What Elements Should Always Be ‘Above the Fold’ in an Email? – via AdAge.com

When designing an email campaign it can be tempting to view the entire piece as a whole, much like you would a one-page magazine advertisement. But in the digital field your design will be shrunk down, cropped, truncated… and even those beautifully designed graphics will be (gasp) hidden for many users. So the first step in determining the effectiveness of your email layout is to look “above the fold” – the area at the top and to the left, usually between 300 and 500 pixels high (this can vary depending on which email client a user has as well as the device on which they are viewing the email). Majda Anwar of AdAge.com outlines the most important elements to include above the fold to increase the effectiveness of your campaign.