This article walks you through the complete workflow of creating and sending an email in Apsis One — from clicking "Create New Email" to confirming the send. Each step of the wizard is covered in order, with tips and warnings at the points where things commonly go wrong.
💡 First time sending?
Make sure you've completed the prerequisites: at least one Subscription with Profiles, DKIM authentication on your sending domain, and Email tool access on your user account. See the Set up Account – Checklist for the full setup guide.
In this article
The step-by-step wizard at a glance
Every email in Apsis One follows a guided wizard, however the step CRM sync is only available if you have an integration to a CRM activated.
Name → Template → Design
→ Send To → A/B Test? → CRM sync?→
Details →Schedule →Overview
You can move back and forth between steps at any time. If you leave the wizard, your email is saved automatically as a Draft — find it on the Email tool start page under the Drafts tab.
Step 1: Name and Template
Click Create New Email (top-right corner of the Email tool start page).
Enter an email name. This is internal only — your recipients won't see it. Use a descriptive name like "Newsletter April 2026" or "Spring Sale – VIP Segment" to make it easy to find later.
Select a Template:
Pre-defined — Ready-made layouts provided by Apsis. Each includes a preview and description.
Your templates — Templates you or your team have saved. This is the fastest option if you've already set one up.
Themed — Seasonal or occasion-based templates.
Click Next step to move to the editor.
⚠️ Changing Templates replaces your content
If you select a new Template after you've started designing, your current content will be replaced — and this cannot be undone. If you want to keep your work, save the email as a Template first, then switch.
Additional options in this step
Option | What it does |
Get inspired | Opens the Apsis Email Design Gallery for layout ideas. |
On the landing page Get inspired | Send a brief to the Apsis consultancy team to have a custom Template designed for you.  |
Step 2: Design
Read more: Rows and Columns | Design Elements | Data tags and Segments | Apsis AI Assistant
This is the drag-and-drop editor where you build your email content. The editor has two main areas:
Canvas (left) — your working area where you arrange Rows, Columns, and Elements.
Design Panel (right) — contains Elements, Rows, Assets, and Images that you drag onto the canvas.
Building your email
Add Rows to create the layout structure — choose from 1-column, 2-column, 3-column, or custom layouts.
Drag Elements into Rows — Heading, Paragraph, Image, Button, Divider, Social links, Video, Icons, Menu, Table, or HTML.
Drag in Assets — pre-built content blocks you've saved (header, footer, CTAs, etc.).
Add images from your Image Gallery or upload new ones directly.
Fill in content — write your copy, add links, insert Data tags for personalisation.
Design checklist
Before leaving the editor, verify:
Check | Details |
Heading and Paragraph elements | Use the correct element types — screen readers depend on them for content structure. |
Images | All images have alt text and are linked where appropriate. File sizes are under 1 MB. |
Web version link | Include a "View in browser" link for recipients whose email client doesn't render the email correctly. |
Unsubscribe link | Required by law. Add one if your Template doesn't already include it. Read more |
Data tags | Check that all |
Row Segmentation | If you've assigned Rows to specific Segments, use Preview to verify each version looks correct. |
💡 Undo / Redo
Use the Undo and Redo buttons in the bottom-left corner if you make a mistake. Note: Undo does not work after switching Templates.
When your email is ready, click Next step to move to Settings.
Read more: Rows and Columns | Design Elements | Data tags and Segments | Apsis AI Assistant
Step 3: Settings
Access Settings from the bottom bar of the editor. Settings are organised into tabs:
Email tab
Field | What to enter |
Email name | Internal name (editable here if you want to change it). |
Sender name | The name recipients see in their inbox (e.g. "Your Brand"). |
Sender email | The "from" address. Use a DKIM-authenticated domain. |
Reply-to email | Where replies go. Can differ from the sender email. |
Subject line | What recipients see in the inbox. Recommended: 40–50 characters. Supports Data tags ( |
Preheader | The preview text after the subject line. Recommended: 85–100 characters. Supports Data tags. |
Language | Set the content language for accessibility — screen readers use this to pronounce text correctly. |
Do not track email openings | Tick this to disable open tracking for this email (tracking pixel won't be included). |
Design tab
Set the email width (recommended: 600px), top padding, and background, body, and border colours. You can also adjust border thickness and corner radius.
