# Email campaigns and automations

> Create, test, schedule, and send an email campaign, run a subject-line test, and build an email automation from a recipe or from scratch.

Canonical: https://help.spacebrain.ai/email/campaigns-and-automations/
Last modified: 2026-09-25T00:00:00.000Z

A campaign sends one email to an audience, now or at a set time. An automation sends emails on its own when something happens, such as someone signing up. This guide covers both, for anyone sending marketing or update emails from Spacebrain.

## Before you begin [#before-you-begin]

* **Role:** creating and sending need Email edit access. Viewers can look at campaigns and results. The page tells you if you only have viewer access.
* **A ready sender:** a connected account or a managed sender with sending approval. See [Connect email accounts](/email/accounts/) and [Sending domains, sender addresses, and warm-up](/email/sending-domains-and-warm-up/).
* **A published template:** see [Templates and deliverability](/email/templates-and-deliverability/).
* **A saved audience** of people who agreed to hear from you. Check the addresses first with [Email Verifier](/email/email-verifier/).
* **Credits:** managed sending uses credits for each accepted recipient. The cost is shown on the **Sender & schedule** step.

## Where to find it [#where-to-find-it]

* **Email → Campaigns** – the campaign list and the **New campaign** button.
* **Email → Automations** – your email automations, recipes, and **Reports**.
* **Email → Analytics** – results for campaigns, automations, forms, and goals.

## Create and send a campaign [#create-and-send-a-campaign]

Open **Email → Campaigns** and select **New campaign**. The builder has five steps. Your progress is saved in this browser until the campaign is created, so you can leave and come back.

### 1. Basics [#1-basics]

* **Campaign name** – internal only. Recipients never see it. For example, "August product update".
* **Track opens** – adds a tiny tracking image. Privacy features in some mail apps can make open counts too high or too low.
* **Track clicks** – rewrites links so clicks can be counted.

Select **Continue**.

### 2. Audience [#2-audience]

1. Choose a **Saved audience**. The audience is checked again and frozen when delivery begins, so people who join later won't be included.
2. Review the counts: **Matched**, **Deliverable**, **Suppressed**, **Opted out**, **Pending opt-in**, **Missing email**, **Invalid**, **Duplicates**, and **Explicitly excluded**. Only deliverable contacts get the email.
3. Optional: select **Verify emails** to check the audience with Email Verifier. When you're done there, select **Return to campaign draft**.

If you see **No saved audiences**, create one first. Select **Manage audiences** to open the audience list.

### 3. Content [#3-content]

1. Choose a **Published template**.
2. Select **Edit selected template** if you need to make a change, or **Create template** if you have none.

The campaign takes a snapshot of the template. Later template edits won't change this campaign unless you refresh it while it's still a draft.

### 4. Sender & schedule [#4-sender--schedule]

1. Under **Send from**, choose a sender. Senders are grouped as **Managed by Spacebrain** and **Connected accounts**. If you see **No sender is ready**, finish your sender setup first.
2. Optionally enter a **From name**. If you leave it blank, the account's display name is used.
3. Under **Delivery**, choose one:
   * **Save as draft** – nothing is sent yet.
   * **Send after review** – sends right after the preflight check and your confirmation.
   * **Schedule** – pick a **Scheduled date and time**.

Managed sending can't include attachments.

### 5. Review [#5-review]

Check the summary: **Campaign**, **Audience**, **Template**, **Sender**, **Delivery**, and **Tracking**.

Optional: turn on **Run a two-variant test** to try a second subject line. Set the **Objective** (**Click rate** or **Conversion rate**), **Minimum sample per variant**, **Control allocation (%)**, **Treatment name**, and **Treatment subject line**. Turn on **Automatically select the winner** if you want Spacebrain to pick the better version once both reach the minimum sample.

Select **Create campaign**. Spacebrain runs a preflight check:

* If there are blocking problems, the campaign is saved and you're told to open it and fix them.
* If you chose **Send after review**, you're asked to confirm how many emails will go out now.
* If you chose **Schedule**, you may be warned about non-blocking issues before it's scheduled.

## Manage a campaign after you create it [#manage-a-campaign-after-you-create-it]

Open the campaign from the list. The **Campaign controls** card only shows actions that make sense right now:

* **Run preflight** – checks the campaign again. **Ready to deliver** means it's good to go. **Preflight needs attention** lists what to fix and how many recipients are deliverable.
* **Send test** – enter an address and send a test copy.
* **Send now** – starts delivery.
* **Schedule** – choose a date, time, and time zone.
* **Pause** / **Resume** – stops or restarts delivery.
* **Unschedule** – returns a scheduled campaign to draft.
* **Refresh template** – replaces a draft's content with the latest saved template.
* **Cancel** – stops remaining delivery. Emails already sent can't be recalled.
* **Archive** – hides the campaign. Its analytics stay available.

