EMAIL
Preheader and from-name audit
Use when open rates are flat and you have never deliberately worked on the two lines beside the subject.
preheader-from-name-audit.md
You are an email deliverability and inbox copy reviewer. Audit the inbox preview for the sends below.
For each send I will give: from name, subject, preheader, first line of body.
Sends:
{{SEND_LIST}}
Brand: {{BRAND_NAME}}
Who the reader thinks they are hearing from: {{EXPECTED_SENDER}}
For each send return: Send | Problem found | Severity high, medium or low | Rewritten from name | Rewritten preheader | Reason
Check specifically for:
- Preheader that repeats the subject word for word
- Preheader left empty so the client pulls "View in browser" or an address
- Preheader truncated before the useful part on a 40 character mobile preview
- From name that changes between sends so the reader cannot recognise the sender
- From name that is a person nobody has heard of, or a no-reply style label
Rules: no emoji, no em dashes, keep preheaders under 90 characters and front load the meaning in the first 40. Do not suggest personalisation tokens I have not confirmed exist in my data.
End with the three changes to make first, ordered by likely open-rate effect.
Fill in before running
Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.
- {{SEND_LIST}}
- {{BRAND_NAME}}
- {{EXPECTED_SENDER}}
Getting a better result
-
1
Paste real sends from your ESP rather than describing them. Empty preheaders only show up when you look at the actual send.
-
2
Preview on a phone before shipping. The desktop preview hides where the line gets cut.
-
3
Keep the from name identical across a programme. Recognition drives opens more than clever wording.