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.)
- 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 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.
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 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 — Julykeeps 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 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.
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.)
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.
- "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 of your most active readers to make the next one even stronger.
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