Sending a campaign

This page walks you through one campaign, from the first word to the results. You need a list with people on it first. See Getting started with Lookout Send.

1. Make the campaign

1. Click the Campaigns tab, then New campaign.
2. Type a Campaign name. It is for you. People only see it inside link tracking.
3. Type the Subject. This is what people see in their inbox.
4. Type a Preheader (optional). It is the short line many inboxes show after the subject.
5. Check From name, From email and Reply-to (optional). They come from your settings.
6. Under Audience, pick List or Segment, then pick one. A line under it says how many people it reaches today.
7. Under Start from, pick Blank, Template or A site page or post.
8. Click Continue.

You see “Campaign created. Write its content next.” The Content part opens.

Starting from a template or a page

With Template, pick one under Choose a template. It fills in the words, and the subject and preheader if you left them empty. See Templates.

With A site page or post, pick Page or Post in Content type, then find it in the list. Click Preview import to check it, then Continue. Your page or post is not changed.

Sending it later

Turn on Send later, and pick a date and time in Send at. It uses your computer’s time zone. The main button then reads Schedule campaign instead of Start campaign.

2. Write it

The campaign has three parts, as tabs: Details, Content and Preview.

In Content, an email editor opens. Drag in text, pictures and buttons, and type your words. Your changes save on their own. You see “Draft saved.” each time.

• Pictures must be PNG, JPEG, GIF or WebP, and under 5 MB.
• Links must start with https:// or mailto:.
• The editor’s menu has merge tags, such as First name. Each one is filled in for each person when it sends.

Your logo, header and footer are added when it sends. You do not put them in the email. Click Preview with header and footer to see the whole email.

To change the subject, the audience or the sender, go back to Details, change it, and click Save.

3. Preview it

Click Preview. Click Desktop or Mobile to see it at each size. Reload preview shows your latest changes.

4. Send yourself a test

The test box sits at the top of the campaign. It starts filled with your own email.

1. Check the address in the box.
2. Click Send test.

You see “Test sent to” and the address. Open it in your inbox. Check the links, the pictures and the spelling.

If it says Fix these before sending

Lookout Send turns away some things, such as a link that does not start with https://. A box headed Fix these before sending lists each one. Fix them in the editor, then try again.

5. Start it, or schedule it

Save any changes first. With unsaved changes, the top of the page reads Unsaved changes and shows a Save button. The start button waits until you save.

1. Click Start campaign, or Schedule campaign.
2. A box asks Start this campaign? It shows the Audience, the Subject, who it is From, When it sends, and whether a test went out.
3. Read it. Click Start campaign or Schedule campaign to go ahead, or Not yet to stop.

You see “Campaign started.” or “Campaign scheduled for” and the time.

Once a campaign starts, its details and content are locked.

Changing your mind

• A scheduled campaign has Unschedule and edit. It goes back to a draft, and you can change it and schedule it again.
• A campaign that is sending has Cancel campaign. Emails already sent stay sent.

6. Read the results

While it sends, the campaign shows a bar, such as “40 of 120 delivered”.

When it is done, the Results box shows tiles: Sent, Delivered, Open rate, Click rate, Click-to-open, Bounced and Complaints. Each rate shows how it compares with your average.

Some tiles read Awaiting reports at first. The numbers fill in as the mail provider reports on each email. A tile reads Not tracked when tracking was off. See Tracking.

Delivery over time charts sent, delivered, opened and clicked. Click a name above the chart to hide or show its line.

Compared with your other campaigns plots this one against your recent campaigns.

Show link clicks lists which links people clicked.

Refresh loads the latest numbers.

The campaign list

The Campaigns tab lists every campaign. Buttons across the top filter it: All, Draft, Scheduled, Running and Finished, then a last one for campaigns that were stopped or failed. Search campaigns finds one by name or subject.

Each row shows the Name, Status, Audience, Date and Stats. Click the name, or Edit, to open it. A sent campaign opens with View.

The small buttons on each row:

• Clone makes a copy, named “Copy of” and the name. Use it to send a similar email.
• Cancel campaign stops one that is scheduled or sending.
• Archive takes a draft off the list. There is no delete.

Templates

A template is a starting point: layout, headings and words. Your header, footer and brand color are added when the email sends.

Click the Templates tab. Your templates are at the top. Built-in templates are under them, such as Monthly newsletter and Welcome email. Buttons across the top filter by kind, such as Newsletter or Event.

Each template has these buttons:

• Use starts a new campaign with it.
• Preview shows it.
• Duplicate makes your own copy to change.
• Edit and Delete, on your own templates only.

Built-in templates cannot be changed. Duplicate one first.

To save a campaign as a template, open it and click Save as template. Type a Template name, then click Save template.

Deleting a template does not change campaigns already started from it.