Sending test emails and previewing

Always preview and test your newsletter before it sends. This article covers how.

Email Preview

When you're in a newsletter (any tab), an Email Preview is available — it shows you exactly what subscribers will see when the newsletter generates.

The preview reflects:

• Your current layout
• Articles from your Content Pool
• AI personalization (preview is for a sample subscriber profile)
• Subject line, preview text, and sender info from the Email tab

⚠️ 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:

1. Open the Email Preview
2. Click Send Test
3. Enter the email address you want to send to (yours, a teammate's, etc.)
4. 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.

What to check in your test

Use this as a quick QC 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