Do I Need Preview Text?
Experiment No. 011
Preview Text, What Is It?
For those of you not familiar with the term preview text it is the text you see in the inbox right after the subject line. On mobile, it is the third line down in the inbox.
You may have also heard the term preheader, which many people use to mean preview text. Though, technically, they aren’t the same. The preheader is at the top of the email and will often get used as preview text in the inbox; hence, the confusion.
Don’t worry, I sometimes say preheader when I mean preview text. For the purposes of this article and test, I will use preview text as the text found in the inbox.
Preview text is a hot topic in the #emailgeeks world. Many nonprofits, and even major for-profits, don’t use preview text in the best way possible. When used right the preview text should work with the subject line, as an extension or completion of a thought.
Too often brands will restate the subject which offers no further incentive to open the email. Worse, they don’t include any preview text and the email service provider grabs unwanted text. Ever seen preview text that reads: View email in your browser? This is a common example of a brand not using preview text.
A study from Litmus found that 24% of people look at the preview text before they decide to open an email.
Does preview text really encourage supporters to open emails? To get a broader viewpoint, I asked this question on LinkedIn. Would creative preview text get more people to open an email? If so, then how much would the open rate increase?
Preview Text Poll
This is the question I posted on LinkedIn.
“Many organizations don’t use preview text; as a result, the email service provider pulls unwanted text into that space. That is why you see preview text that doesn’t make sense with the subject line, like “view in your browser.”
“Does preview text improve how many people open an email?
“I have my thoughts, but I would like to know your personal or professional opinion. Or even your best guess.
“Do you think email preview text will improve the open rate, and if so, by how much?”
Most people (49%) believe preview text will increase the open rate anywhere from 1-5%. Almost as many people (42%) said preview text will increase by 6% or more. A few voted, saying that open rates will decrease with preview text (7%) and some (2%) said preview text will neither increase nor decrease the open rate.
One person who commented said preview text would decrease open rates. “Custom preview text screams marketing. The more your emails feel like conversational notes to real people (and not marketing emails) the better off you’ll be.”
Preview Text Tests From Other Brands
E-commerce brands have seen great success with preview text. One test from Autolicity.com showed an 8% increase in the open rate with creative preview text vs no preview text. A different e-commerce company got a 30% increase in the click rate.
Preview text doesn’t increase open rates for every brand. A soon-to-be-published email report from Neon One finds that nonprofit emails with preview text did not see a big difference in open rates or click-through rates.
But don’t discount preview text without digging a little more into the data because even though the open and click-through rate didn’t improve, emails with preview text raised 80% more funds.
Preview Text Test
Tests conducted by e-commerce brands found that preview text increased the open rate. Whereas, data from a major nonprofit marketing and communications software company said preview text did not impact the open rate.
This is why it is best to test for yourself.
Research Question:
Does intentional preview text that works in tandem with the subject line encourage more supporters to open an email?
Hypothesis:
An email with intentional and creative preview text will increase the open rate compared to an email that has default preview text from the alt-text of an image.
Test Element:
Preview Text
A- Creative Preview Text: “[Organization] is poised to meet the challenges ahead.” |
B- Default Preview Text : “[Organization]”
Key Metric:
Open Rate
Other Metrics:
Click rate
Conversion rate
Sample Size:
A - 6,400
B - 6,509
When the list was split the contact size was even. The discrepancy upon sending happened because more addresses bounced in the control list.
Results:
The creative and intentional preview text had a higher open rate
Open rate - 8% higher
Click rate - 0.1% higher
Conversion rate - Same
Application:
Based on this test, other tests, and reports, it is best to use creative preview text. Don’t allow the email marketing platform to pull unwanted preview text from the email, such as alt-image text or text from the preheader of the email.
Future Tests:
A good test will often lead to more questions. This test raised a few. New test ideas include:
Will different types of preview text lead to more email opens, clicks, or conversions?
Will creative preview text outperform an email with no preview text [left blank intentionally]?
Does preview text impact engagement for plain text-type emails?
Does the length of the preview text matter?
What This Means For You:
Write creative preview text.
Well-written preview text can increase the open, click-through, and conversion rates. It can also impact the donation amount.
If you are unsure what to write for the preview text, consider ChatGPT to write the preview text for you.
Different tests, studies, and reports show the impact preview text can have on supporters. Even if it doesn’t increase the open rate, it can affect the click-through rate, conversion, rate, or donation amount.
This tweet-sized text has a big influence on how supporters interact with your emails.
Remember—it s always best to test.
