Dynamic Preview lets you see how emails will look with real contact data before sending, for both Email Campaigns and Automation. Use it to test personalized content, event-triggered details (like abandoned cart items), and product recommendations.
This guide shows you how to preview personalized content using real contact and event data.
Before You Begin
Sample limits: Dynamic Preview displays up to 10 contacts or events.
No events? If a contact hasn't triggered events (e.g., no cart abandonment), you'll see "No events to display." Test by interacting with your store using your own contact.
Campaigns vs. Automations:
Email Campaigns: Preview shows personalization (names, locations). Event data isn't available.
Automation Emails: Preview includes event data (cart items, order details, product recommendations) based on the workflow trigger.
Name filtering in Campaigns: Contacts without first or last names won't appear in Campaign previews.
How Dynamic Preview Works
Dynamic Preview pulls data from two sources:
Contact properties: Names, locations, custom properties, etc. stored in your contact profiles.
Event data: Actions like "Started Checkout" or "Placed Order." Omnisend receives details (cart items, quantities, product images, totals) from your ecommerce platform and passes them as event variables.
When you preview an email, Dynamic Preview populates personalization tags and dynamic content blocks with this data, so you see exactly what each recipient will see.
Previewing with real data helps you:
Catch missing or incorrect personalization tags.
Verify event variables.
Ensure your email renders correctly before sending.
Dynamic Preview vs. Test Email:
Dynamic Preview: Shows how emails look with real contact data inside the editor. Use it to verify personalization before sending.
Test Email: Sends a layout-only email to your inbox and does not populate dynamic content.
How to Use Dynamic Preview
Step 1. Open Your Email
Open the email you want to preview under your Campaigns or Automation.
Make sure to add event variables or personalization tags that you can populate using the Dynamic Preview.
Step 2. Click Preview & Test
In the Email Builder toolbar, click Preview & Test.
Step 3. Select a Contact
In the preview panel, locate Preview as one of your contacts and choose a contact from the dropdown to see their personalized version.
💡 You can choose from up to 10 contacts.
If no events are available, you’ll see the message “No events to display.” To generate preview data, interact with your store using a test contact in your Audience or wait for customer activity.
Step 4. Review Data
Depending on your message type (campaign or automation), you’ll see:
Message type | Profile properties | Event properties |
Campaigns | Personalization tags (name, address, custom properties, etc.) | Not Available |
Automations | Personalization tags (name, address, custom properties, etc.) | Data from the workflow trigger, such as:
|
💡 Tip: For emails that include event data, click Event details to see a summary. Expand the list to view the full event payload.
Note: If a contact triggered the same event multiple times, they may appear multiple times in the list, allowing you to preview variations based on repeated actions.
Use Cases
Abandoned Cart Emails (Automation): Preview cart items, product images, and prices for contacts who left items in their cart. Ensure dynamic product blocks display correctly.
Order Confirmation Emails (Automation): See order details (items, quantities, totals) before the email goes out. Verify billing/shipping information appears accurately.
Personalization in Email Campaigns: Test name tags, location-based content, and custom properties with real contact data. Confirm fallback text displays when data is missing (e.g., "Hi there" instead of a blank name).
Product Recommender Blocks (Campaigns and Automation): Preview personalized product recommendations (e.g., "Recently Viewed," "Similar to Past Purchase") using real browsing/purchase history.
Tips for Better Previews
Before sending your campaign or activating your automation, take a moment to review your message using Dynamic Preview. A quick check can help you catch personalization issues and ensure everything displays correctly.
Personalization matters: Highly personalized emails significantly improve engagement. Use Dynamic Preview to ensure every tag pulls the correct data.
Test edge cases: Preview contacts with missing data (no name, no events) to confirm fallback text works.
Iterate: Refine content based on previews. If a tag looks wrong, fix it before scheduling.
FAQ
Why don't my test emails show personalization?
Test emails don't populate personalized content like contact names, discount codes, or event data. This is an expected behavior. To see personalization, use the Dynamic Preview.
Need a hand? Chat with our Support Team directly in the app or email [email protected].