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Design for “Priority”

Author

Captain YAR
September 01, 2025

Inbox apps are reshaping what rises to the top.
Apple Mail highlights time-sensitive messages and shows a short summary so people can scan without opening anything.
Gmail sorts by importance and nudges threads that look useful. Chasing an old metric won’t help. Designing for Priority will.

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What “Priority” means in Apple Mail

Apple Mail can surface time-sensitive messages at the top and show summaries that condense your first lines. That means your lead needs to tell the whole story: who it’s for, what’s inside, and why it matters right now. Keep the first 120 characters tight, concrete, and human. Think “Headline + 3 receipts” in the intro: a clear promise, a number, and a proof point. Want to see how Apple frames it? See this quick explainer: See the Apple Mail Priority switch.

Writing that surfaces

Subject: say the one big outcome in everyday language. No puns. No brackets. Preview line: continue the sentence you started in the subject. Body: front-load value in the first screen. Use short sentences and bullets that compress cleanly. Add a single, friendly reply prompt at the end (“Hit reply with 1, 2, or 3”). Replies signal real conversation, which inboxes like. Trim images. If an image doesn’t clarify the point in the first screen, remove it. Link out to depth, not fluff.

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Technical tweaks that help you rise

One-click unsubscribe reduces friction and keeps complaint levels low. Gmail spells out the exact headers you need: Google’s one-line unsubscribe rule. If you need a refresher on why this matters across providers, skim this guide: Why one-click headers lift your mail. Ready to add the headers? Use a field for both a web URL and a mailto route so more inboxes can honor it. This walkthrough shows the syntax with examples: How to add List-Unsubscribe in minutes.

A simple Priority checklist

Lead with a clear benefit in the first 120 characters. Mirror that line in the preview. Deliver one promise per message. Use scannable structure: short headline, three bullets, one link to depth. Ask for a quick reply to a single, specific question. Ship a tidy one-click unsubscribe so inboxes trust your sends. Keep cadence steady and segment readers who haven’t engaged lately into a gentle re-permission flow before suppressing. Track which subject + preview pairs keep you near the top and reuse the winners. Your message earns Priority when it is easy to grasp, relevant this week, and respectful of attention.

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