Adding Preview Text to an Email

A preview or preheader is the short summary of text after your subject line when an email is viewed in the inbox.

How to Set Preview Text  

1. In each Cortex email template, there is an option to add Preview Text.

 

2. The text you add to the Preview Text box will show up next to the subject line in the user's inbox.

ReSci Pro Tip: Think about the number of characters in your preview text.

It's important to note that the preview will show the next found text in the email, if the pre-header does not utilize the full length of the pre-header. Below is a guide for the amount of characters that are normally visible in specific email clients.

 

Best Practices 

1. The preheader is one of the first things users see along with the subject line, make it count to improve open rates.

2. Preheader text can be used as subliminal advertising, serving as a one-time advertisement in the inbox.

3. Keep it short so it will display properly across different devices and email service providers. Try keeping it to 40-50 characters.

4. Make sure the preheader content is in line with the subject line and email content so it all flows together creating a story for the user.

5. Use it as an extension of your subject line.

6. Include a call to action in your preheader. "See more", "learn more", and "check it out" are all good options.

Troubleshooting

It's not uncommon to see preview text that contains a string of what looks like nonsense after the text set in the template builder. 

This happens because email clients do not limit themselves to your chosen pre-header text, and will reach into an email to find additional preview content.  Most commonly this results in image alt text being shown as preview text.

Luckily, adjusting your image alt text is very easy.

In the Drag and Drop builder, select your image and set the alt text in the Content Properties menu:

In an HTML template, use the "alt" property to add alt text to an image.