This is an old revision of the document!
How can I use emoji / symbols in the subject line?
All kinds of symbols (emoji, emoticons, symbols, special characters) can be inserted into the subject line.
You can find a selection of symbols here:
Step 1
Insert the symbol as an entity. [Example: the entity that corresponds to the dingbat “BLACK SCISSORS” is: ✂ ]
Many symbols can also be inserted via copy and paste.
4 byte UTF-8 is not supported. Use 3 byte UTF-8 at the most – in other words, characters up to 65535 (0xFFFF).
Step 2
The e-mail’s character encoding must be UTF-8. If necessary, you can change this in the tab Weitere (additional settings) in the e-mail settings.
- Use symbols in a way that leaves the subject line clearly understandable even if the character cannot be displayed.
- Not all e-mail clients display symbols. Be sure to test whether the symbols are displaying correctly in the various clients, for example by using promio.mail’s inbox preview.
Symbols in the subject line are possible in principle and recommended in some instances to arouse the recipient’s curiosity and encourage them to open the e-mail. However, a healthy measure of restraint should be practiced to ensure the effect doesn’t wear off. In order for the symbol to be displayed correctly, the mailing’s source code communicates a number and a font to the end user device. The end user device then selects the symbol with the specified number from the fonts installed on the recipient’s computer. Problems arise when the font is not available on the computer or smartphone, or when it cannot be found under the predefined number entry. In such cases, a black box, a question mark or a space is displayed instead of the symbol. It is therefore recommended to test the mailing in all relevant e-mail clients (i.e., the ones most frequently used by your readers) before dispatch. Today, symbols in the subject line do not negatively affect the spam filter. You should not overdo it, however. It cannot be ruled out that too many symbols will be rated like too many question or exclamation marks.
With our tool for licensing – the inbox preview – you can see the various depictions of your mails, including the subject line. The Inbox Vorschau (inbox preview) tab in your e-mail’s editing view provides you with 3 free previews. If you require an unlimited number of previews, please contact your account manager for a quote.
