How to send a proper test campaign
The email editor has a Send a test email button. It shows how the email looks, and you can pick a contact to preview their data in it, but it doesn't generate vouchers, working links and other parts that only exist in a real send. A test never runs the email's action, so the tags of a voucher, gift card, points or token, such as {{voucher.code}}, stay empty in it. To test a campaign properly, send the real campaign to a small list of your own addresses first.
Make a test list
A manual list is the quickest way, because you pick the contacts yourself and the list never changes on its own.
- Go to CRM → Lists and click Add list.
- Give the list a name, for example "Test addresses", and choose Manual under List type.
- Click Submit.
- Click Add contacts, search for the email addresses you want to test with, select them and click Add contacts.
The addresses have to belong to contacts in your account already. If one doesn't, add it first under CRM → Contacts with Add contact.
You only need to make this list once. Next time, reuse it, and add or remove addresses as your team changes.
Send the campaign to it
- Go to Marketing → Campaigns and open your campaign.
- On the Recipients step, choose Narrow down, then Contact lists, and select your test list.
- Send the campaign.
Everyone on the test list gets the email exactly as your contacts will, with working links, vouchers and merge tags.
A test send is a real send. If the campaign gives a voucher, points or a gift card, the contacts on your test list really get it, and the send counts in the campaign's statistics.
Send it to your real audience
Once you're happy with it, open the tested campaign and click Duplicate. In the copy, change the recipients to your real audience and send it. That way the statistics of the real campaign only cover your contacts.
Testing an automated email
An automated email has no recipients step. To see one exactly as a contact will, with its voucher code filled in, open a contact of your own and send it with Send automated email. See How to send an email to one contact. Like a test campaign, that's a real send: the voucher, gift card, points or token is really handed out to that contact.