New to Campaigns? Some common early mistakes that might occur

New to Campaigns? Some common early mistakes that might occur

Hello Marketers,
Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space.
If you're just getting started with Zoho Campaigns, things can feel exciting and slightly confusing at the same time. You're not alone. Most early frustrations come from setup gaps rather than product issues.

Looking at all the features in the product, many new users tend to run into the same few roadblocks. In this post, we'll breakdown what usually causes trouble (and how to avoid it). Whether you're just setting up your first campaign or refining your existing process, this post will help you build a strong foundation early.

Skipping domain authentication   

Many users start sending campaigns before setting up SPF and DKIM properly. Here's what happens when they skip it:
  1. Emails are visibly sent from "via zcsend.net".
  2. They encounter lower inbox placement.
  3. They result in trust issues in Gmail or Outlook.
Domain authentication isn't optional if you care about deliverability; it should be step one.

What can you do instead?
  1. Add and verify your sending domain inside Zoho Campaigns before launching your first campaign.
  2. Configure SPF and DKIM records in your domain's DNS settings.
  3. Wait for verification confirmation before sending in bulk.
  4. Run a small test campaign after setup to confirm proper alignment.
Authentication issues don't just affect inbox placement; they can also prevent campaigns from going out altogether.

Campaign moves back to draft after sending   

This often happens because one of the final checks fails—like sender verification, mandatory fields, or authentication settings.
Before clicking send, ensure the following:
  1. Your sender email is verified.
  2. Authentication (SPF/DKIM) is properly configured.
  3. You've reviewed the campaign checklist inside the editor carefully.
Most "failure to send" cases are configuration-related, not system errors.

Uploading large or unclean contact lists without preparation   

Many new users decide to import a large database and send a campaign immediately. Others upload lists that haven't been cleaned in months or years. Both situations can quietly hurt performance.
Common issues include:
  1. Importing thousands of old or inactive contacts at once
  2. Sending to contacts who haven't engaged in a long time
  3. Including duplicate entries
  4. Not removing bounced or inactive addresses
What does this lead to?
  1. Low open and click rates
  2. Higher bounce rates
  3. Increased spam complaints
  4. Poor sender reputation
For new accounts especially, this can impact deliverability very quickly.
A better way to approach this is to do the following:
  1. Start with your most engaged contacts.
  2. Gradually increase volume over time.
  3. Remove duplicates and inactive addresses.
  4. Segment your contacts based on engagement before sending.
Good deliverability isn't just about authentication; it's also about list hygiene and sending behavior.

Open rates show zero (especially in Gmail)

Open tracking depends on images being loaded. If the recipient's email client blocks images by default, if privacy protection is enabled (especially on Apple devices), or if images are preloaded differently, the open may not register.
This is common with:
  1. Gmail (especially with image blocking)
  2. Privacy-focused email settings
  3. Apple Mail privacy protection
A sudden drop in open rate doesn't always mean your emails aren't being read.
So what is the fix?
  1. Send internal test emails to see if tracking pixels are functioning.
  2. Use A/B tests to validate subject line performance rather than judging from one send.
  3. Compare trends over a period of time instead judging from one campaign.
Your open rate should be treated as an indicator, not as an exact measurement—because it isn't.

Automation doesn't trigger for everyone   

A common assumption is that once automation is active, it applies to all contacts, and users forget that building automations without testing entry conditions might never yield expected results.
A workflow may look correct, but in reality:
  1. Contacts must meet the trigger conditions.
  2. They must enter the workflow at the correct stage.
  3. Timing filters and status settings matter
This is usually a logic issue, not a bug. So how can you solve it?
  1. Test the workflow using a sample contact before activating it fully.
  2. Double-check entry criteria and filter rules.
  3. Review contact status and segmentation settings.
  4. Use the workflow report to confirm whether contacts entered the automation.

