After you get creative assets from your sponsor and finalize the design of your ad, it's important to do a test send of your draft to make sure the ad is appearing correctly on both mobile and desktop devices.
We also need to make sure the tracking link and open pixel we provided are being utilized properly so we (and the advertiser) can accurately track campaign performance. This is why we request a test send of your draft campaign before it goes live.
Here's how the test email process works, and what you should do if your test email is rejected.
Send a Draft Test Email
Sending a test email to Paved is easy. Every campaign gets a custom email address that you can use for testing. Here's how to use it:
On the Campaigns page of your Paved account, click the name of the campaign you want to work with.
Navigate to the Creative step.
You’ll note a message that reads, “Please send a draft copy of this campaign to [email protected] for approval”. Note: This address is unique for every campaign, so always check the campaign to get the appropriate email address to send your draft.
With your ESP, send a test email to that email address. We recommend you send it directly from your email editor and not by forwarding the email as an image or another email, since this can cause a system error and your draft will be automatically rejected.
After sending, you will receive an email from Paved letting you that your draft has been accepted! Now it’s up to the advertiser to approve or request changes to the sponsorship.
Best Practices to Avoid Campaign Rejection
If your draft is rejected, it may be due to one of these reasons:
More than one open pixel: We detected duplicate open pixels.
Open pixel from the wrong campaign: The open pixel is from another campaign.
Open pixel missing: The open pixel is not included.
Redirect links missing: The landing page link isn’t present in the email draft.
Wrong redirect link used: The wrong landing page link is being used.
Follow the steps in this section to troubleshoot a campaign rejection.
1. Double-Check Your Open Pixel
The open pixel is a snippet of HTML code that needs to be included within the HTML code of your newsletter.
Learn more in our guide: Open Pixel Installation
We use the open pixel to track the total number of opens for your campaign so you don’t have to manually track and share your stats with us.
The open pixel looks like this (note “0000” will be replaced with your campaign number):
<img src='https://www.vpdae.com/open/0000.gif?opens=1' width='1' height='1'>
2. Troubleshoot the Open Pixel
If there's a problem with your open pixel, your campaign draft will be rejected. Here are 3 common fixes for open pixel issues:
The pixel was not added.
If you haven’t yet added the pixel, you can find directions on how to find the pixel: Open Pixel Installation
The wrong pixel was used.
If you have multiple campaigns, it’s possible that you’ve used the pixel from a previous campaign in your current one. Return to your campaign dashboard and ensure you’ve copied the pixel from the appropriate campaign.
The pixel is in the wrong location.
Another possibility is that you may have placed your pixel in the wrong location. The pixel must be placed in the HTML body code of your newsletter. Please feel free to contact Paved's support team if you are unsure.
Your ESP may have changed or removed the pixel.
If you’ve checked all of the above possibilities, and your pixel is properly placed, then it’s possible your ESP has changed or removed the pixel. We have seen this happen with some ESPs like Substack or if you export your email’s HTML from a builder like Stripo. These links are vital and we can’t track your campaign’s open rate without them. Contact your ESP to see if there is a way to troubleshoot this issue with them.
You haven’t sent a test email
If you HAVE added the pixel but your draft is still rejected, remember that you need to send an actual test email of your draft, NOT a link or screenshot.
If you’ve attempted each of these solutions and are still having issues, contact Paved's support team.
3. Double-Check Your Redirect Link(s)
The redirect link is the link Paved automatically sets up to track how many clicks a sponsorship gets. If it's been removed or is missing, the campaign draft will be rejected.
The redirect link format is as follows (with x being replaced by a string of random numbers unique to your campaign):
4. Troubleshoot the Redirect Link
If your campaign draft is missing the redirect link, there are two reasons why that might be. We’ll share each of those reasons below, and the steps you can take to address them.
1.The redirect link isn’t detected.
If you haven’t added the proper redirect link to your campaign, you can find it here:
2. The wrong redirect link is being used.
Return to your campaign dashboard and ensure you’ve copied the redirect link from the appropriate campaign. Copy the appropriate redirect link and then open the HTML for your ESP and replace the incorrect redirect link with the correct one.
If you’ve attempted both of these solutions and are still having issues, please reach out to account support.
About Paved Campaign Tracking
We use special redirect links and an open pixel that allows us to provide reporting to the advertiser and track audience engagement. This data is then passed to your Paved profile automatically, making it more robust.
Additionally, this tracking is used to verify that a campaign has indeed been sent, so we can issue payment expediently.
We do not share tracking data with any third parties. Want more info on Paved security and terms of service? See our publisher terms.
Next Steps
After sending your test email and including the right open pixel and tracking links, you will receive an email from Paved letting you that your draft has been accepted! Now, it’s up to the advertiser to approve or request changes to the sponsorship.
