Your dashboard shows a checklist that ticks itself off as you go. Here is the same path with a bit more detail.
1. Verify a sending domain
Emails go out from your own domain, for example [email protected]. Under Settings → Sending domains, add the domain and publish the DNS records we show you (SPF, DKIM, a return-path and DMARC). Verification usually takes a few minutes. See Sending domains.
2. Add a sender
Once the domain is verified, add a sender identity: the name and address people see in their inbox, plus an optional reply-to.
3. Create an audience
An audience is a list people subscribe to, such as "Newsletter" or "Customers". Each audience has its own unsubscribe group, so leaving one list does not remove someone from the others.
4. Bring in contacts
Import a CSV, add people by hand, publish a signup form or sync them through the API.
5. Design an email
Open Templates and build your email in the drag-and-drop editor. Use merge tags like {{first_name|there}} to personalise it.
6. Send a campaign
Create a campaign, pick the audience or a segment, choose the template and send yourself a test. Then send now or schedule it. Results appear in the campaign report as opens, clicks and bounces come in.