The email header is an often-overlooked aspect of email design but one of its more strategic elements. Why? Well, with busy readers scrambling to pour over hundreds of emails at a time, it may be the only part of your email they read!
The six examples below show very different approaches and new trends to that little text area at the head of an email, from nothing at all to full on advertisements.
Sample 1: AlleyWatch
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AlleyWatch has a full on brand statement at the top of their email. It’s three lines long and pushes the body of the email down, so clearly by using all this real estate, AlleyWatch believes this is very important to its readers. AlleyWatch’s header: |
Sample 2: DoubleClick
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DoubleClick, owned by Google, targets Media Companies as its customers for its ad serving technology. In their newsletter, they have chosen to leave their header empty and include their opt-out information at the end of the email, where the text is simply about unsubscribing from communications. In this case, this CAN make sense since they are sending to people who have subscribed to their newsletter and know them. INSIDER only suggests you opt for this extremely, clean approach after testing. DoubleClick’s header: 
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Sample 3: Smart Brief
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SmartBrief’s model is customized news based on topics like this particular edition, “SmartBrief for Entrepreneurs.” Given that SmartBrief produces dozens upon dozens different “SmartBrief” versions, its interesting the minimalistic approach they’ve taken by only including the email of the person who signed up for the SmartBrief and a link to the web version of the email. Again, test this approach with your customers/subscribers to see if this works with your list. One of the benefits of this approach is that the copy is small and kept to one line. By keeping it brief, it is perfect for people who are scanning it on phones and cannot see the email properly but are interested in the content. SmartBrief’s header:
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Sample 4: Asics
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We wanted to include an eCommerce example, as many e-tailers are adopting ideas worthy of testing by subscription companies. This example is very direct marketing-esque as it is a one line ad showcasing their new product, the GEL-Quantum 360, complete with a link to view the shoe online. The full email is also selling the same product and we have begun to see this appear in other places as well. Asics’ header:
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Sample 5: Lexology
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Lexology is a newsletter for attorneys that uses a conventional header message where they ask recipients to add their domain to a “safe senders” list. Note they do not have an unsubscribe in their header, like a number of companies also include with this approach. Lexology’s header:
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Sample 6: Proformative Member Digest
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Proformative decided to eschew a header altogether and instead went with a footnote. The message clearly states that the recipient is getting the email because they are a member of Proformative or have attended a Proformative event. The footer also includes links to change email preferences and to unsubscribe. Proformative’s header:
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Insider Take: We may sound like a broken record here, but test, test and test! Don’t forget the basics of clear unsubscribe links and communications to manage subscriptions. Do they need to be at the top of an email? For some, it’s a best practice and a must-have design element. For others, they clearly have the confidence that opt-out links at the bottom of an email will not raise spam complaints. Your analytics and data will guide you here – track your clicks, track out-outs and track your spam complaints as you test these different approaches. What are you seeing? What are you having success with? Feel free to comment below!
AlleyWatch:
DoubleClick:
SmartBrief
Asics
Lexology
Proformative
