How to use the checklist
Most sending mistakes are not exotic. A greeting renders as Hi , a link points at last month's offer, the wrong segment gets the discount, or the email lands at 3 a.m. for half the list. The 20 checks below catch those, grouped into five passes so you can split the work: write first, then QA with fresh eyes, ideally by someone who did not write the copy.
Each check names the place in MailerLite where you can verify it, based on MailerLite's help documentation. The same checks apply in any email platform; the setting names differ. MailerLite's Send or schedule page is effectively the review stage: from there you can preview, edit the plain-text version, send a test and, on paid plans, run the Inbox insights report, which looks for spam-trigger phrases, broken links or images and authentication problems. [1]
One warning before you start. A test email only proves layout. MailerLite lists the unsubscribe link, forward links, survey submissions, event blocks and dynamic content blocks as not functional in tests, and test emails often land in spam because of the [TEST] label in the subject. [3] The final check in this list is therefore a real send to yourself.
The 20 checks at a glance
Print this table or copy it into your campaign brief. Tick each row only after you have looked at the actual setting, not the draft in your head.
| # | Check | What goes wrong if you skip it | Where MailerLite shows it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sender name and address use your own domain | No-reply or free-mail senders look less trustworthy and cannot be authenticated | Campaign details, Sender field [1] |
| 2 | Only one address in From; display name identifies you | Google asks for one From address and display names without subject text or emojis [9] | Campaign details, Sender field |
| 3 | Replies go to a mailbox someone reads | Customer replies vanish | Check the reply address your account uses before sending |
| 4 | Sending domain is authenticated | Mail fails SPF, DKIM or DMARC checks | Account settings, Domains |
| 5 | Right groups or segments selected | Wrong people get the offer | Select recipients [1] |
| 6 | Exclusions applied | Customers get a discount meant for prospects | Exclude segment button; exclusion supersedes inclusion [10] |
| 7 | Recipient count matches expectation | A segment rule silently matched too many or too few | Compare the segment total with your last send |
| 8 | Subject line final and free of placeholders | Draft subject goes out | Campaign details, Subject [1] |
| 9 | Preheader written | Inbox shows leftover text instead of a summary | Preheader block or Campaign details [11] |
| 10 | Every merge tag has a default | Hi , greetings | {$name|default('Friend')} syntax [2] |
| 11 | Images have alt text; key facts are not only in images | Discount code invisible when images are blocked | Image toolbar, ALT text [7] |
| 12 | Text contrast at least 4.5:1 | Unreadable text on coloured blocks | Design settings; check with a contrast tool [7] |
| 13 | Email is under 102 KB | Gmail clips the end of the email and the open pixel [4] | Trim content; link to the web version |
| 14 | Plain-text version reads sensibly | Plain-text readers see a jumble | Down arrow next to Edit content [1] |
| 15 | Every link clicked and lands on the right page | Dead or outdated links | Duplicate-draft send to yourself |
| 16 | UTM tags on | Campaign traffic shows as direct in analytics | Tracking options, UTM tags [6] |
| 17 | Link text describes the destination | Click here links and vague buttons | Content review [7] |
| 18 | Unsubscribe link present and working | Editor shows an Unsubscribe link is missing error; a missing or incomplete footer block stops the campaign from being sent [8] | {$unsubscribe} variable or footer block [8] |
| 19 | Send time and time zone correct | Email arrives overnight | Send later with date, time and time zone [1] |
| 20 | Real send to yourself as a subscriber | Unsubscribe, forward and dynamic blocks untested | Duplicate the draft and send as a regular campaign [3] |
Pass 1: sender and recipients (checks 1 to 7)
MailerLite advises using your own domain email and name in the Sender field and avoiding addresses such as [email protected]. [1] Google's sender guidelines add that From headers should include only one email address and that display names should only identify the sender: no recipient names, no subject text, no emojis. [9] A display name like Maya at Fieldworks passes; Maya - 40% off ends tonight does not.
For recipients, MailerLite lets you pick groups or segments and then exclude segments; when a subscriber is in both an included and an excluded segment or group, exclusion wins. [10] Segments update automatically, so a segment such as clicked in the last 30 days will not contain the same people next week as it does today. [10] Write down the expected size before you open the recipient picker, then compare. If your last send went to roughly 4,100 people and today's audience says 9,800, a rule has gone wrong.
Domain authentication sits in this pass because it is the one fix you cannot make at the last minute: DNS changes can take hours to verify. If your Domains page does not show the sending domain as authenticated, see our guide to adding SPF, DKIM and DMARC records in Namecheap DNS, or the MailerLite domain authentication failed guide, before scheduling anything.
Pass 2: content (checks 8 to 14)
Merge tags are the most common visible error. MailerLite's variables look like {$name} and, with no stored value, leave a blank space. The fix is a default: {$name|default('Friend')} turns Hello , into Hello Friend. Variables are case-sensitive, so {$Name} is not the same tag. [2] Open the Subscribers, Fields tab to copy the exact tag for any custom field. [2]
The preheader is the text that follows the subject line in the inbox. MailerLite lets you set it in the Preheader block of the drag-and-drop editor, on the Campaign details page in the Simple editor, or as the first hidden text inside the body in custom HTML. [11] Write it as a second subject line, not a repeat of the first.