### Campaign statuses [#campaign-statuses]

The list can be filtered by **Draft**, **Scheduled**, **Sending**, **Paused**, **Completed**, **Partially failed**, **Failed**, and **Archived**. It shows **Delivery progress**, **Unique opens**, and **Unique clicks** for each campaign.

## Worked example: a scheduled monthly update [#worked-example-a-scheduled-monthly-update]

1. **Basics:** name it "October update" and keep both tracking options on.
2. **Audience:** pick "Newsletter subscribers". You see 1,240 matched and 1,198 deliverable. The rest are opted out or suppressed.
3. **Content:** choose your published "Monthly update" template.
4. **Sender & schedule:** choose [news@mail.yourcompany.com](mailto:news@mail.yourcompany.com) under **Managed by Spacebrain**, then **Schedule** for Tuesday at 10:00.
5. **Review:** turn on a two-variant test with a second subject line and **Click rate** as the objective. Select **Create campaign**.
6. Open the campaign, use **Send test** to send one to yourself, and read it on your phone. If you spot a typo, select **Unschedule**, fix the template, select **Refresh template**, and schedule again.

## Build an email automation [#build-an-email-automation]

1. Open **Email → Automations** and select **New Automation**.
2. In **Create an Email Automation**, choose a starting point:
   * Pick a recipe and select **Use recipe**. Some recipes ask you to **Set up** a few details first.
   * Or choose **Start from blank**, which gives you a trigger connected to an end step.
3. The builder opens. Give it an **Automation name** and a description.
4. Select the **Trigger** and choose what starts it. Depending on your workspace, triggers include a signup form being submitted, a contact being added to an audience, a contact field or tag changing, a conversion event, a membership event, or a schedule.
5. Add steps between the trigger and the end. Steps include **Send email**, **Wait**, **Condition**, **A/B split**, **Goal**, **Update audience**, **Update tag**, **Update field**, **Deliver reward**, and **Send webhook**. Select a step to set it up under **Configure step**.
6. Select **Save** often. The header shows **Saved**, **Unsaved changes**, or **Save failed**.
7. Select **Test** to check the automation for problems. Fix every issue shown.
8. When the header says **Ready to publish**, select **Publish**.

Recipes create ordinary drafts you can edit. Placeholder templates and audiences in a recipe must be replaced before you publish. Until then the builder shows **Draft · not sending emails**.

### Manage automations [#manage-automations]

In the automation list, filter by **Draft**, **Active**, **Paused**, or **Archived**. Use the actions to **Open**, **Duplicate**, **Archive**, or **Delete** an automation. In the builder you can also **Pause** and **Resume**.

> **Warning — Deleting stops contacts where they are**
>
> Deleting an automation removes it permanently. Contacts currently in it stop at their current step and don't get the remaining emails. Pause it instead if you might need it again.

Select **Reports** on the automations page to see how your email automations are performing. For automations that span CRM, channels, and sites, see [Automations](/automations/).

## If something goes wrong [#if-something-goes-wrong]

| What you see                                                     | What to do                                                                                 |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **No saved audiences**                                           | Create an audience, then return to the campaign.                                           |
| **No published templates**                                       | Publish a template first.                                                                  |
| **No sender is ready**                                           | Connect an account or finish managed sending setup and approval.                           |
| **The campaign was saved, but preflight found blocking issues.** | Open the campaign, select **Run preflight**, and fix each item listed.                     |
| **This campaign changed elsewhere**                              | Someone else edited it. Select **Reload now** before making changes.                       |
| Campaign stuck on **Sending**                                    | Managed sending may be pacing to your daily allowance. Check **Deliverability → Warm-up**. |
| **Fix every validation issue before publishing.**                | Select **Test** in the automation builder and fix each listed step.                        |
| **This draft changed in another session**                        | Choose **Reload server draft** or **Keep my draft**.                                       |

## FAQ [#faq]

### Can I change a campaign after it starts sending? [#can-i-change-a-campaign-after-it-starts-sending]

No. Once delivery starts, the audience and content are locked. You can pause, resume, or cancel remaining delivery.

### Does a scheduled campaign include people who join the audience later? [#does-a-scheduled-campaign-include-people-who-join-the-audience-later]

Yes, up to the moment delivery begins. The audience is checked again and frozen when sending starts.

### Why can't I publish my automation? [#why-cant-i-publish-my-automation]

The builder only allows publishing when every step is set up. Select **Test** to list the problems, such as a **Send email** step without a template or sender, or a recipe placeholder that still needs a real audience.

## Next step [#next-step]

Track results under **Email → Analytics**, and keep your sender healthy with [Templates and deliverability](/email/templates-and-deliverability/#check-deliverability).