# How to create and send your first email campaign > The blank “new campaign” screen looks intimidating — it isn’t. Follow the five-step builder end to end: choose your recipients, set the subject and sender, design the email, and send your first campaign with confidence. - Canonical URL: https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/create-your-first-email-campaign - Author: Sofia Lindqvist, Email Marketing Editor - Category: Email Marketing — Campaign creation, templates, A/B testing, personalization, scheduling - Content type: tutorial · Difficulty: beginner - Tags: Email Templates, Subject Lines, Email Preview, Open Rates, Click Rates - Published: 2026-06-02 · Last updated: 2026-08-15 - Reading time: 6 min - Publisher: AcelleMail Knowledge Base, https://acellesend.com/kb --- Sending your first campaign is the moment all the list-building pays off — but the blank "new campaign" screen can feel intimidating if you've never done it. It shouldn't. The campaign builder walks you through five clear steps, and this guide follows every one of them: choose who gets the email, set it up, design it, and send. It's written for first-timers — by the end you'll have a real campaign ready to go out, and you'll know exactly what each step does. ## Before you start Two things need to be in place: - **A mailing list with subscribers.** The campaign sends to a list, so you need at least one with contacts in it. (Just getting started? See [importing contacts from a CSV](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/importing-contacts-csv-best-practices-and-field-mapping).) - **A verified sending domain + sender address.** Your "from" address must be a *verified sender* or the send will fail. If you haven't set this up, work through [SPF, DKIM, and DMARC](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/how-to-set-up-spf-dkim-and-dmarc-records) first — it's also what keeps you out of the spam folder. Open **Email** in the left sidebar and click **Create** (a regular campaign). You'll land on a five-step wizard — **Recipients → Setup → Template → Schedule → Confirm** — shown across the top so you always know where you are. ## Step 1 — Choose your recipients The first step, **"Choose your recipients,"** asks *who* gets this email. Under **Mailing lists & segments**, open the **Mailing list** dropdown and pick the list you want to email. That's the only required choice here. ![Choosing the mailing list on the Recipients step](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/kb-bot/create-your-first-email-campaign/step-1-recipients.png) *Pick the list that should receive this campaign — the one required choice on this step.* Two optional refinements: - **Segment** — leave it on *All subscribers* to email everyone on the list, or point it at a [saved segment](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/how-to-build-a-subscriber-segment) to target just part of the list (say, only engaged openers). - **Exclude lists & segments** — anyone on a list/segment you add here is removed from the send. Handy for suppressing people who already bought, for example. You can even **Add another list** to email several at once. When you're set, continue to Setup. ## Step 2 — Set up the campaign Step 2, **"Campaign setup,"** is where you name the campaign and tell recipients who it's from. Under **Basic information**: - **Campaign name** — internal only; recipients never see it. Something like `Product update — July` keeps your list tidy. - **Email subject** — the line that lands in the inbox. This is the single biggest lever on whether the email gets opened, so make it count (these [subject-line formulas](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/email-subject-line-formulas-that-work) are a good shortcut). Tip: type `{{` to drop in a merge tag like the subscriber's first name. - **From name** and **From email** — who it appears to be from. The from address **must be a verified sender** — an unverified one will fail at send time. ![The campaign setup step with the subject line filled in](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/kb-bot/create-your-first-email-campaign/step-2-setup.png) *Name the campaign, write your subject, and set the sender. Keep tracking on under Advanced Settings.