Test-Send a Template Before Going Live

In the email template editor, click Send Test Email, enter an email address (typically yours), and send. The test verifies layout, HTML rendering, and the subject line — but it does NOT populate merge tags with real data. Tags like #title# appear literally in the test email. To verify merge tag substitution, send a real reminder to a real (or your own) contact and inspect what arrives.

When to use test-send

Before saving a new template — verify subject and layout look right.
After editing existing templates — confirm changes render correctly.
Before applying a template to a high-stakes sequence — get visual confidence in the design.

For verifying merge tag substitution (i.e., that #contact_first_name# becomes "Sarah" in a real message), test-send is insufficient — see "What test-send does NOT verify" below.

Steps

In Templates → Email, open the template you want to test.
Click Send Test Email.
The Send Test Email modal opens, asking for an Email Address.
Enter the address (usually your own).
Send.

The test email arrives in the inbox of the address you entered.

What test-send DOES verify

Subject line — does it render correctly, is it the length you wanted?
HTML formatting — does the body render as intended? Bold, italics, links, images.
Spelling and grammar — fresh eyes when reading from an inbox.
Spam filter behavior — does the test email arrive in your inbox or in spam? (Spam filters depend on content, sender reputation, and recipient setup, so this is only a partial signal.)
Mobile rendering — open the test on your phone to verify mobile layout.

What test-send does NOT verify

This is critical to understand:

The test email sends the current template body and subject AS ENTERED, with merge tags shown literally.

That means:

#title# in your template appears as #title# in the test email (not as the reminder's actual title).
#contact_first_name# appears as #contact_first_name# (not as a real first name).
#exp_date# appears as #exp_date# (not as a real date).

The test is purely about layout, subject, and content — not about whether your merge tags resolve correctly when a real reminder fires.

To verify merge tags actually work

The only way to confirm merge tag substitution:

Create a real test reminder with yourself (or a test contact) as recipient.
Set the expiration date so a near-term sequence step fires soon (or set up a reminder that's due in ~5 minutes).
Wait for the real send.
Inspect what arrives.

This is the only way to catch typos in your tags. A typo like #contact_firstname# (no underscore) will NOT be replaced in real sends — it'll appear literally in customers' inboxes. Test-send doesn't catch this because it doesn't try to replace tags at all.

What there's no test-send for

SMS templates — no test-send. Create a test reminder with SMS ticked for yourself.
WhatsApp templates — no test-send. Templates are read-only and pre-approved by Meta. Test via real reminder.

What happens next

The test email arrives at the address you specified.
The template itself isn't modified by sending a test.
If you spot issues, return to the editor, fix, save, and re-test.
For full verification including merge tags, do a real test send.

Edge cases & gotchas

Test-send is email-only. No SMS or WhatsApp test-send actions.
Test does NOT populate merge tags with real data. Tags appear literally in the test email.
Test may go to spam. Especially if your inbox has aggressive filtering. Check your spam folder before assuming the send failed.
The "Send Test Email" modal asks only for an Email Address — no sample reminder selection, no toggle to use real data.
For merge tag verification, use a real reminder. This is the only way to catch tag typos before they reach customers.
No history of test-sends is kept in the activity log — they're separate from the regular notification stream.