Not testing across devices and email services 

Emails that look perfect in the Zoho Campaigns editor may:
  1. Break in emails formatting/structure.
  2. Stack oddly on mobile displays.
  3. Misalign buttons.
The clear action is to first find out how your email looks via the Preview and Test mode, after which you can always send those test emails from the same section and see the actual results.
You can send such emails to:
  1. Gmail
  2. Outlook
  3. Mobile devices


The editor preview is not a perfectly accurate reflection of the real inbox view, so we always recommend that you test your email campaigns first across different devices and email services before sending them in bulk.

Ignoring spam score or content red flags 

The actual content of your email plays a major role in where it lands.
Common content-related mistakes include:
  1. Using heavy promotional language like "BUY NOW," "LIMITED OFFER," or excessive exclamation marks
  2. Writing subject lines that feel overly aggressive or misleading
  3. Including too many links in a short email
  4. Using shortened URLs
  5. Designing image-only emails with very little supporting text
  6. Embedding large attachments directly in the campaign
Another common oversight is not checking the spam score before sending. Even if the content feels fine, running it through the built-in checks helps identify structural red flags early.
Here's a better approach:
  1. Maintain a healthy balance between text and images.
  2. Keep links purposeful and minimal.
  3. Avoid excessive capitalization and exaggerated claims.
  4. Write subject lines that are clear rather than sensational.
  5. Test-send and review how the email appears in different inboxes.
Sending successful campaigns is all about earning inbox trust through clean structure and responsible messaging.

If you're just starting out, take your time with the setup. A well-configured account will always outperform a rushed campaign.

If you've already encountered one or more of these issues, you're not alone; they're all part of the learning curve. Feel free to share your experiences or additional insights in the comments below. Your input might help another marketer avoid the same roadblock.

Until next time, happy campaigning!

Regards,
Yashwanth S
User Education
Zoho Campaigns Team

    • Recent Topics

    • Live connection to DS files in Zoho Creator / ChatGPT

      As an idea, we are using ChatGPT to build with Zoho Creator (outside of Zia), which is works brilliantly to assist write deluge, provide test suggesitons etc. Currently we are uploading the DS files which are very point in time, it would be great to have

    • Images Not Displaying Properly in Zoho Desk

      Hi, We are experiencing an issue with image rendering in Zoho Desk, affecting both incoming and outgoing emails. Images embedded in email conversations are not displaying properly. Instead, we see broken image icons or empty placeholders where the images

    • Meet PageHealth by Zoho PageSense: a free way to find out what's holding your page back

      We all know the feeling. You've spent days tweaking headlines, moving buttons, and rewriting copy, and you're still not sure why visitors aren't sticking around. Revamping your website is hard, and figuring out what's actually getting in the way is even

    • Export Exchange Online Archive Mailboxes to PST for Microsft 365 Users

      With Microsoft 365 it is possible to archive older emails in Exchange Online in order to keep the main mailbox tidy. If however you need to export the archived emails to a PST file for the purposes of backup, migration, compliance or for use offline,

    • Lookups and Custom Modules

      I created a Custom Module that I'm calling "Item Purchasing Group". This module will store information for groups of Items that must be purchased together (including minimum overall quantities and/or values, etc.). This will have a one-to-many relationship

    • Task Module quick create settings

      Hello, requesting the Task module receive a quick create customization settings. We have added custom fields and have to select "More fields" at the bottom of the pop-up to access the custom fields.

    • Your employees changed departments. Did your IT systems notice?

      An employee joins your Marketing team. HR adds their details to the organization's user directory. The IT admin, in turn, creates their Zoho One account, assigns the required applications, adds them to groups and provides access based on the organization's

    • AI Calling

      Hi, does anyone have experience or any thoughts on AI Calling. Getting AI to make calls on behalf of your company. We are looking into it, but are finding it difficult to get info and providers that can assist.

