The document provides guidelines for testing emails and workflows in a marketing automation platform. It recommends testing the content, design, and functionality of emails on different devices and email clients. For email workflows, it suggests carefully defining enrollment criteria, estimating contact volumes, testing actions and logic with test contacts, and reviewing settings and suppression lists. The overall guidance is to thoroughly test emails and workflows at multiple stages before sending them to recipients.

1. 12/07/2017
How to test before sending emails in a
marketing automation platform

2. Agenda 1. General Testing Guidelines: Test Criteria
2. Testing Scenario for an Email Tool
3. Testing Scenario for an Email Workflow

3. 3
Content of the email
• From name and email
• Subject line and preview text
• Text and version
• Layout, visuals & ALT text
• Smart/dynamic content
• Hyperlinks, CTA buttons & web version link
• Personalization tokens
• Email type
Data
• Recipients & excluded contacts
• Data quality (e.g.: first name field)
• Contacts with low engagement
Delivery
• Responsiveness (desktop & mobile)
• Test in different email clients
How to test before sending emails in a marketing automation platform
What are the different criteria that you should test in an Email?

4. Agenda 1. General Testing Guidelines: Test Criteria
2. Testing Scenario for an Email Tool
3. Testing Scenario for an Email Workflow

5. 5
Check all 5 steps when sending an email via an email tool
How to test before sending emails in a marketing automation platform
EMAIL
• Check the content of your email
• Preview the email on different device types
(as specific contact)
• Send yourself a test mail (as specific
contact)
• Test your email in different email clients
1
SETTINGS
• Check the campaign associated with your
email
• Check the email type (important for
unsubscribes!)
• Check your web version URL & page title
2
RECIPIENTS
• Check your “Send to” and “Don’t send to”
lists
• Determine if you want to send to contacts
with low engagement
3
REVIEW
• Check all aspects suggested by
your marketing automation
tool.
4
SEND OR SCHEDULE
• Pay attention to AM/PM when
scheduling your email
• Also pay attention to the time zone
associated with your account
5

6. Agenda 1. General Testing Guidelines: Test Criteria
2. Testing Scenario for an Email Tool
3. Testing Scenario for an Email Workflow

7. 7
Always estimate the number of contacts before activating an email workflow
How to test before Email Sending
ENROLLMENT CRITERIA
• Check that your criteria are as narrowly
defined as possible.
• Determine if contacts can go through the
workflow more than once (re-enrollment).
• Determine if contacts who already meet the
criteria, should be enrolled or not.
• Always estimate the number of contacts
before activating a workflow
1
ACTIONS
• Only add an action (e.g.: send an email) to
your workflow after activating it (first check
how many contacts enroll).
• If possible, set a goal for your workflow
(e.g.: a form submission). People who
already meet this goal should be excluded.
2
SETTINGS
3 4
TEST
• Enroll a test contact in the workflow, to
check your actions and branching logic.
• Make sure to test with yourself or a test
contact, not a real contact!
• Determine if you have to remove contacts
from other workflows when they enroll in
this one.
• Check your suppression lists, the lists of
contacts who should be excluded from the
workflow

8. Get in touch!
info@thom.eu
Want to discuss marketing
automation?