How do I write a subject line with preview text for email?

Writing subject lines and preview text can significantly impact the success of your email marketing.

A good subject line is important because it's the first thing your subscribers see and determines whether or not your email gets opened. Your subject line should grab attention, spark interest, and prompt action.

Step By Step Instructions

  1. Create a new message, or edit an existing message within your account.
  2. Click on your subject line preview at the top of the message to edit.

Message Subject

Our best practice checklist helps you write a great subject line. A few of the best practices we recommend are:

  • Aim for under 45 characters to make sure your full subject is visible on mobile inboxes.
  • Limit punctuation to keep your message feeling professional and to avoid spam filters.
  • Include preview text to give more insight into your email content.

What is preview text?

The preview text is that little snippet of text that shows after (or below) the subject line in the inbox. Use that extra opportunity to encourage your subscribers to open with additional context or incentive.

How do I use AI to create my subject line and preview text

Why should you use AI? Using AI to craft subject lines and preview text for emails can optimize engagement by leveraging data-driven insights to tailor content to the preferences and behaviors of recipients, ultimately increasing open rates and click-through rates.

Using AI, you can provide a prompt in the subject line field that will automatically generate some options to choose from after clicking the "Get Suggestions" button.

To generate your preview text, follow the same steps but in the "Preview Text" field, then click the pencil on the right side.

Subject line field and buttons next to it highlighted

This will generate 3 subject lines you can use based on the prompt you provided. Simply click on one of the results to set it as your subject line.

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You can also alter your tone and style by using the two respective drop down fields below the results. After changing these, you'll then need to click the "Load More" button to generate some new results.

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Note: Altering the Tone and Style as well as loading more results is not accessible on the AWeber Free plan. Upgrade your account to unlock this feature and many more by clicking Upgrade within your AWeber account, or by contacting our Customer Solutions team

How to add emojis to a subject line and preview text

Click on the emoji icon to add an emoji to your subject line or preview text.

Emoji Picker

Note: You can also use a key command to open your native emoji picker:

  • Mac: Ctrl + Command + Space
  • Windows: Windows logo key + . (period)

How to personalize your subject line and preview text

Click on the personalization icon to open your menu. You can choose from a variety of options to help you personalize.

Personalization Variables

After you make your selection you will see will see something that looks like this:

{{ subscriber.first_name }}

When your message is sent, that variable will be replaced with the information stored about your subscriber.

Take advantage of your subject line tools to write the best subject line and preview text and get more people to open your message.

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