What should the preview text of my email say?
Last updated
Exactly as it will go out.
Up to 90 characters.
It changes what each option talks about.
Both optional. With them, the detail and deadline angles appear.
As shoppers should read it.
A real one only.
Type your subject and pick the kind of email, and up to six preview lines appear here, each marked for length, how early its point lands, and whether it repeats the subject.
- Subject lineNeeded
- Kind of emailNeeded
- Offer and deadlineOptional
How each preheader option is judged
Email preview text, also called a preheader, is the short line an inbox shows after or beneath the subject, so a Black Friday email with the subject Our biggest sale of the year starts now might use 25% off on the whole store until Monday night, which adds the offer and the deadline the subject left out.
Options are written from fixed frames, not by a language model, and the length band is shared with the subject line tester.
You give the subject and the kind of email; an offer and a deadline are optional. Six angles are tried, and each resulting line is marked on three things a reader scanning an inbox would notice.
- Angle
- The job the line does next to your subject: add the missing detail, state a deadline, name a benefit, raise curiosity, say it plainly or ask a question. Detail and deadline lines appear only when you supply the offer or the date.
- Length
- Counted in characters and read against our own band of 35 to 110, the same band the subject line tester uses. Too short and some inboxes pad the line with the opening words of the email body; too long and the tail is cut.
- Early point
- Whether the offer, the date or the first complete thought arrives inside roughly the first 40 characters. That figure is our own rule of thumb for narrow phone screens, not a measured cut-off.
- Repeats the subject
- Flagged when most of the longer words already appear in your subject. A preview that echoes the subject wastes the one extra line the reader sees before deciding.
- Kind of email
- Sale, new product, welcome, restock, cart reminder or newsletter. It changes what each angle talks about, so a restock line never reads like a launch.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Five subjects and the preheaders written for them
Sample subjects for invented stores. The lines are produced by the same function as the generator above, with the length and early-point marks it would show.
| Subject | First option | Second option | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Friday sale email | Our biggest sale of the year starts now | 25% off on the whole store until Monday night. (46) | Ends Monday night. After that, prices go back to normal. (56) |
| Welcome email with a code | Welcome to the club | Your 10% off code is inside, plus what to expect from us. (57) | Where to start, what people love most and how to reach us. (58) |
| Restock with no offer | The linen shirt is back | Back until Friday, or until this batch runs out. (48) | The sizes and colours that went first are available again. (58) |
| Product launch | Meet the new travel mug | First look, plus free shipping for early buyers. (48) | Made for the problem you told us about. Here is how it works. (61) |
| Monthly newsletter | What we have been up to in March | Three things worth two minutes of your week. (44) | The mistake we made this month, and what we changed. (52) |
What no preview line can promise
Cut-off points depend on the screen
Where a line is trimmed depends on the app, the device, the font size and how long the subject is. The band and the early-point mark are guides for writing, not a copy of any particular inbox.
Your platform must actually send it
Most email platforms have a dedicated preview or preheader field. If yours does not, the first text in the email body is used instead, so put the line at the very top and hide it visually if your editor allows.
Edit the lines to fit your store
Each option is a frame with your offer and date dropped in. Some make claims, such as a restock covering popular sizes, that you should only keep if they are true for this send.
Opens depend on much more
Sender name, sending reputation and how readers treated your last few emails matter far more than one line of grey text. This page offers wording, not a forecast.
Email preview text questions
What is email preview text?
The snippet an inbox displays next to or under the subject line, before the email is opened. You can set it yourself; if you leave it empty, the inbox pulls in whatever text the email starts with, which is often a view in browser link.
How long should email preview text be?
Our band is 35 to 110 characters, and the most important words belong in roughly the first 40, because narrow phone screens show the least. The generator counts every option and marks where it falls.
Is a preheader the same as preview text?
Yes, the two names are used for the same line. Some platforms call the field preheader, some call it preview text or snippet.
Should the preview repeat the subject line?
No. It is a second line of persuasion, so use it for something the subject had no room for: the size of the offer, the deadline, or what is inside. Options that mostly repeat your subject are flagged.
Can I test a subject and preview together?
Yes. Paste the pair into the subject line tester on this site for a checklist of both lines, including whether the preview adds anything.
Is my subject line stored?
No. The options are written in your browser, nothing is saved and there is no share link.
The inbox is where the words land. The signup is where the list starts.
Nudgesmart starts the signup popup from ready-made templates, grouped by industry and campaign type, and reports the emails each campaign captures.
