Email Serial Position Effect

Definition

The serial position effect combines two biases: primacy (people remember the first items best) and recency (people remember the last items best). Middle items are most likely to be forgotten. In email, this means your most important content should open and close the message.

Application

• Email opening: Lead with your strongest value proposition or most compelling offer
• Email closing: End with your primary CTA or most important takeaway
• Middle content: Place supporting details, secondary information, or context in the middle
• Subject line and preheader: These are the first things seen — make them count
• P.S. line: A postscript is the last thing read — use it to reinforce the CTA

Testing

Test different content arrangements by moving your CTA between the top, middle, and bottom of the email. Many senders find that placing the CTA both near the top and at the bottom outperforms any single placement.