Unsubscribe tab
Configure the unsubscribe landing page that appears when a Profile clicks the unsubscribe link:
Confirmation type — show a message on screen or redirect to a URL.
Message text — the opt-out confirmation message.
Logo and branding — upload a logo (100×100px recommended) and set background colour.
Analytics tab
Add UTM parameters (Google Analytics) to track email traffic to your website. You can also use Data tags in UTM values. Read more about UTM tracking
Custom parameters tab
Add your own custom tracking parameters (works like UTM but with your own parameter names).
Preview and Test
Also accessible from the bottom bar:
Preview — check how your email looks on Desktop, Mobile, and in plain Text. Use View segments to preview different Row Segmentation versions.
Test — send a test email to any email address. Check it on both desktop and mobile before going live.
💡 Always send a test
Test emails may end up in your spam or junk folder — this is normal for test sends and not an indication that your live send will have the same issue. Always check links, images, Data tags, and layout in your test email.
Read more: Email: Settings, Preview and Test
Step 4: Send To
This is where you choose who receives your email. Click Next step from the editor to reach this step.
Select your audience
Setting | What it does | Tips |
Subscription | Select one or more Subscriptions to send to. Only Profiles with active consent in the selected Subscription(s) will be included. | You can select multiple Subscriptions if they're in the same Folder. |
Limit to imports | Restrict the send to Profiles from a specific file import. You can select one or multiple imports. | Useful when you've just imported a new list and want to send only to those contacts. |
Exclude duplicates | When sending to multiple Subscriptions, choose whether to exclude duplicate Profiles or include all. | Excluding duplicates prevents the same Profile from receiving the email more than once. |
Segments | Include or exclude Segments. When adding multiple, choose to match Profiles in any or all of the selected Segments. | Use "include" to narrow your audience (e.g. only VIP customers). Use "exclude" to remove specific groups (e.g. recently purchased). |
Tags | Include or exclude Profiles based on Tags. Same any/all logic as Segments. | Tags are useful for quick, manual classifications — e.g. "Event attendee May 2026". |
Frequency | Exclude Profiles who received an email within a set number of hours. | Prevents over-sending. Especially useful when multiple team members send to overlapping audiences. |
Calculate your audience
After configuring your audience, click Calculate now. This shows you exactly how many Profiles match your settings.
⚠️ Always calculate before proceeding
The calculated count includes all Profiles with consent in the selected Subscription(s), minus Profiles with 3+ hard bounces, minus any exclusions you've set. If the number looks unexpectedly low (or high), review your filters before continuing.
Click Next step to move to the Schedule.
Step 5: A/B test
If you want to test different content versions, subject lines, sender names, or send times against each other, configure the A/B test in this step. If you don't need an A/B test, simply click Next step to skip.
A/B testing is covered in detail in the A/B Test article.
Step 6: CRM Sync
If your account has a CRM integration installed (such as Efficy Enterprise, Microsoft Dynamics 365, webCRM, Lime, or Tribe), this step lets you sync the email send-out with your CRM.
Tick the "Sync send out with" checkbox to enable sync for this email. When enabled, Campaign Response Data — opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, sent, and delivered — will be written back to the connected CRM. This means your sales team can see on the contact card in the CRM how each contact engaged with this specific email.
If you don't want to sync this particular send, leave the checkbox unticked and click Next to skip.
💡 Good to know
This step only appears if your Section has an active CRM integration. If you don't see it in the wizard, no CRM integration is configured for the Section you're working in. Contact your Admin or see the CRM Integrations collection for setup guidance.
