Pre header or snippet: the reinforcement of your subject line
by Edward Touw
When used correctly, a pre header or snippet can help you increase your open rate.
What is a pre header?
The snippet or pre header is the name of the first lines in the body tag of your HTML code. In a lot of cases a snippet contains standard lines like:
- Unable to read this email? Click to see the web version
- You are receiving this email because you signed for…
Because it’s the first text in your email, most clients like Gmail, Outlook or the iPhone email client will show this text (or part of it) in the area underneath or next to the subject line.
How a pre header can also be used
Of course it’s important to include a link to a web version for example in your pre header.
But there is a way to still include this link, without it being the text that an email client shows before an email is opened. This way you can use the pre header or snippet to persuade your recipients to open your email.
How to set up a pre header
Like mentioned earlier, a pre header or snippet should be included in your body tag. In a lot of cases this looks something like this:
<body> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" summary="wrappingtable"> <tr> <td > View the <a href="# ">web version</a> of this email. </td> </tr>
But if you want to use the pre header as a way to persuade your recipients to open your emails, all you have to do is add an extra text block like this:
<body> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary=""> <tr><td> This is a snippet example</td></tr> <tr> <a href="#" title="View the web version of this email">View the web version of this email »</a> </td> </tr>
