Prepare and test an email

Open a draft from Broadcasts, or choose New broadcast. You can write and revise the message before deciding who will receive it. If you are setting up your first broadcast, the quickstart walks through the sender and audience too.

Give the draft a name you will recognize later. That name is for you; the Subject is what your reader sees in their inbox.

• Send your first broadcast
• Set up your sending domain

Subject and Preview sit above the message. Write a subject that tells someone why to open the email, then use Preview to add a little more context.

For example, “A few things worth sharing” could pair with “Fresh ideas, straight from the studio.” Avoid spending the preview line repeating the subject. You will check the two together in the Inbox view.

In Compose, click into the email and start writing. A short introduction, something useful, and a clear next step are enough to get started.

• Select text to reveal formatting controls for emphasis, links, color, font, and size.
• Use the paragraph controls to change alignment or make a bullet list. On an empty line, the plus control includes Insert image.
• Choose an image from your computer and let it finish importing before sending a test. Check that its size and placement work in the email.
• Use descriptive link text, such as “Read the update,” so the next step is easy to spot.

Already have an HTML email, perhaps from an agent or a designer? Open the tools sidebar, choose HTML under Source, and paste the complete email into Use HTML. Check its preview, then choose Use HTML to apply it to the draft. Edit HTML reopens the source when you want to change the layout.

Keep images available at working web addresses or use Fonte’s image import. A file path on your computer will not work in someone else’s inbox. Keep the finished email’s unsubscribe link and mailing address in place.

Open Viewport in the tools sidebar to change what you are checking. These views use the current message; switching between them does not rewrite it.

• Inbox puts the sender, subject, and preview line together. Check that the important words come first.
• Desktop shows the email with room to breathe. Look for a clear reading order and sensible image sizes.
• Mobile gives the same message a narrow screen. Check wrapping, spacing, and whether links are easy to tap.
• Plain text shows the text version generated from the complete email. Check that the message still makes sense and the links are useful.

In Desktop or Mobile, use Appearance to check Light and Dark. Auto follows the app theme for Fonte designs; custom HTML can use its own color-scheme rules. These are previews of the design, not a switch that forces every recipient’s inbox into that mode.

The two mobile examples show the same Fonte email in Light and Dark. Check your own text, buttons, images, and footer in both. A logo that looks good on white can disappear against a dark background.

Choose Send test in the editor. This sends a separate test to the addresses you enter; your selected broadcast audience will not receive it.

1. Enter an inbox you can open. You can separate multiple test addresses with commas or line breaks.
2. Wait for Fonte to prepare the current draft, then choose Send test in the dialog.
3. Read the result and open the email in your inbox. Under the one-time free-email offer, provider-accepted Test emails use the same account-wide free allowance as eligible Broadcasts, then ordinary Pay as you go usage. They are outside Unlimited coverage and join the ordinary usage balance, without a separate immediate card charge per Test.

A test checks this version of the message. If you change the subject, preview, content, or design afterward, send another test before the real broadcast. A successful test does not approve or send the broadcast to your audience.

The preview helps you work quickly. The inbox test shows what your email app actually does with the message. Check it on the phone or computer your readers are likely to use.

• Does the sender look recognizable, and do the subject and preview line work together?
• Are the text and buttons readable in light and dark mode? Do images load and fit the screen?
• Do the links go to the intended pages? Is the main next step easy to find?
• Does the footer show the mailing address and unsubscribe link?

If the test does not appear, check spam and the result in Fonte. Accepted means the delivery service accepted it; it is not proof that it landed in the inbox. If the status is unconfirmed, keep the existing test attempt while you check what happened rather than repeatedly sending new copies.

Your draft is ready for the sending review. Check the sender, current message, intended audience, and eligible and excluded contacts. The new Pay as you go review shows Eligible, Unlimited, and PAYG recipient counts; the billing owner handles any required payment terms or card authorization in Billing. Resolve missing setup before approving the broadcast.

Send test and Send are separate actions. The broadcast goes to your audience only after you deliberately approve that send.

• Send and monitor a broadcast
• Resolve a blocked broadcast

An agent can help write the copy or produce a complete HTML email without being connected to Fonte. Give it the message, images, and links you want to use. Ask for an email that works on a narrow screen and stays readable in light and dark mode, with the unsubscribe link and mailing address preserved.

Apply the result to the draft, then use the same previews and inbox test. When an agent has a supported Fonte connection, keep the draft and test references so it can check the existing work. Permission to prepare or test an email is separate from permission to send it to your audience.

• Current agent connection availability