Email testing is a crucial part of any successful email marketing strategy. By following these email testing tips, you ensure your campaigns look great, function properly, and land in your recipients’ inboxes—not their spam folders. Testing can, however, be a double-edged sword. If done carelessly, you risk sending “test” emails to your entire contact list or damaging your sending reputation with invalid addresses or dodgy subject lines.
1. Use Sandbox Mode for Risk-Free Email Testing
Using SMTP2GO’s Sandbox Mode is the first of our email testing tips to check your email setup without delivering emails to recipients. This feature prevents common errors like accidentally sending test emails to real contacts or harming your sender reputation with invalid addresses.
When Sandbox Mode is enabled, emails are processed by SMTP2GO’s infrastructure but are not delivered. Instead, they appear in your Reports > Activity section with a status of “Rejected” because they’ve been discarded.
Why Use Sandbox Mode?
- Safe Testing Environment: Emails are processed but not delivered, ensuring no accidental sends.
- Activity Tracking: Review your emails in the activity report to confirm they were sent correctly.
- Controlled Access: Apply Sandbox Mode to specific SMTP Users, API Keys, or Authenticated IPs for precise control over testing.
Pro Tips for Sandbox Mode:
- Enable Email Auditing to receive a copy of sandboxed emails for review.
- Once testing is complete, switch the User Status from “Sandboxed” to “Allowed” to resume live sending.
- Remember, emails processed in Sandbox Mode count toward your monthly sending quota.
With Sandbox Mode, you can confidently test your setup while protecting your sender reputation.
2. Maximize the Email Testing Tool
For users on Professional-level plans (100,000 emails per month and above), SMTP2GO’s Email Testing Tool offers a comprehensive suite of features to refine your campaigns before they go live.
Access this tool via Reports > Email Testing in your dashboard:
- Preview in My Inbox: Send a copy of your test email to any address and see exactly how it appears in your inbox. Spot formatting issues, verify content, and ensure your email looks polished across devices.
- Spam Filter Test: Evaluate your email against major spam filters. Get actionable insights to address potential issues and improve deliverability.
- Screenshot Test: Check how your email renders in more than 50 email clients across desktop, mobile, and web platforms. This feature also includes a link test to verify all URLs resolve correctly and are not flagged as blocklisted or suspicious.
Why Use the Email Testing Tool?
- Consistent Design: Ensure your email looks professional across devices and email clients.
- Improved Deliverability: Address spam-related issues to boost your chances of landing in the inbox.
- Link Validation: Avoid broken or suspicious links, ensuring a trustworthy and functional email.
Important Notes:
- Each Professional-level account includes 1,000 email testing credits per month.
- To ensure proper rendering, host images using absolute links instead of embedding them. Embedded images can increase email size, affect loading times, and may not display correctly.
With the Email Testing Tool, you can refine every detail of your campaigns for maximum impact.
3. Create Realistic Test Scenarios
Testing with placeholder content like “Test” in the subject line or body might seem harmless, but it doesn’t replicate real-world conditions—and can even trigger spam filters. Instead, create test emails that closely resemble your actual campaigns.
Avoid Generic Test Content
Using terms like “Test” or “Testing” can raise red flags with spam filters, as these are often associated with non-legitimate emails. Instead:
- Write subject lines similar to what you’d use in a live campaign, such as:
- “Exclusive Offer: 20% Off Ends Tonight!”
- “Your January Newsletter is Here!”
- Craft meaningful, professional email content that aligns with your campaign goals.
Include Relevant Content
Populate your email with real text, images, and links to ensure everything functions as intended. This helps you catch issues like broken links, poor formatting, or incorrect branding before your email goes live.
By mimicking real-world scenarios, you’ll identify potential issues and deliver a polished, professional email campaign.
4. Avoid Fake Domains and Addresses
Always use valid, controlled email addresses for testing to ensure accurate results. Avoid fake domains like test@test.com, as these cause bounces that harm your sender reputation and impact future deliverability.
The Smarter Approach
Create dedicated test accounts with major providers such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Use these to evaluate how your emails appear across different inboxes, devices, and platforms. This method helps you catch issues early and ensures your campaigns are ready for real-world delivery.
5. Incorporate A/B Testing for Optimization
Testing isn’t just about functionality—it’s also an opportunity to optimize your emails for better performance. A/B testing allows you to experiment with different elements to see what resonates most with your audience.
How to A/B Test:
- Choose one variable to test, such as subject lines, layout, or call-to-action buttons.
- Create two versions of your email with a single difference.
- Split your audience into two groups and send one version to each.
- Analyze the results using SMTP2GO’s reporting tools to identify the best-performing option.
A/B testing helps you refine your strategy and create more engaging, effective campaigns.
Bonus Tip: Review Your Results
No matter which tools or methods you use, always review your test results. Look for patterns, address any red flags, and refine your approach. By taking the time to analyze your tests, you’ll ensure your emails are polished, professional, and ready to wow your audience.
Start optimizing your email testing today with SMTP2GO and watch your campaigns reach new heights!
