The address fold holds 4 main components:
- The from address
- The from name
- The reply address
- The subject line
Each of these 4 components have a particular impact on the success of your email marketing campaign.
The from address
- The from address is a brand builder
- Using the same from address in every campaign will have an impact on the reputation of your IP. People will have the ability to white list you according to the from address.
- Using a personalized from address can have a positive impact on how people perceive your brand. This is mainly true for B2C campaigns.
The from name
- The from name is even more of a brand builder. It mostly carries the name of the company.
- If possible, personalize the from name as if it is coming from a real person. This will have a positive impact on the brand perception.
The reply address
- It is important to use a valid reply address instead of the well-known noreply one. People can react via this tool (and you certainly do not want to lose that).
- In the case of a malfunctioning of, e.g. the unsubscribe mechanism, having a reply address is crucial. It is common practice to ask for an unsubscribe via a simple reply. A no-reply function will only motivate the receiver to hit the spam button. Which is an important factor on measuring the reputation of your IP.
The subject line
- The subject line is the most important component of your address fold.
- Include a clear call to action in your subject line.
- Using values, discounts, urgency or exclusive deals will increase the effectiveness of your subject line.
- Try to limit the number of characters to a maximum of 50, including spaces. Some email clients and smartphone apps won’t show more than that.
- Your subject line has to be short, effective and teasing.
- The subject line is what makes you open the email and start reading it.
Measuring the effectiveness of the address fold.
To measure the effectiveness of your address fold you will have to look at the unique opened ratio of your email marketing campaign. The easiest way is to take the number of sent emails, detract the bounces, and finally measure the number of opened emails on the remaining number of emails.
