What is Email Preview Text？

Email preview text is a brief summary of an email’s content. Most mainstream email inboxes (such as Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) display not only the sender’s name and subject line but also extract the initial portion of the email body as preview text (sometimes referred to as a subheader) when a new email arrives. As shown in the red box in the image below, this is the preview text:

Why Set Up Email Preview Text?

As shown above, an email’s display in the inbox consists of three key elements: the sender, the subject line, and the preview text. These three components play a crucial role in determining whether the recipient will open the email. Therefore, the importance of preview text is self-evident—crafting an engaging preview is one of the most effective ways to boost open rates.

However, if no preview text is set, the email client may automatically extract a portion of the email content, which could result in a messy or irrelevant preview. This often leads to lower open rates.

How to Customize Preview Text?

To ensure a more polished email display, the BioXEDM system provides a convenient preview text customization feature when editing email templates. On the template editing page, you can directly enter your desired preview text in the designated input box.

Note: Setting preview text does not affect the display of the original email content.

Best Practices for Setting Email Preview Text:

1. Keep the combined length of the subject line and preview text under 60 characters to avoid truncation.
2. If the subject line and preview text are too short, some email providers may supplement it with content from the email body.
3. Compatibility varies across devices and email providers—while Gmail and Hotmail on desktop support preview text, other providers or mobile devices may not display it fully (or at all).
4. For optimal results, always test thoroughly before sending your email campaign.

By following these guidelines, you can maximize the impact of your email preview text and improve engagement rates. Happy emailing! 🚀