* On the right, **Advanced Settings** are sensible by default — leave **Track opens**, **Track clicks**, and **Enable DKIM signing** on. Opens and clicks are how you'll measure the campaign; DKIM signing helps it reach the inbox. There's also optional UTM tagging if you push traffic to a site you track. ## Step 3 — Design your email Step 3, **"Design your email,"** is where the message takes shape. Click **Template gallery** and pick a starting design — **Blank** for a clean slate, or a ready-made layout like **Minimal**, **Simple Text**, or **Featured Product**. Choosing one opens the drag-and-drop email builder, where you edit text, swap images, and add or remove blocks until it looks right. (For layout and styling that converts, see [email template design best practices](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/email-template-design-best-practices).) ![The template gallery on the Design step](https://acellesend.com/plugins/acelle/landing/images/kb-bot/create-your-first-email-campaign/step-3-template.png) *Choose a starter template, then customize it in the visual builder. You can also paste custom HTML or let AI draft one.* Two shortcuts sit alongside the gallery: **Make template with AI** (describe your goal and it drafts a ready-to-edit design) and **Your Custom HTML** (paste your own code). For a first campaign, a gallery template is the fastest path. > **Tip:** Always send yourself a test first. Before the real send, mail the campaign to your own address and read it on both desktop and phone — catch a broken image or an awkward subject *before* thousands of people do. ## Step 4 — Schedule Step 4, **Schedule**, is where you decide *when* it goes out: **send immediately**, or **schedule** it for a specific date and time (useful for hitting a timezone or a Tuesday-morning slot). Pick whichever fits and continue. ## Step 5 — Confirm & send The final step, **Confirm**, is a last review — your recipients, subject, sender, and design in one place. Check it over, and when everything looks right, send (or lock in the schedule). That's it — your first campaign is on its way. ## Troubleshooting - **"Unverified sender" / the send won't start.** Your **From email** isn't a verified sender. Verify the sending domain/address first — walk through [SPF, DKIM, and DMARC](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/how-to-set-up-spf-dkim-and-dmarc-records). - **"No recipients."** The list you chose is empty, or an exclude rule removed everyone. Confirm the list has active subscribers and re-check Step 1. - **It landed in spam in your test.** Almost always sender authentication. Make sure DKIM signing is on (Step 2) and your domain's SPF/DKIM/DMARC are set. - **Can't reach Step 4/5.** The wizard needs each earlier step complete — a missing subject or an unverified from-address will hold you on Setup until it's fixed. ## Recap You just built a campaign end to end: chose the audience, set the subject and sender, designed the email, and scheduled the send. The five-step wizard means you never have to guess what comes next. Once it's out, don't stop at "sent" — open the campaign's report to see opens, clicks, and who engaged, and use a [segment](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/how-to-build-a-subscriber-segment) of your most active readers to make the next one even stronger. --- ## Related articles - [Email Template Design Best Practices — Using AcelleMail's Builder Right](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/email-template-design-best-practices): Single column on mobile, alt text on every image, preheader you actually wrote, button width tested in real clients — most "best practice" lists are abstract. This one walks the AcelleMail builder showing where each setting lives and what to verify in Preview before you Send. - [How to Write Email Copy That Converts — The Practical Framework](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/how-to-write-email-copy-that-converts): You've got the list, the template, the schedule. What goes in the body? This guide is the practical copywriting framework — what to say, how to structure it, how to verify it lands. Less theory, more "type this, not that." - [A/B Testing Email Subject Lines for Better Open Rates](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/ab-testing-email-subject-lines-for-better-open-rates): A/B testing the subject lifts open rates 10-30% sustainably. AcelleMail's built-in A/B feature splits your list, picks the winner automatically, ships the winning variant to the rest. This guide walks the setup + the discipline that makes the test meaningful. - [Your First Email Campaign in AcelleMail — The 7-Step Walkthrough](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/creating-your-first-email-campaign-in-acellemail): A guided walk through AcelleMail's campaign builder from "New campaign" button to "Launch" button. Subject + recipients + template + schedule + confirm — visual flow + the decisions at each step. - [Campaign Scheduling and Timezone Optimization in AcelleMail](https://acellesend.com/kb/articles/campaign-scheduling-and-timezone-optimization): When you send a campaign at "9am" — whose 9am? Yours, your subscribers'? AcelleMail's scheduler defaults to your account timezone. This guide walks the UI + timezone-aware patterns + send-time optimization.