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A test email didn't arrive

Figure out why your test send never reached your inbox and confirm the Edition is ready to broadcast.

Symptom​

You send a test (preview) of an Edition to yourself or a colleague, but the message never lands in the inbox. There is no error on screen, yet minutes pass and nothing appears — or it shows up much later, or only for some of the addresses you tested.

Likely causes​

Ranked from most to least common:

  • The message is in a spam, junk, or quarantine folder — test sends often score differently than a full Broadcast.
  • The test address is on the account suppression list — previously bounced, unsubscribed, or complained addresses are skipped silently.
  • A typo in the test address, or an internal mail gateway is greylisting or delaying delivery.
  • The Edition isn't finished — a missing subject line, unresolved personalization token, or empty required field can block the send.
  • Delivery lag — mailbox providers sometimes hold new or infrequent senders for several minutes.

Fixes​

  1. Check the spam, junk, and quarantine folders for the exact address you tested. Add the sending address to your safe-senders list and try again.
  2. Confirm the recipient address is spelled correctly and, if it's an internal address, ask IT whether the sending domain is allow-listed.
  3. Check whether the address is suppressed. If it is, remove it (or use a different test address) — see Manage the suppression list.
  4. Open the Edition and confirm the subject line, sender, and all required fields are complete, and that personalization tokens resolve to sample values in preview (confirm the exact steps in your account).
  5. Wait 5–10 minutes, then resend to a different provider (for example, a personal address on another mail service) to isolate whether the problem is your inbox or the Edition.

Result​

The test email arrives in the inbox with correct content and formatting, confirming the Edition is ready to broadcast to subscribers.

Still stuck?​

If tests fail across multiple providers and the address isn't suppressed, capture the Edition name, the addresses you tested, and the approximate send times, then contact your account support team so they can trace the delivery.

Canonical terms: Author, Edition, Folder (Project Folder), Broadcast. See the Glossary.