Sequencer
The campaign launch checklist
What the Ready to launch checklist blocks on, what it only warns about, and how to clear each item before you start a campaign in EmailPal.
Where you see it
The checklist sits beside the editor under Ready to launch? and opens again in the launch dialog when you choose Launch. It runs again when you Resume a paused campaign.
Each row is a blocker, a warning, or a pass. Blockers stop the campaign from starting. Warnings do not. Most rows have a button that jumps to the place where you fix it.
Blockers
| Check | How to clear it |
|---|---|
| No first email, or a step with an empty email | Write the first email, or write or delete the empty step. |
| First email has no subject | Add a subject line. |
A {{ is not closed | Close the variable. An unclosed one would send as literal text. |
| Unknown variable | Use a variable from the picker. Steps and variants. |
| No unsubscribe link in the first email | Use the editor's unsubscribe button, which inserts {{unsubscribeLink}}. |
| No business mailing address | Set it in the Engage workspace settings under "Business mailing address". |
| No leads | Add leads on the Leads tab. |
| No mailbox selected, or none able to send | Pick a mailbox under Settings that is not on hold or unavailable. A mailbox that is still warming counts as able to send. |
| Invalid schedule, or the stop date has passed | Fix the schedule or move the stop date. Schedules and time zones. |
| Leads verified as invalid | Remove them. Invalid addresses never send. |
| Link shorteners or bare-IP links | Replace them with your real domain. |
| Prohibited content | Rewrite the email. |
| DNS failing on every usable mailbox | Fix SPF, DKIM or DMARC. SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX. |
| Account limit reached, account restricted, platform paused, or outreach not switched on | These come from your account, not the campaign. Contact support if you do not know why. |
Warnings
- Variables with no fallback.
{{firstName}}would send as blank for a lead with no first name. Write{{firstName | there}}instead. - Spam wording in the copy.
- Subject starts with "Re:" or "Fwd:". It reads as a fake reply.
- More than 3 different links.
- DNS partly failing, or not checked yet on the selected mailboxes.
- Unverified leads. Leads that have not been verified still send, but verifying the list first is the best way to keep bounces down. Importing leads and verification.
- Risky addresses skipped. Risky and catch-all leads are skipped unless the campaign allows risky addresses.
- Some selected mailboxes are still warming. They still send. The warning is that sending cold now may hurt deliverability, so you may want to keep volume low on them until placement looks good. When is a mailbox ready to send?
- Some selected mailboxes are on hold. They are skipped, and the others carry the sending.
What happens at send time
Every email carries your mailing address in the footer. If the body has no {{unsubscribeLink}}, an "Unsubscribe" link is added. With One-click unsubscribe header on (the default), List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers are added too. Google and Yahoo sender requirements.
FAQs
Why can't I launch even though the editor looks fine?
Open the checklist and read the first red row. Blockers often come from outside the editor: leads, mailboxes, the mailing address or the schedule.
Do warnings stop my campaign?
No. They are the cheapest fixes to make before you send, but you can launch with them.
Why does Resume fail on a campaign that was fine yesterday?
Resume runs the same checks as Launch. A mailbox that went on hold, a stop date that passed, or a DNS record that broke will show up as a blocker.
Need More Help?
Create a campaign, Auto-pause on bounces, List verification by EmailPal.