds finer details about the offer by telling subscribers which items are on sale and how long the special is running for.

These specifics make the offer clearer and add a bit of urgency into the scenario.

  Mistake #9: Forgetting to split test

Relying on your gut won’t get you far.

In an age of countless analytics and testing tools and toys, it’s surprising how businesses still depend on what they think will work.

Test, don’t assume.

Carry out A/B tests of your preheaders.

Try out various angles and variants of subject lines and preheaders. Keep testing and tweaking until you see a substantial uptick in opens.

  Conclusion

Treating preheaders as an afterthought is a costly mistake.

Take time to carefully optimize yours.

GetResponse has a nimble preheader feature allows you to maximize your preheader with ease.

If you get it right, you’ll lure more recipients into opening your messages. More opens lead to more click-throughs. More click-throughs lead to more conversions. And, more conversions ultimately lead to more money for your business.

  Author

  According to his cheeky wife’s baseless claims, Qhubekani Nyathi aka The Click Guy, is an irresistibly handsome freelance copywriter. He helps SMBs rapidly grow their income and impact through actionable long-form content that ranks high, builds authority, and generates tons of leads. He is a contributor to top blogs like Crazy Egg, Search Engine People, Techwyze, AWAI, and more.

    Related posts

How to Automate Your Lead Gen with Facebook Lead Ads and Zapier

4 Ways to Align Your Content Marketing Strategy With Your Mission

The post 9 Preheader Text Mistakes that Nosedive Your Email Open Rates appeared first on GetResponse Blog - Online Marketing Tips.

[pragmastery]

Here are some various things that I have been loving this winter in no particular order or category.

Every season or so, my preferences change in all areas of my life, like books, movies, foods, clothes, etc.

Also, I really want to know some of your favorite things in winter because I am always looking for suggestions!

These are a few of my favorite things (this winter):

Snacks/Foods

Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

White Chocolate Tea

Every year I get this white chocolate tea from Dragon Marsh in Downtown Riverside, an it really never ceases to surprise me. Each year when I run out I move on to a new tea and forget just how much I love it until I buy it again and fall back in love. I have even gotten other people (even ones who don’t usually like tea) to love this tea.

It is toasty, silky and all around cozy. I really feel the winter joy when I have a cup of this, some popcorn, and a winter movie on.

  Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Apple Cider

My partner, roommate, and I love this instant apple cider that takes only a second to make, but it is super yummy.

It is quite sweet with a bit of tart, so I (a savory person) add a clove and a dash of cinnamon sometimes and let it steep for a few minutes before drinking it.

Ultimately, I love that this has replaced hot chocolate for me, and it’s convenient. The club I run for school devours these at every meeting, and we go through a box every week at home.

Books

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Image from Goodreads

I don’t know why, but every year for the last 4 years I have reread this book. I don’t always read the entire thing, but I do pick it up at least once.

Maybe it’s due to nostalgia or just habit, but this time of year, I really enjoy this book’s atmosphere and writing style.

I haven’t read the rest of this series yet, but I am happy to just keep picking up this one.

It doesn’t help that this series is fine to read in any order, since each book is written kind of like a stand-alone.

This is book TWO in the Robert Langdon series.

  Image from Goodreads

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

This book takes place in mid-winter with secret societies, old libraries, and all of the bookish feels, so naturally it is a great winter read.

I just picked this book up last week, and I am really loving it even just 50 pages in. So, I will probably finish this book in December, but it is a bit long so I won’t speak too soon.

    Movies

Classic Children’s Claymation Specials/Movies and Cartoons

I don’t know what it is about these, but I love the old Stop Motion movies for Christmas along with some newer ones. (I believe most of the older ones were made by Rankin Bass.)

As strange as it is and as most people don’t know, I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies. When I do watch a movie, it’s usually a children’s animated movie or show.

I know it is odd for a 21 year old woman  with no children to almost exclusively watch kids movies, but I am who I am.

