Sending Your First Email Campaign

Sending Your First Email Campaign

Email campaigns are one-off broadcasts you send to a group of subscribers — newsletters, product launches, sale announcements. This guide takes you from a blank slate to a delivered email.

Step 1: Open Email Marketing

In the admin sidebar, click Email Marketing (or visit /app/email-marketing). You will see tabs for Campaigns, Lists, Subscribers, Templates, and more.

Step 2: Create a List

A list is the audience for your campaign. Switch to the Lists tab and click "New List". Give it a clear name (e.g., "Newsletter Subscribers") and an optional description. New stores automatically get a default list, so you can use that if you prefer.

Step 3: Add Subscribers

Switch to the Subscribers tab. Click "New Subscriber" to add one manually with their email, first name, and last name. To add many at once, scroll down to the Bulk Import (CSV) section and upload a CSV file with an email column (and optional first_name / last_name columns).

Step 4: Create the Campaign

Switch to the Campaigns tab and click "New Campaign". Fill in:

1. Campaign Name — Internal label (e.g., "April Newsletter").
2. Email Subject — What recipients see in their inbox. Keep it under 60 characters.
3. Sender Name and Sender Email — Who the email comes from. Use a verified domain.
4. Reply-To — Where customer replies should land (often a support address).
5. List — Pick the audience you created in Step 2.

Step 5: Design the Email

In the Email Content section, write your HTML in the editor with a live preview alongside it. You can also start from a saved template — pick one from the Template dropdown to load its subject and content. Add a Plain Text version below for email clients that block HTML.

Step 6: Send or Schedule

Save the campaign as a draft. From the campaign detail page you can Send Now to deliver immediately, or Schedule by picking a future date and time. Scheduled campaigns send automatically and switch to the "Sent" status when complete.

Step 7: Confirm It Worked

After sending, the campaign moves to the Sent status and a stats panel appears showing recipients, opens, and clicks. Send yourself a test by adding your own email to the list before launch — that way you see exactly what subscribers will see.