Why It Matters
On mobile devices especially, preview text takes up significant screen real estate. It's often the deciding factor in whether someone taps to open or swipes to delete. Think of the subject line and preview text as a headline-subheadline pair -- the subject grabs attention, and the preview text seals the deal.
How It Works
Email clients like Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook automatically pull preview text from the first visible text content in the email body. If you've set a hidden preheader element, that becomes your preview text. If you haven't, it defaults to whatever comes first -- often something unhelpful like image alt text or a navigation menu.
Gmail shows roughly 90-110 characters of preview text on desktop. Mobile clients show less, typically 40-75 characters. The exact amount varies by screen size, subject line length, and the client's layout.
Quick Tips
- Test how your preview text renders across Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook -- they all handle it slightly differently
- Use the preview text to create a mini-narrative with the subject line (e.g., Subject: "Your order shipped" / Preview: "Arrives Thursday -- tracking link inside")
- Never leave preview text to chance; set it explicitly in every email you send