Send with Confidence: Email Testing and Performance Tracking
- Diana Buda
- May 29
- 3 min read
You’ve planned, written, and designed your email campaign. Everything looks ready. But before you press that send button, pause.
This is the moment where excitement meets nerves. After all, once it’s out, it’s out. A missed typo, broken link, or layout disaster in Outlook can quickly derail even the most beautifully designed email.
In this final chapter of the Anatomy of a Good Email series, I’ll guide you through the essentials of email testing and performance tracking, or you can spot issues early, measure what matters, and keep improving with every send.
Before You Send: Email Testing That Catches Mistakes Early
This stage is often the most overwhelming one, but it doesn’t need to. With a checklist and a bit of patience, pre-send testing becomes a habit, not a headache.
Here’s what I run through on every campaign:
1. Preview in Key Email Clients
Not all email platforms render your design the same way, so testing is key.. Use tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to preview your email across:
Outlook desktop (still widely used in corporate environments)
Gmail (check both web and mobile apps)
Apple Mail
Any other platforms your audience tends to use
After running all these tests, remember to test on your own device too.
Tip: If you don’t have client usage data, Litmus’ Email Client Market Share is a great place to get a general idea.
2. Check Dark Mode
Using your preferred email testing tool, look out for:
Inverted colours that make text unreadable
Transparent PNGs that disappear
Logos or icons that clash against dark backgrounds
You won’t always get it perfect, but aim for a version that’s at least functional in both light and dark views.
3. Run an Accessibility Check
Run through:
Alt text on every image (not just decorative ones)
Sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds
Use of semantic HTML (like real heading tags and proper link structures)
It’s not just about being compliant, it’s about making sure everyone can engage with your message.
4. Review Your Copy and Structure
At this stage, fresh eyes help. If you can, step away from the email for a bit, then come back and re-read it top to bottom. Ask yourself:
Is anything unclear, awkward, or too long?
Are your subject line and pre-header still doing their job?
If you're using personalisation or dynamic content—have you tested different variations?
Tip: I like to copy-paste the text into a clean doc and read it out loud. It’s amazing what stands out that way.
5. Check All Links and Tracking
A broken link is the fastest way to lose trust (and conversions). Test each link manually:
Are all the URLs correct?
Do they open in new tabs where appropriate?
Are tracking parameters like UTM codes added and tested?
If you’re using a platform that adds tracking for you, double-check the setup in your analytics tool too.
Hit Send (With Confidence)
You’ve tested everything, the team’s signed off, and you’ve reviewed it once more. Still nervous? That’s normal. Here’s my final checklist before scheduling or sending:
Stakeholders have approved the final version
Dynamic content displays correctly for each segment
Confirm the subject line, pre-header, and sender name are final.
Send time and time zone settings are confirmed
Test emails have been reviewed on actual devices (not just in Litmus or Preview Mode)
A bit of last-minute caution is healthy—but don’t let it turn into hesitation. Trust your process.
After You Send: Performance Tracking to Learn and Improve
Post-send tracking is where the real learning happens. Don’t just hit send and move on—spend time understanding what happened. Here’s what I track:
Open Rates
These tell you if your subject line and pre-header worked. Just be aware that Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection skews the data, so treat opens as a rough guide, not a hard metric.
Click-Through Rates (CTR)
CTR shows whether your CTAs are clear and engaging, and where people are most likely to click.
Conversion Rates
This is the ultimate metric: did the email lead to the action you wanted—sign-up, purchase, download? If not, where might the drop-off have happened?
Heatmaps or Click Maps
Some ESPs include this, and it’s gold. You can see exactly where users clicked (and where they didn’t). It’s especially helpful if your email has multiple CTAs or a lot of content.
Tip: Even a 5-minute review of these numbers can tell you more than any internal opinion.
Final Thoughts on Email Testing and Performance Tracking
Testing and tracking might not feel as creative as design or writing, but they’re what help your emails succeed.
And while it’s impossible to catch everything, the goal is progress, not perfection. Each send gives you data, experience, and insight for the next one.
So take a breath, check the checklist, and press send.
