Sending test emails and previewing

Looking for where to send a test or preview your newsletter? This is the right place — here's where to find it.

Email Preview

You can access your email preview from three places:

Messaging → Newsletters — click Messaging in the top navigation, then Newsletters. You'll see a card for each of your newsletters. On the card, click the eyeball icon to open the preview for that newsletter.
Inside a newsletter — click Messaging in the top navigation, then Newsletters. Click into any newsletter card to open it. Once you're inside the newsletter, a Preview button is always visible in the top right corner of the screen — it stays there no matter which tab you're on (Identity, Email, Audience, Content, Schedule, etc.).
Content → Content Pool — click Content in the top navigation, then Content Pool. Make sure the correct newsletter is selected in the Newsletter dropdown in the top left, then click Preview Newsletter (the eyeball icon) in the top right, next to + Add Article.

The preview shows you exactly what subscribers will see when the newsletter generates, including your current layout, articles from your Content Pool, AI personalization (based on a sample subscriber profile), and your subject line, preview text, and sender info.

⚠️ Important — a list must be attached. To generate a preview, your newsletter must have a list attached in the Audience tab. The preview asks you to select a contact to view the email as — without a list, you'll see an error saying it can't generate the preview.

⚠️ The preview also won't generate if your Article Counts minimums aren't met. If you see an error or no preview, check Newsletter → Content → Article Counts and make sure you have enough active articles in your Content Pool to meet the Min count.

Sending a test email

To send yourself a test:

Open the Email Preview
Click Send Test
Enter the email address you want to send to (yours, a teammate's, etc.)
Send

You'll receive the test in your inbox shortly. Open it on multiple devices if possible (desktop, mobile, dark mode, light mode) to catch any rendering issues.

Use this as a pre-send checklist

☐ Subject line displays correctly
☐ Preview text is what you want
☐ Sender name and email are right
☐ Logo, header, and footer look right
☐ Articles look right (images, titles, descriptions)
☐ Links work and go to the right place
☐ Custom text or images you added appear correctly
☐ Unsubscribe link is present and works
☐ Email looks decent on mobile

Sending tests vs. actual newsletter

Tests use sample personalization — they're representative but won't be exactly what each subscriber sees. The actual newsletter will personalize articles per subscriber.

Troubleshooting

"Preview won't load."

Two common causes:

No list attached to your newsletter — the preview needs a contact to view the email as. Add a list in the Audience tab.
Article Counts minimum not met — if you don't have at least the Min count of active articles in your Content Pool, the preview can't generate.

"My test email never arrived."

Check spam/promotions folders
Make sure the email address is typed correctly
If using your own domain, ensure domain authentication is set up
Try a different email address (a personal Gmail, for example)

"Test looks right but I'm worried about deliverability."

Make sure domain authentication is set up (Settings → Domain Authentication)
Avoid spammy subject lines and excessive punctuation
Keep the email under 102KB if possible
Add a clear unsubscribe link (rasa.io includes one automatically)

Best practices

Always send at least one test before your first send
Test on multiple devices — desktop and mobile can render differently
Test in dark mode — many subscribers use dark mode and emails can look very different
Have a teammate review — fresh eyes catch what you miss

What's next

First send checklist — complete pre-flight
Schedule, skips, and pauses — managing your send schedule
Display Issues: Why Emails Appear Differently Across Platforms — understanding rendering quirks