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | August 2026

      Hello users, July has been an exciting month for Zoho Books! This month, we're excited to introduce HTML PDF Templates, Placeholders as Pills, expanded approval workflows for Sales Returns and Journals, and significant compliance updates across the India,

    • Button or Links order

      Is there a way to re-order the buttons or links that are created? Moderation Update: With our recent enhancement to custom button creation from the layout editor, administrators can now reorder custom buttons directly from the layout editor, and this

    • Email Forwarding to Zoho Desk Failing After Migration from Gmail to Outlook (Microsoft)

      We recently migrated from Gmail to Microsoft Outlook. Since the migration date, emails sent by our customers are no longer being received by Zoho Desk. I tried setting up the email forwarding rules in Outlook similar to what we had in Gmail, but it still

    • Option to Disable Knowledge Base Section in Feedback Widget Popup Hello Zoho Desk Team

      Hello Zoho Desk Team, How are you? We are actively using Zoho Desk and would like to make more use of the Feedback Widget. One of the ways we implement it is through the popup option. At the moment, the popup always displays the Knowledge Base section,

    • How to Fix an Outlook OST File That Cannot Be Opened

      Have you at any time attempted to open Outlook only to find that your OST file cannot be accessed? It can be very annoying, particularly since the file holds important emails, attachments, and other mailbox data. This problem might arise due to file corruption,

    • Record positive and negative bank transactions in the same expense account

      Hello, I hosted a promotional event and paid a vendor $600 for food catering (bento boxes). Twenty people attended the event, and each person paid $30 for a bento box, resulting in 20 separate $30 transactions deposited into the bank. I coded the $600

    • Widget Height were destroyed

      All widget heights in the Details Canvas view are broken. Moderation Update: This is a known issue with widget heights in Client Script popups and flyouts. A fix is in progress, and this post will be updated once it's released.

    • Address limits per customer by edition

      I’m on the Standard edition and have reached a limit of 30 addresses under a single customer. Before I move to an annual Professional subscription, I need to confirm the following: What is the maximum number of addresses allowed under one contact, and

    • Is it possible to log text messages from iphone into Zoho CRM

      My team is more and more utilizing text messaging to communicate with clients. Does Zoho have a solution for logging these text messages when clicking "Send Text Message" from the Zoho app. Much like when you call, you get prompted to log a call, can

    • CRM Address Field - States with Countries in brackets

      Hi, Could you please remove the country in brackets from the Global State List, or at least allow us to edit these entries? It looks like the brackets were added during the initial data population, perhaps by someone building the list in a spreadsheet

    • 👍 Zoho CRM's Notes now gets Reactions and a new look

      Available in SA and JP DCs. Rolling out to other DCs in phases. Hello everyone, Notes help users capture important updates, collaborate with teammates, and maintain context for records. Now with Note Reactions, users can quickly acknowledge updates, express

    • How can I show an uploaded image larger/full size in a Zoho Forms response PDF?

      Hi,  I noticed that in a response PDF for Forms, the uploaded image is shown in a tiny box as seen in my screenshot. Is there any way I can make that appear larger in the response PDF? thanks.

    • Convert MSG to PDF in Bulk with Attachment Free

      Microsoft Outlook saves each email as an MSG file, keeping with it key information like the sender, the recipient, the subject, the date, the body of the message, and any attachments. It can, however, be quite difficult to access a large number of MSG

    • Zoho Tables is now part of Zoho One!

      Hey everyone! We've got some exciting news to share. Zoho Tables is now included in your Zoho One subscription at no extra cost. If you're already on Zoho One, head to your app list, add Zoho Tables, and get started right away. You don't need a separate

    • How to mass find and delete duplicate files from OneDrive

      It is easy to save documents, photos, videos, and all other types of files using Onedrive, but if you upload the same files more than once then your OneDrive storage can end up being filled with a large number of duplicate files. Manually searching out

    • Different Report sharing filters within same Dashboard

      I have a question about sharing filters for a dashboard which contains separate reports built from the same query. Below are the pieces of the puzzle: - “Sales Query”: line-level query containing sales for a team of 5 sales reps; there’s no need for the

    • Specifying time increments on a Date/Time field

      Hi all, Im using a Date/Time field in my CRM module. At the moment the increments are 30 minutes. How can I change these to be 15 minutes? Thanks

    • not able to convert pdf to jpg and other forms and vice versa.

      i want to change my pdf to jpg, word, etc and some times jpg to pdf. i don't know how to do in this.

