An email link preflight for the message that will actually arrive

The copy has been approved and the email platform says the campaign is ready. One last check can still find a link pasted into the wrong image, a button carrying last month’s parameters or an offer that looks different on a phone. A destination inventory helps, but the recipient receives an email, not the inventory.

Send yourself the final version

Use the sending platform’s real test-delivery process. Open the message in a representative mailbox and on a phone your audience uses. When the platform rewrites links for click reporting, the delivered route is the one that matters. Do not disable the wrapper solely to make your test easier.

The following checklist is a review record. It does not send email or certify inbox placement.

Campaign and version:
Test recipient and device:
Test time and timezone:

- [ ] Subject and sender match the approved version.
- [ ] Hero image opens the promised page.
- [ ] Main CTA opens the intended destination after all wrappers.
- [ ] Visible fallback link goes to the same appropriate resource.
- [ ] Source, medium and campaign are correct at the destination.
- [ ] Page works without an employee's existing login, where public access is intended.
- [ ] Offer dates and currency agree between email and page.
- [ ] Unsubscribe and required preference controls use the sending platform's supported process.
- [ ] Test requests are noted before reporting begins.
Reviewer and unresolved issues:

Work through the wrong-month example

Imagine a November restock email whose hero still points to October’s sale. The main button is correct, so a reviewer testing one CTA could miss the mismatch. Record both controls separately. Replace the hero target in the email editor, send another test and verify the new delivered message. Editing the sheet does not repair an already configured email.

If both controls intentionally use one SendURL link, their requests will be combined. Use different saved links when the reporting question needs hero-versus-button detail. Avoid inferring that a mailbox security fetch is a human click merely because the request appeared immediately after delivery.

Give failures an owner

A broken destination belongs with the page owner; a wrapper problem belongs with the sending platform or its administrator. Save enough non-sensitive evidence to reproduce the issue: campaign version, control label and observed destination. Keep recipient addresses, access tokens and private order parameters out of a broadly shared QA sheet.

Compare the email platform’s filtered click report with SendURL requests using the same dates and timezone. Then inspect website sessions or orders as their own events. These numbers can disagree without either tool being broken.

After approval, save the placement links in SendURL. If the campaign depends on editing destinations after sending, check the Pro-or-higher destination-edit feature before launch. A successful preflight is evidence of what you tested at that time, not a guarantee that a destination will never change.

Background for a high early count

Bot Clicks and Link Previews: Why Your Click Count Is High explains why automated retrieval can appear beside recipient activity.