Preview text is the second line people read before deciding to open. Write one that adds to the subject instead of repeating it - and see exactly how it truncates.
Green length means it survives most inbox cuts.
Five extra preview text angles for this subject line, plus our free pack of 5 welcome email templates.
Same rules: complement the subject, never repeat it.
Before anyone opens your email they see your name, your subject line, and a short line of gray text next to it. That gray line is preview text, and it is the most neglected real estate in email. Left unset, it fills itself with whatever comes first in your email - and for years, across thousands of inboxes, that has meant "View this email in your browser", the saddest sentence in marketing.
The subject line makes a promise; the preview text makes it believable. If the subject is "The welcome email mistake I made for 6 months", the preview adds the proof: "And the 5-minute fix that doubled my replies." What it must not do is say the same thing twice - "Welcome email mistakes: my story" burns the second line for zero new information.
Inboxes show anywhere from 40 to 130 characters of preview text depending on the device, the app, and how long the subject is. You cannot control the exact cut, so structure for it: the load-bearing words go first, and the sentence should still work if it is chopped in half. "The fix, plus the templates I should have used" survives at 40 characters. "In this email I am going to share with you..." says nothing before it dies.
Preview text (also called preheader text) is the short line that appears next to or under the subject line in the inbox, before the email is opened. If you do not set it, the inbox grabs the first text in your email - often "View this email in your browser".
Aim for 40 to 90 characters. Most inboxes show somewhere between 40 and 130 characters depending on device and subject length, so put the important part first and treat anything past 90 as optional.
No - repetition wastes the second chance. The subject earns attention, the preview text adds the proof: a detail, a benefit, or the start of the story that makes opening worth it.
Yes. It is free, needs no account for the first set, and runs entirely in your browser.