Fix << Test First Name >> in Mailchimp Email Campaigns

Time needed: 3 minutes.

If you create an email campaign in Mailchimp and send a test email to yourself you may see << Test First Name >> where the first name should appear. This issue is to be expected as there is no first name available for a test email.
Below is a means to check that your merge tags are working as expected even although you may continue to see << Test First Name >> when using the first name merge tag in a Mailchimp email campaign and sending yourself a test email.

1. Design your email campaign

   Create your email campaign in Mailchimp as you usually would. Continue to design your email campaign until such time as you’re ready to test your campaign.

2. Enter “Preview Mode”

   Click “Preview and Test” then “Enter preview mode”.

3. Test that merge tags are working as expected

   Click the slider next to “Enable live merge tag info”. On the right side of the screen you should now see your merge tags working.