For accessibility, MailerLite's own checklist is a useful floor: short, specific alt text; empty alt text on purely decorative images; never put a discount code or date only inside an image; aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1; and keep buttons and links at least 24 by 24 pixels. [7]
Size matters because Gmail can clip any message larger than 102 KB, hiding the rest behind a View entire message link. MailerLite notes that the tracking pixel sits at the bottom, so clipped emails may under-report opens. Its advice is to summarise and link out, avoid pasting formatted text from other tools, and minify code last. [4]
Pass 3: links, tracking and unsubscribe (checks 15 to 18)
Turn on UTM tags in the Tracking options section of the campaign so visits from the email show up as campaign traffic in Google Analytics. Account-wide values are set under Account settings, Link tracking. The tags only help if your site runs Google Analytics. [6] If a link already carries its own UTM parameters, check the final URL after the send so the two sets do not conflict; MailerLite's page does not say how it handles that case.
Google asks that links in the body be visible and easy to understand, and that bulk senders support one-click unsubscribe plus a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the body. [9] In MailerLite, the {$unsubscribe} variable generates the subscriber's unique unsubscribe link, and the editor shows an Unsubscribe link is missing error when you leave it without one; HTML formatting can interfere with generating the link, and a missing or incomplete footer block stops the campaign from being sent. [8]
Click every link in the regular-campaign copy you send to yourself, not the test. Test-mode unsubscribe and forward links do not work, so a test cannot prove them. [3]
Pass 4: timing (check 19)
MailerLite's Send later option needs a date, a time and a time zone, and times must fall on 15-minute steps such as 08:45. [1] The common mistake is scheduling in the account's time zone while thinking in the audience's.
Time zone delivery sends at the chosen local hour in each subscriber's zone. MailerLite describes it as a free feature, but it only works if you schedule at least 24 hours ahead; sending starts with subscribers in GMT+12 and continues through the later time zones. Time zones come from sign-up or click IP addresses, not opens, and manually imported subscribers get your account default for their first campaign. [5] The Outbox shows when the first zone receives the email, in your account time, so a 3 p.m. send can display as 1 p.m. [5]
Worked example: a Thursday newsletter to a mixed-time-zone list
Scenario: a 6,000-subscriber list split between the UK and the US East Coast. The editor wants the issue in inboxes at 8:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.
- Tuesday afternoon: draft complete. QA passes 1 to 3 done by a second person using the table above.
- Tuesday by 5 p.m.: schedule with time zone delivery for 08:00 Thursday. That satisfies the at-least-24-hours rule with room to spare. [5]
- Same day: duplicate the draft, send the copy to two internal addresses as a regular campaign, and click unsubscribe, forward and every content link. [3]
- Wednesday: check whether a large import happened this week. Newly imported subscribers will receive the email at 08:00 in the account's default time zone, not their own. [5]
- Thursday: open the Outbox report to confirm zones are progressing.
Who needs every check and who can trim
A solo writer sending a text-heavy weekly letter to one segment can collapse passes 1 and 4 into a minute: the sender, audience and time rarely change. The checks that still matter every time are merge-tag defaults, links, size and the real send to yourself.
Teams sending promotions, using several segments, or sending custom HTML should run all 20. Those are the cases where the wrong audience, a missing unsubscribe link or a clipped footer are most likely, and where a mistake reaches the most people.
Questions before you decide
Is a test email enough to check a campaign?
No. MailerLite lists features that are not functional in test emails, including the unsubscribe link, forward links, survey submissions, event blocks and dynamic content blocks. Its advice is to duplicate the draft and send it to yourself as a regular campaign.
What happens if a merge tag has no data?
In MailerLite, a variable with no stored value appears as a blank space. Add a default with the syntax {$name|default('Friend')} so the greeting reads Hello Friend instead of Hello followed by a gap. Variables are case-sensitive.
How big can an email be before Gmail clips it?
MailerLite's help page says Gmail can clip content larger than 102 KB and hide the rest behind a View entire message link. Because the open-tracking pixel sits at the bottom, a clipped email may not record an open.
Can I schedule by each subscriber's time zone?
Yes. MailerLite describes time zone delivery as a free feature, but it only works if you schedule at least 24 hours ahead. Subscriber time zones come from sign-up or click IP addresses, and newly imported subscribers use your account default for their first campaign.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MailerLite Help: How to create and schedule a campaign Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to use variables in MailerLite Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: Everything about test emails Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: Why Gmail clips email content Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to deliver emails by time zone Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to use Google Analytics in your campaigns and websites Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to create accessible content Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to fix the unsubscribe link is missing error Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Google: Email sender guidelines Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to create and use segments Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- MailerLite Help: How to edit the preheader text Accessed 30 Oct 2026
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