Send your first campaign

Getting startedUpdated

A step-by-step walkthrough from a brand-new account to your first sent email.

This guide walks you from a brand-new account to your first sent email, one step at a time. Most of it is quick, and you only set it up once.

One tip before you start: do step 1, your sending domain, first. It’s the only part that can take a little while to switch on, and it does that quietly in the background, so you can kick it off and then set up everything else while it finishes.

1. Set up your sending domain

Your emails go out from your own domain (like yourcompany.com) so that inbox providers trust them and they don’t land in spam. Setting this up means adding a few records at whoever manages your domain, which proves the domain is really yours.

  1. Go to Settings → Sending domains and click Add domain.
  2. Enter your domain, like yourcompany.com, and click Add domain again.
  3. EmailFig shows you a short list of records to add. Copy each one into your domain provider exactly as shown.
  4. Come back and click Re-check DNS. You don’t have to wait around: EmailFig keeps checking on its own, and the status flips to Verified as soon as your records are live.

That last part can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, occasionally up to a day, depending on your provider. That’s normal, it happens in the background, and you can carry on with the rest of this guide while it sorts itself out.

Want help with the records? Add and verify a sending domain covers it in full, and Publish DNS records at your registrar has step-by-step instructions for the common providers.

2. Add your mailing address

Marketing emails are legally required to include a real postal address, so EmailFig won’t let you send without one. It takes a moment:

  1. Go to Settings → Unsubscribes.
  2. Enter your Mailing address. A street address, a registered P.O. box, or a private mailbox all work.
  3. Save.

While you’re here, you can also choose what happens when someone unsubscribes: Simple (one click and they’re off everything) or a Preference center (they pick which topics to keep). Simple is a fine place to start. See Customise the unsubscribe experience.

3. Add your contacts

Your contacts live in lists, and a campaign sends to one or more of them. (Tags and segments help you organise people later; a list is the thing you actually send to.)

  1. Go to Lists → New list, give it a Name, and click Create.
  2. Go to Contacts → Import CSV, choose your file, pick your new list under Add to list (optional), and click Upload & map columns.
  3. On the Map columns screen, tell EmailFig which column is which. One of them has to be the email address. Click Start import.

You’ll see progress as it runs, then a summary of what was added.

Only import people who actually asked to hear from you. EmailFig checks your list as it imports, and a bought or scraped list is stopped before anything sends. See Why you shouldn’t send to purchased lists.

4. Build your campaign

Go to Campaigns and click New campaign. This creates a draft and opens a builder with four steps across the top: Setup, Template, Content, and Review. You can move between them freely, and your draft saves as you go.

Setup is the campaign’s basics, in two cards:

  • Campaign details: a Name (just for you), the Subject line, optional Preview text, and who it’s from (From name, From email, and Sending domain). Your from address has to use the domain you verified in step 1.
  • Audience: the lists you’re sending to, under Send to these lists. A running count shows how many people will actually receive it.

Click Save & continue →.

Template is your starting design. Pick one of Your templates, choose from the Gallery, or start from scratch with the Drag & drop or HTML editor. Then Continue →.

Content is where you write and design the email. Two things have to be in the footer: an unsubscribe link and your mailing address. Every Gallery template already includes them, so you don’t usually have to think about it. Use the merge tag menu to drop in personal touches like a first name.

The campaign builder’s Setup step: the Campaign details card on the left with Name, Subject, Preview text and From fields, and the Audience card on the right showing a live count of how many people will receive the campaign.

More detail: Choose your audience and Merge tags: personalise with contact data.

5. Send yourself a test

Always send yourself a test before the real thing. On the Content step, click Send a test, enter your address, and click Send test email.

You can send tests to your own account address, or to any address on a domain you’ve verified. See Send a test email.

6. Send it (or schedule it)

The Review step shows a preview of your email next to a short checklist called What’s left. It only lists things that still need doing; once it’s clear, you’ll see Ready to send with your recipient count.

Click Send or schedule…, then choose:

  • Now to send straight away, or
  • Later to pick a date and time.

If Send or schedule… is greyed out, something on What’s left still needs attention. Each item links to its fix, and Why the Send button is disabled walks through them.

After you send

Your campaign’s page updates as it goes:

  • Sending: your emails are on their way, going out in a steady stream rather than all at once.
  • Sent: all done. The page turns into your report, with opens, clicks, and more.
  • In review: occasionally a campaign gets a quick check before it sends. Most clear on their own within a few hours, and we’ll email you either way. See My campaign is “in review”.
  • Failed: something stopped the send. The page explains what, and offers Revise so you can fix it and try again.

Opens and clicks start showing up within minutes. See Read a campaign report.

Where to go next

Stuck on any step? Email support@emailfig.com and a real person will help.