💡 Why sync?
Syncing send-outs with your CRM closes the loop between marketing and sales. Your sales team sees which contacts opened, clicked, or ignored your campaign — directly on the contact card in the CRM — without needing access to Apsis One. This is especially valuable for lead nurturing, follow-up prioritisation, and understanding which marketing touchpoints drive engagement.
Step 7: Details
The Details step shows a summary of your email's configuration — a chance to review and edit key settings before scheduling.
Here you can check and adjust:
Subject line and preheader — last chance to edit or add Data tags.
Sender name and sender email
Any other details that were configured in the Settings during the Design step.
💡 Tip: This is your final content check
The Details step is a good place to do a last read-through of your subject line and preheader. Check for typos, broken Data tags, and that your sender name is consistent with your brand.
Click Next step to proceed to Schedule.
Step 8: Schedule
Choose when to send your email:
Option | What happens |
Now | The email is sent as soon as you confirm on the Overview page. |
Scheduled | Pick a specific date and time. The email is queued and sent automatically at that time. |
💡 Time zone
The scheduled time follows the time zone set in your User Profile settings. If the displayed time doesn't match what you expect, check your time zone. This is especially important if your audience is in a different time zone.
Click Next to proceed to the Overview.
Step 9: Overview and confirm
The Overview page shows a summary of everything you've configured — email name, sender details, subject line, selected Subscription, Segments, Tags, Frequency, A/B test settings (if applicable), CRM sync settings (if applicable), schedule, and recipient count.
Review everything carefully, then click:
Schedule — if you chose a scheduled send time, this confirms the schedule.
Send — if you chose "Now", this sends the email immediately.
After confirming, your email appears on the Email tool start page under the Schedule & Sent tab.
💡 You can still make changes
After scheduling, you can pause, edit, and reschedule the email from the start page. See Editing your Emails for instructions.
After sending
Once your email has been sent:
It moves to the Sent section on the start page.
Click on it to open the Email Report — opens, clicks, CTOR, bounces, spam complaints, unsubscribes, and device breakdown.
The report includes pre-built Segments based on recipient behaviour (e.g. "Opened but didn't click") — save these and use them in your next campaign.
Read more: Email Report | Bounce rate and Spam complaints
Troubleshooting
Issue | Cause and solution |
"Calculate now shows 0 Profiles" | Check that the selected Subscription has Profiles with active consent. Also check your Segment and Tag filters — they may be excluding everyone. Remove filters one at a time to identify the issue. Check that your import has completed successfully. |
"I can't see any Subscriptions in the dropdown" | You need at least one Subscription with Profiles in the Section you're working in. If you have multiple Sections, make sure you're in the correct one. |
"My Data tags show ##attribute## in the test email" | Test emails are sent to the address you enter, not to a Profile. If that email address doesn't exist as a Profile in your Audience with the relevant Attributes populated, the tags won't resolve. Create a test Profile with complete data, or check the Preview instead. |
"I scheduled the email but it didn't send" | Check the email status on the start page. If it shows "Paused", click Activate. See Editing your Emails for details. |
"The recipient count changed between Calculate and Send" | Segments are dynamic — they update as Profile data changes. The count is recalculated at send time, so new Profiles who match the segment conditions (or existing ones who no longer do) will affect the final count. |
"My email looks different in Outlook" | Outlook (Windows) uses a different rendering engine than most email clients. Background images with Fill/Fit/Stretch won't display — the fallback background colour shows instead. Use the email rendering preview in Settings to check Outlook specifically. See the FAQ for more details. |
What's next?
Unsubscribe — How opt-out works, adding unsubscribe links, and managing unsubscribes.
A/B Test — Test content versions and send times against each other.
Email Report — Understand and act on your send results.
Rows and Columns — Deep dive into email layout structure.
Design Elements — Reference for every element in the editor.