Testing and Exporting a Marketing Email

When your marketing email is ready, you can:

• Send a test to your own inbox to see how it really looks.
• Copy or download the HTML to send it from your email tool.
• Save it as a template to reuse the layout next time.

Orsa doesn’t send marketing emails to your customers or your mailing list. There’s no list, no audience and no send button for real recipients. You send the finished email from the email tool you already use.

All three actions are at the top right of the email editor. To build the email first, see Creating a Marketing Email.

Quick start (5 minutes)

1. Open your email from the Marketing Email tab of Create.
2. Wait a few seconds after your last change, then click Send Test Email.
3. Open your inbox. The test arrives with “[TEST]” in front of the subject.
4. Check it on your phone and computer. Fix anything in the editor.
5. Click Copy HTML and paste it into your email tool’s HTML or code option.

Example: a pet groomer builds a “Spring grooming specials” email, sends a test, sees a typo on the phone, fixes it, sends another test, then copies the HTML into their email tool.

Send a test email

1. Click Send Test Email at the top right. It shows Sending… while it works.
2. You see “Test email sent to” followed by your email address.
3. Open that inbox.

Good to know:

• Tests go to you only. They’re sent to the email address on your Orsa account. You can’t type in another address. To show a teammate, ask them to open the email in Orsa and click Send Test Email themselves.
• The subject starts with “[TEST]”, like “[TEST] Mother’s Day bouquets, 15% off”. If the email has no subject, it’s called “[TEST] Test Email”.
• The test uses the last saved version. Changes save a few seconds after you stop typing. If you click right after a change, the test may not include it. Wait a moment and send again.
• The button is greyed out while the email is empty. Add content first.
• Images must be public. Before sending, Orsa checks every file under Files to Use and every image link in the email. If a file’s public link doesn’t work, or an image points at a private or expiring link, the test isn’t sent and you see a message saying which ones.

Example: you change the button color and want to see it in Gmail. Wait about five seconds, click Send Test Email, and check your inbox.

Copy or download the HTML

Your email tool needs the email as HTML: the standard code every inbox reads.

• Copy HTML: copies the HTML to your clipboard. The button says Copied! for a moment.
• Export HTML: in the ⋮ menu. It downloads an .html file named after your subject line, like mother_s_day_bouquets__15__off.html.

Both use the email exactly as you see it in Preview, including the preview text.

Before copying or downloading, Orsa runs the same image check as a test email. If something isn’t public, you see a message and nothing is copied or downloaded.

Use the HTML in your email tool

Most email tools let you build a campaign from your own HTML. The option is usually called something like Code your own, Custom HTML, Import HTML or Paste in code. Look for it when you create a campaign or a template in your tool.

1. In Orsa, click Copy HTML (or use Export HTML if your tool asks for a file).
2. In your email tool, start a new campaign or template and pick its HTML or code option.
3. Paste the HTML or upload the file.
4. Copy your Subject Line and Preview Text from Orsa into the tool’s subject and preview fields, if it has them.
5. Choose your list, then send a test from your tool before you send it to everyone.

Before you send from your tool:

• Check the images. They load from their web addresses. Photos you added under Files to Use in Orsa have public links, and Orsa checks they work before you copy or export.
• Add what your tool needs. Many email tools require an unsubscribe link and your postal address in the footer. Add them the way your tool asks.
• Make edits in Orsa, then copy the HTML again. Changes you make in your email tool don’t come back to Orsa.

Example: a café pastes the HTML into their email tool’s code editor, pastes the subject and preview text, adds the tool’s unsubscribe link to the footer, and sends a test from the tool before sending to their 800 subscribers.

Save as a template

A template lets you reuse an email’s layout for the next one.

1. Open the ⋮ menu at the top right.
2. Click Save as Template. You see “Saved as template!” and a Template badge appears at the top.

The email now shows in the Templates tab of every email in your brand. To stop sharing it as a template, click Remove from Templates in the same menu. The email itself stays.

To use a template, open a new email, click the Templates tab and click Apply. This replaces the new email’s content, subject line and preview text. See Creating a Marketing Email.

Example: a yoga studio saves its “Class schedule” email as a template. Each month they create a new email, apply the template, and only change the dates.

Tips for the best results

• Send a test after every big change. Inboxes don’t always show emails the same way the preview does.
• Check the test on a phone and a computer. Use Mobile in Preview as a first check, then confirm in a real inbox.
• Click every link and button in the test to make sure they go to the right page.
• Copy the HTML last. Do all your edits in Orsa first, so you only paste once.
• Keep a clean template. Save a version without dates or prices as your template, so each new email starts tidy.

Common questions

Can I send the email to my customers from Orsa? No. Orsa sends test emails to you only. Copy or export the HTML and send it from your email tool.

Can I send a test to my client or a teammate? Not directly. Tests always go to the email address on your own account. Your teammate can open the email and send a test to themselves. For a client, forward the test from your inbox, or paste the HTML into your email tool and send a test from there.

The test email doesn’t show my latest change. The test uses the last saved version. Wait a few seconds after editing, then send it again.

Send Test Email is greyed out. The email has no content yet. Ask Orsa AI to write it, apply a template, or add code in the Code tab.

I see “Failed to send test email”. Something went wrong while sending. Wait a minute and try again. If the Preview tab shows Compilation Error, fix that first. See Creating a Marketing Email.

I didn’t get the test. Check your spam or promotions folder, and check that the address in the “Test email sent to” message is right. That’s the email on your account. See My Account.

Images are missing when I paste the HTML into my email tool. Images load from web addresses. If an image address isn’t public, it won’t show. Add the photo under Files to Use in Configure, ask Orsa AI to use it, and copy the HTML again.

I see “These files are not publicly reachable”. Orsa tried to fix the file’s public link and couldn’t. Remove the file from Files to Use, add it again, and try once more. If it still fails, upload the photo again in Assets.

I see “image link(s) point at private or expiring storage URLs”. An image in the email uses a private link that stops working after a while. Add the photo under Files to Use and ask Orsa AI to use it instead, or paste a public image address.

Does Scheduled Date send the email? No. Scheduled Date is only for planning. Send the email from your email tool.