What's that gray text next to my subject line?

What's that gray text next to my subject line?

Preview text is the short snippet mailboxes show right after your subject line. It's a free second headline most people forget to write.

Why it matters: a magazine left theirs blank, so mailboxes filled it with "View in browser | Unsubscribe" — ugly and pointless.

What they did in one afternoon:
— Step 1: found the preview text field in their email tool (often called "preheader")
— Step 2: ✅ wrote a real teaser that continued the subject line's promise
— Step 3: compared open rates over the next four sends

Result: open rate climbed from 19% to 25% just by filling in a field that was empty before. No new writing skills required.

Tiny homework: open a draft and find the preview text field. Just locate it.

New here? Start with the basics above.