When you are done creating the content of your email, it is time to verify if the content display adapts to the recipient and the device used, if the message deliverability is good and if personalization works. You have several validation and test tools available in the Test interface. This guide provides a checklist of the recommended tests to make before sending the message. These complementary tools are useful to verify your targeting and your personalized content, or they could be used to diagnose a display or delivery error for one or several contacts.
The test tools presented in this article are accessible in the left panel of the Test interface:
Prerequisites
To use the Test interface, you must correct errors in your email if you have any:
In the Email size you can see if your email respects the maximum allowed size:
→ Learn more on email sizes
Preview with a contact
You can preview the email with the view for each contact by selecting a contact in the list under Preview with a contact:
You can also preview as a persona or with a DImension. You can also create a Preview profile with targeting criteria that have an impact on email display (this is useful for validating personalization).
Note: Checking Limit to admissible contacts will filter the list to contacts that respect the required consent to receive this email. The admissibility does not calculate the communication type related to a relational table.
Inbox Preview
You can verify the rendering of the message in different inbox providers or device types (useful for mobile display):
Generating results can take a moment. You have time to make a coffee. ;)
Note that this tool is not offered in the basic Dialog Insight packages.
Simple Test
To send a test to a single recipient (yourself or another test address), use the Send a test section (Simple tab). Indicate the email address to use to receive the tests and, in the Preview with a contact section, select the contact for which you want to test the view:
In this example, you send the test to [email protected] (your email), but the message will display the same way as for Rachid Mahmoudi. This feature can be useful to diagnose a reception/display problem for a specific contact.
If you want to test the display for several contacts at the same time, select Send copies to and indicate the number of copies (number of contacts you want to test):
In this example, if you choose 2 copies, you will receive one for the selected contact (Rachid) and the following admissible contact in the list (Lucas).
Be careful with testing links: If you click on the unsubscribe link in a message you received that was intended for a contact, it will unsubscribe that contact.
Tip: Generate a Mail-Tester address The website mail-tester.com allows you to generate a test address (to copy-paste), which you can then use in the Send a test tool using the Other option: |
After sending the test, return to Mail-Tester to get an evaluation for different aspects of your deliverability. Group Test
Sending a message to a test group is useful to verify personnalization and links in the message. This tool allows you yo send a version that will be personalized for test contacts defined as recipients in the test group.
The simulation tool allows you to prepare all the messages to be sent as if they were sent for real, but without actually sending them. It is a final approbation tool to ensure complex conditions and personalization elements are applied correctly. Performing a simulation is particularly useful for clients who use a lot of personalization elements and conditions in their messages, as the more there are, the more variants of the message there will be. The simulation result lets you see all the possible variants and have error-free messages. This tool is not available in basic packages.