Troubleshoot campaigns

Most campaign problems are named on the campaign itself: in the editor’s Checklist, in Who receives it, or in a banner on the campaign’s page. Start with the symptom below. For a message that was sent but bounced, went to spam or didn’t appear on a phone, see Troubleshoot email or Troubleshoot push.

The campaign can’t be sent or scheduled

Who receives it lists what’s in the way under Fix before sending, each with a link to fix it. It ends with Nothing sends until the problems above are fixed.

Unfinished parts

This campaign isn’t finished yet. lists each missing part, with a link to its step in the editor. The editor’s Checklist shows the same, step by step:

You can save an unfinished draft at any time; it just can’t send.

Setup and audience

Other reasons

• Both channels must be ready. A campaign that sends email and push says Nothing sends until every channel is ready: the campaign never goes out on one channel alone. Fix the channel that isn’t ready, or send on one channel only.
• The draft is archived. The page says This draft is archived. Unarchive it from More to schedule or send it.
• It uses data.* merge tags. A campaign whose content reads send data can only be sent from the API to the people your developer lists, so it can’t be sent from the dashboard. Use contact attributes instead. See Merge tags and personalisation.
• The time has passed. Scheduling says Choose a future date and time., or for a send in each contact’s time zone, That time has already passed in every time zone. Choose a later time.
• You don’t see Send now or Schedule. Authors and viewers can’t send; members can, unless sending needs an admin (below). See Roles.
• A new account’s daily email limit. A campaign bigger than what’s left of today’s limit is refused whole, with the date the limit rises. See What can delay messages.

The campaign is waiting for approval

• Sending needs an admin. With Only admins and owners can send on, a member chooses Ask an admin to send it. The page then says who asked and when, and admins and the owner are notified. Any saved change to the draft clears the request. See If sending needs an admin.
• An agent drafted it. A campaign that an AI agent connected to your workspace created or edited says An agent drafted this. Nothing is sent until you approve it. An admin or the owner chooses Review and approve, then Approve and send or Approve and schedule. Everyone else sees Nothing is sent until an owner or admin approves it. Editing the campaign doesn’t lift the approval. If the review says It isn’t ready to send yet. Fix what’s listed at the top with Edit first, then approve it., fix the checklist first. See Approve agent work.

A scheduled campaign didn’t send

If something blocks a scheduled campaign when its time comes, such as a sender domain that’s no longer verified or an audience that’s now empty, it doesn’t send. Admins and the owner get a notification, Scheduled campaign “…” did not send, with the reason. Fix it, then choose Unschedule and edit, and send or schedule it again.

The audience is worked out when the campaign sends, not when you schedule it, so a segment that has emptied since stops the send.

The campaign seems stuck sending

While messages are still going out or waiting for a result, the page reads Sending · updates every 15 seconds. That can last a while for good reasons:

• Each contact’s time zone. A campaign sent at a local time runs over about 26 hours.
• Quiet hours or message limits. Messages wait for quiet hours to end, or for room under a limit. See What can delay messages.
• A new workspace’s marketing limit. The send and schedule dialogs say, for example, About 500 will go today, the rest over the next days. See How a new workspace starts sending.
• Marketing email is paused. A banner says Campaign and journey email is paused. Messages are held, not lost, until an admin or the owner resumes it. See If marketing email pauses.
• Delivery receipts. Email shows Awaiting delivery receipt until the receiving server confirms it.
• An A/B test. The status is Testing until the winner goes to the rest. See A/B test problems.

To end it, choose Stop sending, then Stop sending to confirm. Anyone not reached yet is skipped, and the campaign can’t be sent again; duplicate it to send it later.

The campaign reached fewer people than expected

Open the campaign’s Recipients tab and filter by Skipped, or open Delivery breakdown and read Why messages were skipped. Common reasons:

• No consent for this channel, They left this message’s topic or an address that’s suppressed. These people were left out on purpose. See Who receives a message.
• Missing first name (or another field). The email uses a merge tag without a fallback, and the contact has no value for it. Before sending, Who receives it warns, for example 3 would be skipped: missing first name. Add a fallback to the tag. See Fallbacks.
• Over one of the workspace’s message limits. The campaign applies your message limits and skips people who’ve had enough recently.
• Their local send time had already passed. The campaign was scheduled in each contact’s time zone with Skip them for places where the time had passed.
• The campaign was cancelled. Sending was stopped before they were reached.
• No device that can receive push. See Push reached fewer people than expected.

People in a list or segment under Don’t send to are taken out before any count, and contacts who joined or left the audience after you scheduled count as they are at send time.

The full lists of reasons are in Email statuses and Push statuses.

A/B test problems

The test can’t be saved or sent

The Checklist names what the test still needs:

• Version 2 is the same as version 1: change its subject, preview text, sender or design. (for push: change its title, message or image)
• Test on 10% to 50% of the audience.
• Pick the winner after 1 to 72 hours.
• Choose the conversion goal that picks the winner. A campaign needs a conversion goal on its page before a version can win by conversions.
• Pick a push test’s winner by taps or conversions.
• A tap counts only when the notification opens a link: add one under Push, or pick the winner by conversions.
• Version 2 image: use a full HTTPS link.

If you save while the test has a problem, the rest of the draft saves and the editor says Saved, except the A/B test: fix it in the checklist to save it.

A campaign that sends both email and push can’t have a test: This campaign sends email and push, so its A/B test isn’t saved: a test sends email only or push only. Send on one channel, or drop the test.

Warnings before you send

These never stop the send:

• A version may reach nobody at this share of this audience, so there may be nothing to compare and version 1 would be sent to the rest. Test on a larger share or audience, or send without a test. Fewer than one contact is expected per version. Each contact is drawn at random, so with very few contacts a version can end up empty.
• Each version reaches fewer than 1,000 contacts. Small samples may not produce a clear winner, so test on a larger share or with fewer versions.
• Opens decide this test, and Apple Mail Privacy Protection can load tracking images without anyone opening the email, which inflates opens. Clicks pick a more reliable winner.

The winner hasn’t gone out

• You chose I’ll pick it myself. The panel says The test went out. Choose the version the rest of the audience gets. Choose Send to the rest on a version’s row.
• The winner’s send failed. Admins and the owner get The A/B test winner of “…” was not sent with the reason. Choose the winner by hand, or choose Don’t send the rest.
• The test was stopped. Cancelled before a winner was picked: the rest of the audience got nothing. Duplicate the campaign to send it again.

See A/B test a campaign.

Push campaign problems

• Choose an app that is ready to send. The app under Send through isn’t set up. Choose another, or finish its setup in Settings › Messaging › Push apps.
• Use the full personalization syntax in the title, such as {{ contact.firstName | default: "there" }}. Write merge tags in full in a push title.
• A personalised title or message shows on the lock screen, so keep private details out of it.

For push that sends but reaches fewer devices than expected, or doesn’t appear, see Troubleshoot push.

Next steps

• Schedule and send a campaign
• Campaign results
• Message library