Some of my favorites:

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (1970)

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (2000)

Elf (2003)

The Corpse Bride (2005)

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas (2008)

Coraline (2009)

Frozen (2013)

  Clothing

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I got this sweater from Forever 21 from their 40% off cardigans sale. It is crazy soft and a nice grey/blue/green color. It has big pockets and barely reaches my knees. Not too warm for SoCal, but enough to go out in.

These socks are from Lian LifeStyle on Amazon. I love the colors and they are not too thick or too thin. The toe is a bit thin, so I do wear a thin pair of socks on top of these with my boots.

I got the short version of this dress from YesStyle during the summer, and I loved it so much that I ordered it in grey as well. This dress is versatile for most seasons in SoCal. You can dress it up or down, and it is so so cute for my personal style. This is probably my favorite piece of clothing ever.

Miscellaneous

Dollie Comforter Set from Wayfair

Image Source

We got this set for our bed, because our master bedroom gets pretty cold at night and we don’t like heaters.

It is like a cloud of softness, and I have a hard time getting out of bed every morning. We haven’t tried washing it yet, but it hasn’t seemed to be too fragile to do so.

I sometimes even use the corner of this comforter as a pillow; that’s how soft and fluffy that it is.

Thanks for checking out some of the things that spark joy in my life.

All images of products are those of the location I purchased them (all book covers are from Goodreads). I do not own any of these images. We are not sponsored by any of these products.

Happy snuggle season!

-Knight of Cups ❤

~Pragmaster, your visit and support is appreciated beyond possible demonstration. Your feedback and support is valuable to us. Nevertheless, you are the Pragmaster of our Pragmastery, so do feel free to share your opinions and experiences. Stay pragmatic and spread positivity!

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If you would like to discuss a concern or report harmful content, please contact us using our Correspondence page. If an author’s content is not to your liking, please feel free to browse our other authors’ pieces to find a more suitable read for your personal taste, or kindly agree to disagree by clicking off of this site. Please do not waste your time expressing your opinion in an overly negative or inconsiderate manner, for those comments will be removed from the site.

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Only things that spark joy are allowed on this list! Here are some various things that I have been loving this winter in no particular order or category.

[tehreems-portfolio]

Foundation Portfolio Pt. ii - Magazine Content Page

Though I had not pre-planned my content page, I had a few ideas for my content page.

Step 1:

Again variables like the dimensions had be the same as the cover page because they were from the same magazine thereby it simply would not make sense for the content page to have different dimensions. I kept the resolution 150 inch/pixel and the colour mode of 8 bits since the content page it more about functionality than the aesthetic itself.

Step 2:

Once I press ‘enter’ I had my plain white base layer of 8in*10.5in before me. The first thing I did was press Ctrl ‘R’, which make the ruler visible. Next I dragged lines from the vertical and horizontal ruler to adjust my alignment and create a rough draft of what was in my head. (shown below)

Step 3:

In my content page I had decided to include the masthead and the date/issue number, using the same typeface since repetition creates familiarity with the house style and the magazine itself. Additionally, it creates a more professional and sophisticated outlook, while drawing the audience’s attention as well. Using the Type (’T’) tool, I clicked at the top of the base layer and wrote the masthead ‘Perspective’ inside the text box using ‘Exodus’ font in a slightly smaller font than that i used for the cover page; 59.67 pt for content page and 73.69 pt for the cover page. 

I opted for placing the date/issue number right below the masthead as it would captivate the reader’s attention. Further more following the house style I chose to keep the colour of the masthead and date/issue number on the content consistent with that on the cover page’s. This again creates a sense of brand and familiarity amongst readers.

Using Ctrl (;), I was able to make my rulers disappear for when I would need them later since they could easily reappear using the aforementioned keys.

Step 4:

Next I decided to place the ‘Content’ title. After sorting through different alignments, I opted for the center alignment for the placement of the title since I had planned to create a two column layout for the text (headings, page numbers, article descriptions and any highlighted article) present on the page. For the ‘Content’ title i used Modern No. 20 as the typeface.

