How do you test an automation before launch?

Thorough testing prevents automation disasters:

Preview and proof: Review all email content, merge fields, and dynamic content variations. Check subject lines, preheaders, and sender information.

Seed list testing: Send to internal addresses across different email clients. Verify rendering in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and mobile clients.

Trigger simulation: Fire test triggers using test accounts. Verify the automation starts correctly and follows expected paths.

Timing verification: Confirm delays work as configured. Test time-zone logic if applicable. Verify send-time optimization behavior.

Condition testing: Test all branch conditions with data that should take each path. Verify exclusions and suppressions work correctly.

Staged rollout: Launch to a small percentage of eligible recipients first. Monitor for issues before expanding.

Testing catches problems before recipients do. The effort is always less than fixing mistakes after launch.