I have been working in digital marketing for over a dozen years and I have a few tips that should improve the effectiveness of this campaign!

Please note: I will be making my recommendations under the assumption that the email will need to be optimized for as many email clients as possible.

I feel that we can improve the following areas:

Subject Line & Preheader Layout and hierarchy Images and Mobile-Optimization

1.) SUBJECT LINE & PREHEADER

Before we can discuss design, we’ve gotta convince recipients to open the email! An email subject line should remain succinct (fewer than 50 characters) and is most effective if it contains a strong offer and/or instills a feeling of urgency or curiosity in the recipient.

An example of a current ComiXology email subject line and preheader when viewed in a mobile (Yahoo) inbox.

The ComiXology subject line above contains an enticing offer and is just slightly over the recommended character count. The preheader text reiterates the savings available.

Subject line recommendations:

Continue to keep the subject lines short and give emojis a try. A report by Experian indicates that using an emoji in your subject line can increase open rates by 45%! So, perhaps something like one of the examples below:

🦇 Save up to 86% on the best Batman stories!

📚 80 of Batman’s best collections at up to 86% off!

Preheader recommendations:

Stop using the first sentence of the email as the preheader and avoid redundant messaging.

Currently, the first sentence acts as a preheader in the ComiXology emails.

The preheader can be “invisible” if implemented just beneath the opening body tag like this:

<span style=”display:none; font-size:0px; color:#ffffff; line-height:0;”>Fan Favorites, Hidden Gems, Rebirth and more!</span>

Most importantly, instead of repeating the “up to 86%” savings in the preheader, we can use this opportunity to emphasize other aspects of the sale that we didn’t have room for in the subject line. This is a crucial opportunity to entice a recipient to open the email!

My proposal for a subject line and preheader would look like this in my Yahoo inbox.

2.) LAYOUT AND HIERARCHY

The design of an email can be subjective, but utilizing best practices is typically a good way to go! When creating digital content, it is best to prioritize function and form.

Assuming that all elements of the current layout must be included in the redesign, I put together a draft, which can be seen below (or view the email code).