3 Quick Wins to Maximise Your Inbox Real Estate

Email marketing has been around for what feels like forever, but it’s still one of the best ways to connect with your audience. It’s a bit like SEO—if you tweak the right things, you can really stand out in a crowded inbox. The key difference is that these optimisations require no formal training or financial investment—just a bit of attention and adjustment.

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine, but with just a few small changes, you can take your emails from good to great. Here are three quick wins to get the most out of your email efforts:

 

1. Don’t Forget About the Preheader

The preheader isn’t just a way to preview the email; it’s a crucial element that can make or break your email’s success. It can make a huge difference in whether your email gets opened or ignored. It’s like a second chance to grab someone’s attention before they decide whether to read or delete.

Think of the preheader as valuable email real estate, with the power to transform your email from ‘unread’ to ‘opened,’ ‘clicked,’ and most importantly, engaged with. A compelling preheader is proven to enhance email open rates by approximately 7%.

Here’s how to make yours compelling:

Seamless Continuity: Your preheader should seamlessly follow the subject line, almost as if it’s the first sentence of the email. This continuity can engage readers from the moment they see your email in their inbox.

Create Curiosity: Use compelling words to create curiosity. Words such as “but” or “plus” hold the power to significantly boost your open rates. These words hint at additional information and create a sense of curiosity.

Tease the Content: Use the preheader to tease the content of your email. Drop hints about what the reader will gain, piquing their interest and encouraging them to open the email to learn more.

Optimal Length: Keep your preheader between 30-80 characters. This length is optimal for displaying well across various email clients and devices. Most mobile preheaders are limited to 30-55 characters, so consider this when ensuring your emails are mobile responsive and optimised for any device.

Natural Extension: Use connecting words like “with” or “and” to make the preheader feel like a natural extension of the subject line. This technique makes the preheader and subject line work together as a cohesive unit, increasing the likelihood of an open.

Experiment with Minimalism: While preheaders are generally beneficial, sometimes not having one can make your email stand out. This approach can create a clean and minimalistic look that might catch the recipient’s eye. This approach isn’t for everyone, so only test it if you think it could align with your brand identity and message.

 

2. Email’s Conversion Driver: The Call-to-Action (CTA)

Once your preheader has captured interest, the next step is guiding your contact toward the desired action, moving them beyond the email. The ticket out of the inbox is your Call-to-Action (CTA), which needs to be clear, direct, and relevant to the wider email. This is the natural peak of your email and shouldn’t come as any surprise to the reader.

Here’s how to create CTAs that drive conversions:

Be Clear and Specific: Your CTA should be straightforward and direct, telling the reader exactly what to do next. Avoid vague phrases like “Contact us” or “Get access.” Instead, opt for specific and relevant phrases such as “Get your free guide” or ” Start your automated campaign today”.

Get Personal: Personalised CTAs convert 202% more contacts than non-personalised ones. This can include tailoring content based on previous interactions (“Schedule Your Next Consultation to Discuss [Topic] Further”) and aligning the CTA with the recipient’s stage in the buyer journey (“Start Your Free Trial to Enhance [Specific Business Process] Today”).

Create Urgency: Encourage immediate action by using time-sensitive language. Phrases like “Register Before Slots Fill Up” or “Secure Your Early Access” can spur your audience to act quickly. Avoid phrases that sound too demanding, such as “Submit” or “Buy now.”

Focus on Benefits: Highlight what the reader will gain from taking action. For instance, instead of saying “Take the survey,” use “Help us improve future events.” Emphasise the positive outcome and ease of the action, like “Get inspired” or “Add your name in one click.”

Keep It Short: Limit your CTA to five to seven words. This makes it scannable and instantly understandable. The simpler and more concise, the better.

Avoid Overused Phrases: Steer clear of generic CTAs like “Download” or “Click here.” These can be unappealing and lack motivation. Instead, use unique and engaging language that stands out and aligns with your brand’s voice.

Button Formatting: Ensure the CTA contrasts with your background and has enough white space to make it stand out. Position your button strategically in a way that is noticeable but not distracting from the overall email. CTAs shaped like buttons saw a 45% increase in clicks compared to text-based links (Sixth City Marketing), while adding an arrow icon can increase clicks by 26% (Sixth City Marketing).

By focusing on a clear, benefit-driven, and urgent CTA, you can effectively guide your readers towards the action you want them to take, making every email more purposeful and impactful.

 

3. A Digital Foot in the Door: Your Email Footer

Beneath your CTA, the often-overlooked email footer offers a powerful opportunity to enhance your email’s effectiveness and compliance. We recommend creating a footer for both plain text and branded emails to cover all bases. Plus, it’s one more chance to engage your audience

Your footer should include:

Essential Information: This includes your company’s physical address, contact information, and links to your privacy policy and terms of service. This not only builds trust but also ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR.

Unsubscribe Link: Make the unsubscribe link easy to find. A clear and accessible unsubscribe option can improve your sender reputation and ensure you’re only emailing those who want to hear from you. This should be in addition to the one-click unsubscribe, which is embedded directly within the email interface.

Social Media Links: Include links to your social media profiles to encourage recipients to connect with you on other platforms. This can help increase your overall engagement and reach, leading to retargeting opportunities.

Secondary CTA: Consider adding a secondary CTA in your footer. This can be an invitation to join a loyalty program, refer a friend, or read your latest blog post. Since footers are visible in preview panes, this CTA can catch the reader’s eye even if they don’t scroll through the entire email.

Visual Appeal: Design your footer to be visually appealing and consistent with your brand. Use your brand colours, fonts, and logos to make the footer look professional and cohesive. The footer presents another opportunity to reinforce your brand identity – so make it count!

Journey Mapping: Your footer is a consistent structural component that can help send the user in the right direction. Depending on link clicks, you can automate follow-up journeys that are tailored to each email interaction and subsequent actions.

By optimising your email footer, you can ensure that your emails are not only compliant but also more engaging and effective in driving desired actions.

…

These quick adjustments can make a big difference in how your emails perform. Whether its refining your preheader, crafting a compelling CTA, or enhancing your footer, these quick wins will help you to maximise the inbox real estate available to you. If you’d like to delve deeper into your wider email strategy, download our Email Marketing Playbook here.