previous icon Back to blog
Feb 22, 2022
3 minutes read

Boost your email open rates with preview text

Every marketer dreams of everyone opening and reading their emails. However, we all know this is nearly impossible. The height of your email open rates is very dependent on your subject line. You make the first impression on your recipient with your subject line, which is critical to your open rates. You are probably already spending a lot of time on this, but did you know that you can achieve even better open rates with preview texts?

Tom Faas
Tom Faas,
Product Marketer

What is preview text?

Preview text is below or next to an email's subject line in the inbox. Think of it as a brief description of what's in your email. Combined with the subject line, it convinces subscribers to open your message.

email-text-previews-mmc

*Text in blue is the Preview Text

Why should you customise preview text?

If you don't insert the preview text yourself, email clients will automatically extract it from the first line of text in an email, image ALT text, or in rare cases from code. That's why preview texts will often look like: "Dear X, …." By letting the email client decide what to show in the inbox, you do your brand and subscribers a disservice.

It's also an excellent opportunity to strengthen the subject line and connect with your subscribers. Spending time on your preview text will help improve open rates and increase engagement with your recipients.


What is a good preview text?

Remember that preview text doesn't display in all email clients. Therefore, you should avoid including information necessary to understand the subject line in preview text. There is a chance that some subscribers miss it. Don't make the subject line's message dependent on the preview text.

Unlike the subject line, there are no strict rules for the length of the preview text. But keep in mind that the length of preview text shown in email clients can be pretty short: as little as 35 characters in some cases.

To improve open rates, we advise adding one or more of the following tactics to your preview text:

  • Exclusivity: Everyone loves to be treated special. Getting something that not everyone can get makes consumers feel good.

  • Social proof: People like to copy each other. Take advantage of this.

  • Curiosity: it's a helpful emotion to harness with email marketing because we don't stand it very well.

  • Humour: Everyone loves to laugh, so why not in your email preview.

  • Urgency: You want your customers to make a purchase now, not a year from now, or maybe never.

  • Informational: There's a good chance your open rates will go up when you tell subscribers something they don't already know or would like to learn more about.

Testing, testing, and more testing

Adding these tactics to your preview text will undoubtedly improve your open rates, but just as with any other part of your emails, you can A/B test your preview text as well. Test different combinations of preview text and subject line. You'll discover that some tactics work better than others. Learn what works - and what doesn't.

Discover how CM.coms Mobile Marketing Cloud helps to optimise your preview texts

Was this article interesting?
Share it!
Tom Faas
Tom Faas,
Product Marketer
logo linkedin icon
Is product marketer for the CM.com Mobile Marketing Cloud. Tom connects the dots between the product, marketing and sales teams.

Latest articles

unlock-communication-excellence-with-cpaas
Jul 11, 2024 • CM.com

Unlock communication excellence with CPaaS

Diving deeper into CM.com's CPaaS approach is empowering business users to unlock Communication Excellence - a guest article by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, a global advisory and consulting firm focused on helping clients in achieving business transformation goals with strategic business and growth advisory services.

payspace customer story
Oct 30, 2023 • Marketing

Enhance your Black Friday SMS Marketing with Pages

In recent years, SMS integration has played a pivotal role in transforming the Black Friday shopping experience. Both retailers and consumers have wholeheartedly embraced SMS as a powerful tool for communicating promotions, exclusive offers, and time-sensitive alerts.

blog-featured-leisure-travel-instagram-marketing-messages
Oct 23, 2023 • Instant Messaging

Introducing Instagram Marketing Messages for Leisure and Travel

The impact of social media on leisure and travel is undeniable. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have transformed how people experience and plan their journeys. They serve as hubs for sharing photos, videos, travel tips, and reviews, essential tools for travellers worldwide.

whatsapp-authentication
Jul 13, 2023 • Authentication

Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on different messaging channels

Two Factor Authentication, or 2FA, is an effective way to protect your data and your customers. But how do you set up Two Factor Authentication? And what messaging channels can be used for 2FA?

dutch-grand-prix-marketing
Jun 30, 2023 • Marketing

How to Boost Fan Engagement - A Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix Use Case

What’s so great about sports is that it connects all kinds of people. On the other hand, knowing no two sports fans are alike makes it challenging for sports organisations to address different fan segments. The organisation behind the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix acknowledged this challenge and didn’t just pack the CM.com Circuit Zandvoort with their best fans. Instead, they’ve managed to enhance their fan experience right at their first racing event in 35 years. What’s more, they keep improving fan engagement year on year. Curious to know how? We’ll share five insider tips on how the Dutch Grand Prix enhanced its fan engagement before, during, and after the race.

instagram-marketing-messages-feature1
May 22, 2023 • Conversational Commerce

Introducing Instagram Marketing Messages

In today's digital landscape, customer engagement is increasingly shifting towards social media platforms. This shift is well-founded, as personalised messaging on the messaging apps preferred by your customers can greatly enhance your brand awareness. With the introduction of Instagram's new Marketing Messages feature, you now have a powerful marketing tool at your disposal to increase your visibility where your customers are and re-engage them effectively, ultimately boosting your conversion rates.

SMS Marketing Use Cases for B2B
Apr 29, 2023 • SMS

B2B Text Messaging Use Cases to Build Your Business

You’ve heard about SMS marketing campaigns for consumers, but what about SMS marketing for B2B? B2B text messaging is an effective way to communicate with your business clientele, enabling you to build relationships with decision-makers and offer information that helps them make buying decisions.

marketing-tools-in-logistics-transport-blog
Apr 19, 2023 • Marketing

Smart Marketing Communication Tools for Logistics and Transport Industry

The adage that time is money has never been truer than it is today - and especially for those brave souls in transport and logistics. Razor-thin profit margins and almost impossible deadlines make this a particularly challenging industry!

Mobile Marketing Cloud conversational marketing blog
Mar 23, 2023 • Marketing

Engagement where it matters: the CM.com take on conversational marketing … and how it’s changing

Look at most definitions of conversational marketing, and it’s not clear what all the excitement’s about. “Engaging customers through dialogue”, “interacting with people via real-time”, “two-way communication”, “putting the focus on interactions using social media messaging channels”. Isn’t that what marketers have been doing for years?

Is this region a better fit for you?
Go
close icon