Email Preview Text: What It Is and How to Write It

Email preview text, also called a preheader, is the short line shown after the subject in most inboxes. Use it to add a new reason to open that the subject line doesn't already give. If you leave it blank, many inboxes fill the space with the first words of your email.

That's how inboxes end up showing "View this email in your browser" beside your carefully written subject. It takes about a minute to fix, on every email.

Read them as one sentence in two parts. The subject gets attention, and the preview text gives the second reason to care. Repeating the subject wastes the space.

There's no single limit. How much shows depends on the inbox, the device and how long your subject line is. Put the point in the first few words, so that it works even when cut off, and write a full sentence or close to one, so a longer display still reads well.

• Leaving it blank: The inbox will pull in whatever comes first, which might be a navigation link or image description.
• Repeating the subject: That's two lines saying one thing.
• Promising what the email doesn't have: As with subject lines, it costs trust and can earn complaints.
• Filling it with keywords: Readers aren't search engines. Write for one person.
• Using unfilled merge tags: Check your fallback, because "Hi {first name}" in an inbox preview is hard to miss.

• Write the subject line first, then ask what question it leaves open.
• Answer that question in one short sentence, with the most useful words at the start.
• Read the two together out loud, as one thought.
• Look at it on your phone in a real inbox. If the cut-off point spoils it, rewrite the first few words.

No. Most mainstream apps show a preview, but how much they show varies with the app, the screen width, and the reader's settings, and some people have previews turned off. Some inboxes may also choose the text from your email rather than your field in certain views. So make sure the top of your email reads well too, since it may be the fallback. And if a hidden preheader appears in your email's visible body, ask whoever built your template to check it.

Yes. Flows run for months without anyone looking at them, and they're often where a blank field or a stale offer goes unnoticed. Add a quick preview text review to your monthly flow check, and change any line that mentions a date or a discount you've since ended.

Don't expect a filter trick. Preview text mainly helps people decide to open. You can test it the way you test subject lines, but measure clicks and orders too, since Apple Mail Privacy Protection can record opens nobody made. If you're chasing an inbox problem, start with the email deliverability guide.

Each SmartyTap email has its own preview text field next to the subject line, including emails in campaigns and flows, and you can check it in preview before sending. Pair it with an A/B test, and see preheader in the glossary. Find more ideas in email subject line examples. Launched campaign emails stay editable too: what's been delivered stays delivered, and "Update scheduled sends" moves anything still waiting to your new version.

The short line of text that appears after the subject line in most inboxes. It's also called a preheader, and you can usually set it yourself.

In practice, they mean the same thing. Some tools call it preview text and others call it a preheader.

Many inboxes show the first text in your email instead, which might be a "view in browser" link or a menu. Set it on every email.

No. Use it to add a second reason to open, such as a detail, a benefit or a deadline that the subject line leaves out.