Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / Why Your Email Preview Text Is Hurting Open Rates
Transcript
- Lucas: Let me ask you something: when you send an email, how much thought do you give to the line of text that appears right after the subject line? Most marketers obsess over the subject line, but they treat the preview text as an afterthought. And that's a mistake. Luna: You mean the little snippet that shows up in Gmail or Apple Mail? The one that usually just repeats the brand name or says 'Can't see this email?' Lucas: Exactly. That's the preview text — sometimes called the preheader. And it's prime real estate that a lot of people waste. If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own campaigns, consider supporting the show. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these episodes ad-free — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And it keeps us from having to run sponsor ads that interrupt the flow. Lucas: Right. So back to preview text. I looked at a recent case from an outdoor apparel brand — I think it was Outdoor Voices — where they tested their preview text and saw an 18 percent lift in open rates just by moving their brand name from the preview into the subject line. Luna: Wait, so they had their brand name in the preview, and they swapped it with something more compelling? What did they put instead? Lucas: They replaced 'Outdoor Voices' with a call to action that matched the subject line — something like 'Shop the new collection now.' The subject line was 'New arrivals are here,' so the preview gave the next logical step instead of repeating the brand. Luna: That makes so much sense. On mobile, you see maybe 40 to 50 characters of the subject line plus preview text combined. You have to earn that space. Lucas: Exactly. And most email clients — Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail — pull the first text they find in the email body if you don't explicitly set a preview text. That's often the 'View in browser' link or 'If you are having trouble viewing this email...' which is terrible for engagement. Luna: Right. So the best practice is to code a preview text line at the very top of your HTML, hidden in a way that email clients pick it up but subscribers don't see it in the body. Lucas: Yes. And there's a whole debate about optimal length. Some say 90 characters, some say 40. The reality is that Gmail on mobile shows about 30 to 40 characters after the subject line. But on desktop, you might get 70 or more. So you want the first 40 characters to be tight and actionable. Luna: Let me guess — the key is to complement the subject, not repeat it. If your subject asks a question, the preview can hint at the answer. If the subject is a statement, the preview can add a benefit. Lucas: You nailed it. There's a pharmacy chain — let's call them a national pharmacy — that tested two versions. Subject was 'Your prescription is ready.' Preview A said 'Please allow 24 hours for pickup.' Preview B said 'No waiting in line at the drive-thru.' Preview B got 22 percent more opens because it addressed a pain point. Luna: Twenty-two percent! That's huge. And it's not just about open rates — preview text can also improve deliverability because it signals relevance to the spam filters. Lucas: I've heard that too, though the evidence is mixed. The bigger risk is that a bad preview text gets your email clipped or marked as spam by subscribers themselves. If they see 'Click here to unsubscribe' in the preview, they're more likely to hit that button. Luna: Or worse, they just delete without opening. So what are the common mistakes besides leaving it blank? Lucas: One is having the preview text be the same every time — 'Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.' That becomes noise. Another is stuffing it with keywords or salesy language just to get attention. It has to sound like a natural extension of the subject line. Luna: I've also seen brands that forget to account for dark mode. Some email clients invert colors on the preview text, making it unreadable. Lucas: Good point. If you use light-colored text on a dark background, it can disappear. The safest is to use a neutral dark color like #333333, and set the preview text font size to 0 or hide it with CSS so it doesn't affect layout. Luna: Let's talk about the case where you intentionally leave the preview text blank. Some marketers argue that if your subject line is strong enough, a blank preview creates curiosity gaps. Lucas: I've seen data both ways. One study from a major email platform found that a blank preview text performed 5 percent better than a generic one. But another study said any custom preview text — even a boring one — outperformed empty by 10 percent. I think it depends on your audience and the context. Luna: So maybe the rule is: if you have something specific and relevant to add, add it. If you'd just be repeating the brand or a salutation, leave it blank. Lucas: That's a good heuristic. And the brands that do this well are the ones that A-B test it. They don't just set it and forget it. They run a test with a third of their list at least once a quarter. Luna: What about using emojis in preview text? I've seen some newsletters do that. Lucas: Emojis can increase open rates in subject lines by about 2 to 3 percent on average. For preview text, it's riskier because not all email clients render them the same way. On older versions of Outlook, it shows as a blank square. I'd say use them sparingly and only if your brand voice supports it. Luna: Another thing I've noticed: some e-commerce brands use the preview text to display a limited-time offer, like 'Free shipping ends tonight.' That seems to work well for transactional emails. Lucas: It can, but be careful not to overwhelm the subscriber. If every email has a deadline in the preview, you lose credibility. The best strategy I've seen is to align the preview text with the primary goal of that specific email. Is it to inform? Persuade? Remind? The preview should reflect that. Luna: So if the goal is to inform, the preview might summarize the key takeaway. If it's to persuade, it might tease a benefit. And if it's to remind, it might mention the timeframe. Lucas: Exactly. And remember that on mobile, the preview text is often the only thing subscribers see besides the subject line before they decide to open or delete. It's a micro-commitment. If you can make it personal — like using the subscriber's first name or referencing a past purchase — that can boost open rates significantly. Luna: But personalization in preview text is tricky. Some email clients truncate it if it's too long, and if you use merge tags, they might not render properly in the preview. Lucas: True. So you need to test across multiple clients. Litmus or Email on Acid can show you how your preview text looks in Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, and Yahoo. That's worth the investment if you're serious about optimization. Luna: Let's wrap with a quick checklist. One: always set explicit preview text. Two: complement, don't repeat, the subject. Three: front-load the most important words. Four: avoid boring fallback text. Five: test at least once a quarter. Lucas: That's a solid list. I'll add one more: don't forget to check it on mobile. More than 60 percent of emails are opened on phones now. If your preview text is cut off, make sure the first 30 characters stand alone. Luna: And maybe the final takeaway: preview text isn't optional. It's part of the email design, just like the subject line and the header image. Treat it with the same care. Lucas: Absolutely. So next time you're crafting a campaign, spend an extra five minutes on that little line. It might just be the difference between an open and a delete. Luna: And if you have a preview text win or horror story, we'd love to hear it. Lucas: We're on social media as Fexingo, or you can drop us a note at the website. Until next time, keep those open rates up.