Use a test list as a contact source to make sure that the visual elements, wording, and links of your email work as intended before you send the email to the contacts in your database.
Test lists contain contact names and email addresses, plus other list fields you might need to test personalization as the customer sees it. You can have up to 400 fields in any combination of field types, this includes system and custom fields, in a test list. The required system fields are Email, Email Type, Opt-In and Opt-Out.
To populate a test list, import contacts from a file or add contacts manually.
Quick alternatives to test lists are to create a small numerical segment and then email to the segment, or create a query that targets specific contact criteria and then email to the query.
Test emails to contacts do not always behave the same way that they do for regular contacts.
Creating a test list and adding fields from a file import
- Navigate to Data > Import > New.
- In the Name field, give your list a name.
- Select Test List from the Choose Import New Type drop-down menu.
- Select the Upload file from local hard drive radio button.
- Click Browse to browse for the import file.
- Select the file that contains your test list fields and click Open.
- Click Next.
- Select the check box labeled First row contains field names if the top row of your file contains header information.
- Define the date format for your date fields.
- Click Next.
- If your test list file contains fields other than Email, define the field types and click Next.
- Click Next again.
Click the Data Job ID link to see the status.
Your data job completes and your list is created.
You can create a test list and add fields manually.
- Select Create under Data.
The Create Database / List page opens.
- Select the Test List radio button.
- In the Database or List Name field, give your list a name.
- Specify where you want to save the list.
Other users might use the list, so save it in the Shared folder and click Next.
- Complete the following steps for each field that you want to include in the test list.
- Enter a name in the Field Name field.
- Selecting an option from the Field Type drop-down menu.
- Click Add Field.
- Click the Edit link next to your field to enter the values for the selection.
The Create List page opens.
- Enter values in the New Value field and click Add.
- Click Save after you finish adding fields.
The Create Database / List page opens.
- Click Create to create the list.
- Complete the following steps for each contact that you want to add to the test list.
- Click Add Contact.
The Add Contact page opens.
- Enter the information for the contact and click Save.
- Click Add Contact.
Your list is created and populated and you can now send test emails to it.
Using a test list as a contact source
Test lists are a contact source option when sending a normal test.
- Go to your original email and click Test Options: Normal Test.
- Click Select Test Contacts.
- Change Contact Source to Test List.
- Choose the list to use, then click Done.
- Click Send Test Now to send to the test list contacts.
Test lists limitations
Acoustic Campaign has some limitations related to test list sends.
Before you send your email to your complete email list, it is best practice to send the email to a small group of recipients for review. To do so, create a test email using the Send a Test Email page in Acoustic Campaign and attach a test list to it.
Limitations
The following are proven limitations and known behaviors, separated by the type of send.
Within Acoustic Campaign, one of the sending options is Select Test Recipients. In the breakouts below, we cover the behavior of a combination of the Select Test Recipients scenarios:
- Send to individual email address with test personalization
- Send to individual email address without test personalization
- Send to contact source with test personalization, and
- Send to contact source without test personalization
If your test recipients encounter unexpected content or behavior, it could be by design. If you review this document and still have questions or concerns, contact Client Support.
Send to individual email address, no personalization
Click to View
Both Acoustic Campaign Click to View and Custom Click to View work on this test send scenario.
Personalization
If the inserted personalization is a system generated field such as 'name’, it populates within the test email. If the personalization field has a default value, the content personalizes with the default value.
Opt-in/out
- If an opt-in link is provided in the template’s content, Acoustic Campaign does not allow the message to send because no opt-in form is available. The error presented is, “Mailing Contains An Opt In Link, But List Does Not Contain An Opt In Form”.
- Opt-out appears to function, but there is no way to record the action since no list is associated with the email.
Dynamic content Default dynamic content fields display.
Forward to a Friend hyperlink is not functional for this type of test send.
Share to Social feature allows the test recipient to post the message.
Avoid social shares of test messages, as the content is likely to be incomplete and not designed for external consumption.