    • Make Your Workflows Smarter with Zia Agents

      Hello, Enterprise Support Community, Workflow rules can now go beyond predefined actions. Zia Agents can now be invoked directly from workflow rules in Zoho CRM, allowing you to bring contextual, AI powered actions into your automated processes. Choose

    • How can I add a Custom Field (or Customer_name) to a picklist?

      Our workflow is Shopify-->SO -->Picklist-->Package-->Shipment. We would like to have the Picklist template to include a custom field "Customer_Notes" (we have created this field already). This way we get alerted when a customer has notes on their account.

    • DYK 14: Create Tasks with AI

      Did you know AI can suggest tasks within your Zoho Projects portal? Breaking a project into clear, actionable work items takes time and manual effort. Especially when the same team handles both planning and execution. AI task suggestions in Zoho Projects

    • #11 Nithya's First Overseas Client

      Nithya designs for clients in three countries and has never met any of them. Her first overseas invoice took a full evening. The second took four minutes. The difference was not a clever tax trick. She stopped treating every international customer as

    • Other languages in Schedulers (Zoho Books)

      Hello everyone, currently we have create functions in other languages, like nodejs etc but on schedulers we can use only deluge.. Are other languages on schedulers roll out? Kind regards, Sakis Oikonomou

    • New in Office Integrator: Extract data from images into your spreadsheet

      Hi users, We are pleased to introduce the Data from Picture feature in Zoho Office Integrator's spreadsheet editor. It intelligently detects and organizes text and numbers from any image into structured cells using OCR. With this feature, users can turn

    • Edit PDFs using Zoho PDF Editor

      Hello users, In a previous article, we covered the organizing capabilities of Zoho PDF Editor. Here, we'll provide a quick recap of its editing features, including a few new additions. A few highlights of Zoho PDF Editor's editing capabilities: Add and

    • Announcing the new SKILL.md for Zoho CRM and the updated OAS repository!

      We are introducing a new zoho-crm skill to make working with Zoho CRM Developer tools (like APIs, functions, widgets, client scripts, queries etc) easier and faster, with the help of AI in your preferred AI harness like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VSCode

    • Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.

      Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.

    • Solution to Import OST File into Office 365.

      In today’s digital workplace, organizations are rapidly moving toward cloud-based email systems for better flexibility, security, and collaboration. Microsoft 365 has become one of the most widely used platforms for business communication. A common requirement

    • Multiple subscription plan line items in Zoho Billing quotes

      I run an IT company and sell a lot of licences. A client might have multiple subscription plans including software licences in different categories. A client might have Microsoft licences, antivirus licences, web hosting and maintenance package services.

    • Mail Merge templates in Sandbox

      Rolled out for all DCs Hello everyone, You can now create and test Mail Merge templates directly in Sandbox, making it easier to validate document generation without affecting your live organization. Why this matters Mail Merge templates are often used

    • Convert MBOX to PST File Using Free Methods

      MBOX is a mailbox format that is used by various email clients and services, such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Eudora, and Google Takeout. Yet, in order to be able to open your MBOX emails in Microsoft Outlook, you have to convert them from MBOX to PST

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | October 2026

      Hello users, October brings a range of new features and enhancements to Zoho Books, designed to simplify compliance, streamline accounting workflows, and improve inventory management. From the launch of the Nigeria Edition and France’s e-invoicing capabilities

    • Next Page