Quick Lesson From The Direct Mail World

folded_paper.pngLet’s put ourselves in the shoes of your subscribers for a second, as we often suggest. Take a look over their shoulders as they open their email service first thing in the morning.

What do they see? A list of messages that trickled in overnight — some from friends and associates, some from email lists they’re subscribed to (including yours), and probably a whole lot of junk.

Once they get to your email, if their email program has a preview pane, they see the top of the message. If they’re interested, they’ll open the email and read the first paragraph to see what it’s all about.

My guess is that skimming for a second, then trashing it is not your desired goal from there. So, how can you take a quick preview of your message and turn it into a lasting relationship?

How Does Email Fold!?

Alright, now back to your own skin. In fact, let’s step away from the computer for a moment.

When you’re flipping through your postal mail, after you’ve identified who a letter has come from — your first filter — and you pull it out of the envelope, what gives you your first impression about whether it’s junk or something of worth?

“Above the fold” is a print industry term describing what appears on a page above the first folding line. It applies to email where the imaginary line cuts off what subscribers will likely see when they pull up your email in their preview pane or before they scroll down if they open it.

How Does it Affect My Campaign?

Just like for postal mail, what appears in this space is crucial to whether your subscribers read the content of your message or open it then close or trash it, inflating your open rates superficially.

If what they see and process in the first few seconds doesn’t pull them in, then off they go to another message for the same brutal ‘pass-fail’ judgment.

Get Your Messages Read

So, we’ve established the importance of the top portion of your email. Now, how do we write it?

Branding

If your subscribers are fixated on what pops up in the preview pane (the little box that shows the first part of a message in some email programs), do they recognize you?

If you’re using an HTML message, throw in your logo for good measure. Use a color scheme that fits your web page’s design.

Focus on Your Goals

What is the main purpose of the email? If you are looking to drive traffic to a particular page, write a short teaser paragraph and include a link to the page somewhere near the top.

If you’re writing a more lengthy letter, give some good thought to the effectiveness of your first few paragraphs. Can you start off with an interesting personal story to draw in a reader?

For instance:

Who needs health insurance? Most would agree that everyone does. But I’m a self-employed freelance writer and that would mean another 600 bucks out of my pocket per month. Ouch! So, is it really worth it? Last week I got a dramatic firsthand look at why it certainly is.

Then, once you grab their attention, give some text that pushes their attention downward.

Read on about my blunder and for tips on buying individual insurance plans and other considerations any freelance writer should make.

Now what?

Don’t stop there, or else your readers will. Focus also on the rest of your message and how it appears at first glance. Now that subscribers think your message sounds interesting, you’re in the door … but they can still throw you out in the trash (along with your message).

“Unfold” it and take a look a little further down. Is the rest one big, uninteresting looking blob of text, all run together? Keep your paragraphs short and consider adding some headings and graphics to help the message breathe more.

Could your subscribers run a marathon in less time than it takes to read your message? Then, consider serializing it (breaking it into a few messages).

And then?

Try different types of copy at the top of your message to see what really boosts your results. You don’t have to take a shot in the dark; instead, split test messages measuring open and click rates.

Keep the rest of the message the same (the control) and vary only the top of the message. Later, you can come back and test other aspects of your message.

If you have results you’d like to share, please come back and drop a comment. We’d love to hear them.

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By: Marc Kline

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6 Comments

  1. Charles Wood

    I thought the article was very informative:

    It’s true.A lot of peopel will not even look at your email, it the first couple of sentences, don’t catch their attention

    5/8/2007 7:30 pm
  2. Gidon Ariel

    fundamental ideas. Thanks.

    Here’s a question: I know that sometimes I will read an entire email in my Outlook preview pane, sometimes a few times, and even act on it, including clicking though to a link on it, but it stays "unread."

    How is such a phenomenon reported in Aweber?

    Thanks

    5/9/2007 2:06 am
  3. Marc Kline

    Gidon,

    That’s a great question, and I believe that there’s a setting in Outlook to set whether messages viewed in the preview pane should be marked read.

    Despite Outlook showing you, the user, that the message has been unread, as long as the message is fully loaded (HTML and images), it will appear as an ‘Open’ in your AWeber account.

    5/9/2007 8:14 am
  4. Luanna

    I found this article informative and entertaining, Thank You Marc Kline!

    I particularly liked the putting yourself in your clients shoes exercise. Now that had me shortening an article and re arranging the content to grab attention by the you know whats. LOL

    Hey, its not like I don’t know to put myself in my client shoes… I’ve worn nurse’s shoes as an RN for over twenty years… If empathy isn’t a part of my life by now, well, it was time to make an appointment with a therapist at least ten years ago!

    It is just an appreciated reminder to remember the client when im the middle of getting caught up in the mundane and sometimes esoteric details of setting everything up in an online business. So, THANKS!!..

    I was wondering about the feasibility of housing a longish article on a web page and linking it to a catch phrase or lead in question with a link on a link list on the Ezine. Can you picture it.. a nice neat row of links with a blurb to entice a teasing click of the link under each? Good Idea, or impractical? I still have to figure out how to link it. I got the logo up, but it may take some finagling to link a whole page as opposed to an image…. For the link list, I was thinking of putting them in the ABOUT column of my Groove Cinnamon Red Template. What say ye?

    In case you cannot tell, I am not entirely computer illerate but a rank NEWBIE when it comes to putting an online biz together. GOOD THING I found a place to learn more where NEWBIE stands for the NEXT ENERGETIC WEALTH BUILDING INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR! Don’t you think so too? LOL

    I am headed over there to my EZINE to change the tired WELCOME.. even if it is a first time out to the web production! …. to something that grabs em. Maybe encorporate it INTO the welcome!

    Marc, thanks again for the useful and well written article!
    In keeping with my teaching an attitude of gratitude being the shortest path to JOY… I gotta tell you I so very much appreciate the humor… like a cool patch of grass to the tired hot feet of a walking traveler! Kudos!

    5/22/2007 7:54 pm
  5. Jodi

    Being originally from the snail mail direct marketing world, I appreciate the nod.

    When I’m putting together a campaign, or writing copy, I try to remember something I read years ago: It’s about their lawn, not my grass seed.

    In other words, the prospect doesn’t care about the years of hybridizing and testing to develop a new variety of grass seed; they just care that they will get a beautiful, thick, green lawn.

    4/8/2008 12:19 pm

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