Preview text is the third leg of the inbox stool, and a great many brands are delivering some rickety, off-balance inbox experiences because they’re not paying enough attention to it. In this slide deck, we share real-world examples of eight preview text mistakes, as well as a four-point action list to help you always make a great impression in the inbox and deliver a clear, distraction-free message.

1. 8 Embarrassing
Preview Text
Mistakes
Plus, 4 Tips on How to
Avoid Making Them

2. While subject lines get all the attention,
preview text can have a big impact on
an email’s performance because:
• It’s widely supported.
• Often, twice as much preview text
is displayed than subject line copy.
@LitmusApp

3. @LitmusApp
For example, the native iPhone email
app displays 35-40 characters of a
subject line and twice as many
characters of preview text.
Sender name 
Subject line 

PREVIEW TEXT

4. @LitmusApp
You have only a few seconds to earn
a subscriber’s attention in the inbox,
so don’t ruin the moment by making a
distracting error. Here are 8 preview
text mistakes to avoid…

5. Having Unoptimized
ALT Text Pulled into
Your Preview Text
1

6. @LitmusApp
Your preview text is generated from
the first HTML text in your email,
which includes the ALT for images
such as logos or banners. So if your
ALT isn’t optimized, your preview text
may not be optimized. For example…

7. @LitmusApp

8. Having Your
Code Show
2

9. @LitmusApp
If your email isn’t coded properly,
then email clients may pull your code
into your preview text. That effectively
means that gibberish appears next to
your subject line, undermining your
credibility. For example…

10. @LitmusApp

11. @LitmusApp

12. @LitmusApp

13. Forgetting to
Replace Preheader
Placeholder Text
3

14. @LitmusApp
One of the best ways to control your
preview text is to create preheader
text. However, if you don’t have a
good QA process, placeholder text
can accidentally sneak through and
get sent out. For example…

15. @LitmusApp

16. @LitmusApp

17. 3
Using Unsupported
Characters
4

18. @LitmusApp
Support for special characters
varies among email clients. So using
certain characters can mean that
strange character strings can appear
instead. For example…

19. @LitmusApp

20. Having Broken
Personalization
5

21. @LitmusApp
Wherever you use personalization,
you need to double-check that it’s
working properly and that you have
fallbacks in place. That includes your
preview text so you can avoid
embarrassing blanks. For example…

22. @LitmusApp

23. @LitmusApp

24. Having Your Preview Text
Get Truncated Awkwardly
6

25. @LitmusApp
Although rare, it’s possible for your
carefully planned preview text to be
unfortunately supplemented by the
next bit of HTML text in your email if
you’re not careful. For example…

26. @LitmusApp

27. Having Jarringly Poor
Subject Line-Preview Text
Alignment
7

28. @LitmusApp
Your preview text and your subject
line should make sense together. If
they are jarringly divergent, it can
confuse your subscribers or even
offend them. For example…

29. @LitmusApp

30. @LitmusApp

31. Not Even Trying to Optimize
Your Preview Text
8

32. @LitmusApp
All of that said, the most common
mistake is simply not taking the time
to optimize your preview text. You’d
never leave your subject line to
chance, so here are 4 ways to take
control of your preview text…

33. @LitmusApp
First, use visible and hidden
preheader text to control what
appears as your preview text to
extend your subject line and add
more details.

34. @LitmusApp
Second, use your preview text to
extend and strengthen your subject
line by adding additional details. For
example…

35. @LitmusApp

36. @LitmusApp
Third, use the ‌  preview
text hack to create white space at the
end of your desired preview text so
no other distracting text gets pulled
in. You can see this hack in action in
these examples…

37. White
space
created
by
preview
text
hack

38. @LitmusApp
And fourth, use Litmus Subject
Line Checker. One of the many
features of Litmus’ HTML editor,
Builder, it ensures that your subject
lines and preview text are both
optimized by giving you…

39. Real-time previews in 15+ email
apps and webmail clients and…

40. Alerts about
potential
problems, like
unsupported
emojis and
character counts.

41. To discover how Subject
Line Checker, Builder,
and Litmus’ other
features can improve
your email workflow…
Start a free trial 