Next I wanted to highlight and separate the masthead and date/issue number from the Content title hence I utilized the ‘Line’ tool (present in the vertical toolbar on the left near the bottom, above the ‘Hand’ tool) to create a sort of divider to make each element stand out without looking haphazard and mixed up. 

I gave the ‘Content’ title two vertical borders so that it would immediately standout for the audience and it would help them navigate since they would immediately know that it was the content page.

I later changes ‘Content’ to ‘Table of Content’ only to change it back since it seems text bookish rather than something you would see in print media like magazines

Step 5:

Now it was time to move on to the arrangement of text on the content page. With that being said I pressed Ctrl (;), making the rulers visible and rearranged them. Following after, I started with my cover story by placing on the left side of the center partition, seeing as though it should be the first article to capture the any viewer’s attention. For the typeface I chose to use Modern No. 20 for the title/heading and page number, while using Luzia for the description. The reason behind this was to create brand familiarity by maintaining house style.

I useful tip that my teacher gave to my class was to zoom in and compare the file to the actual size of the print by holding the paper of our required dimensions next to it since often times, the text comes out looking too big or too small seeing as though the screen size varies.

I had opted to go with a two column layout in order to stick with the conventions seeing as though most of the Art & Culture magazine that I had come across had a very neat and minimal layout with text like letters from the editors absent. They had highlighted articles and anchoring images present which I plan on including; about four or five. 

I had decided to keep the right hand more functional by including the articles whose titles and inspiration I had taken from my rejected cover story ideas. 

Another thing I did, which was tiresome but rewarding was that I arrange each article title, its description, and page number with in its respective group. This made copying the layer to give the following look a lot easier. 

Additionally, I had copied the layers by simply selecting it and drag it with the mouse while holding Alt. It definitely made my work easier considering the number of layers I would have had to make manually.

At the end result, I had a neatly arranged layout on the right hand side of my content page. I had left a space in between 07 and 16 so i could add an anchoring image to add some colors and aesthetic to the right side of the content page.

Right side:

Left side:

For the left hand side I kept a more aesthetic look, and kept the mid section empty so that I could later add to the three anchoring images that I had planned for. Keeping up with the house style I used Modern No. 20 for the article title and the page number and Luzia for the article description.

Step 6:

The next thing I added, was the footer; the team credits and the page number. For the team credits I followed conventions and placed it above the footer and separated it by placing a divider above it which I made using the Rectangle tool. I used the serif font ‘Baskerville Old Face’ which I italicized to make it standout individually and make readability easier and creating a professional look. 

For the page number, I used roman numerials for the starting four pages to indicate that they are not a part of the articles and are simply preset for functionality and to aid readers in navigating to their article of interest. 

For the team of my magazine, I chose individuals from various backgrounds as I had wanted my magazine to represent stories from all cultures, ethnicity and background, seeing as though I had chosen International audiences as my secondary audiences. Having a team with diversity meant that not only would it help my magazine to grow but it also be able to give a more accurate picture; through the eyes of a local rather than a stranger.

Step 7:

For the anchoring images on the content page, I conducted a shoot in school from 8am to 1pm on the 26th of April. I had used natural lighting or florescent bulbs as the key light source since I found it sufficient and used my Canon EOS Rebel T6/1300D and utilize my prime Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens as it provides Aperture Priority and hence was able to complete my shoot with the help of my friends. For this shoot, I had come up with ideas some by taking inspiration from Pinterest and some off the top of my head.

Throughout my day I had conducted my shoot which I had split for each models i.e., my friends Manal, Khizra, Omeza. For each of the shoot I had come up with different ideas and had asked for my friend Sania and Khizra’s advice since their aesthetic sense its quite good.

At the end of the day, I short-listed the pictures and got this result:

This was the outlook for now, but like the cover page, a refined/final version was all that was left.