Why would I change the Email Display Name?

The Email Display Name has the biggest impact on whether your emails are opened.*

What it is

Where to change it

Why is it important?

What is the Email Display Name?

The Email Display Name is the name that is displayed inside of your recipient's mailbox. It is generally shown preceding the subject line but the exact display varies across different versions of email providers and devices.

Below are examples from Gmail, Outlook, and iPhone

Where to change it

In any area where you can send an email to customers, you will be given the ability to:

• change the Reply To Email
• Add CC
• Add BCC
• change the From Email Address
• change the Display Name

Your company email and display name will pre-populate as the defaults in the From Email and Display Name fields, but these can be overwritten when sending a one-off email message. Simply click into the field and type your own text.

Email templates will save the preferred Email Display Name for simple, consistent messaging.

Why the Email Display Name is important

The Email Display Name is the most influential factor in whether recipients will open your email. Research shows that 42% of people look at the Email Display Name first when deciding whether they will open an email.

When determining what the Email Display Name for your messages should look like, it’s considered a Best Practice to follow these four components.

1. Trustworthiness
   Recipients look to the Email Display Name first to determine whether a message is relevant or spam. This decision happens in less than one second. The Email Display Name should reflect your legitimate company name or the name of the person sending the email.
   
   
2. Brand Recognition
   Your customers will be familiar with your business name and using your business name in your Email Display Name will encourage immediate recognition and assure them that the message is legitimate. 
   
   

   👍 Pro tip: if you want to send personalized emails, it is recommended that your Email Display Name include the company name as well. For example “John from Sunshine Design”.

3. Consistency
   Making sure that messages to your customers are consistent is critical. To avoid confusion or delays, it is recommended that businesses determine a consistent style for their Email Display Names across the organization.
   
   

   🚧 Heads-up: if your sender name is longer than 20-30 characters it may be truncated in some email users’ displays. Be sure to include the most important information at the front if your Email Display Name is longer.

4. Segmentation
   

   When a consistent style or naming convention has been determined, it is considered best practice to also segment your Email Display Name based on the nature of the message. This will ensure that customers don’t miss an important message about their account.

Segmentation examples:

• Email messages regarding invoices or payments from “Billing at Sunshine Design”
• Email messages regarding successful or completed transactions from “Receipts at Sunshine Design”
• Email messages regarding errors, failed transactions, or account inquiries from “Account at Sunshine Design”
  
  

* https://www.litmus.com/blog/6-shocking-myths-about-subject-lines