What has to be ready before a campaign can send?

The site needs its own verified sender, a matching active email setup, current Terms accepted by an account owner, no marketing pause, enough monthly allowance and access to the controlled rollout. The final campaign still needs its own approval after all of those pass.

Will Bernard use a shared address while mine is being checked?

No. Audience campaigns never fall back to Bernard's platform address. Your site and inbox keep working, and automatic practical emails use their separately shown route, but the campaign waits.

Can setting up the sender accidentally send my campaign?

No. Setup and record checks do not send mail or enable a campaign. Bernard first shows the exact domain it will prepare and asks for approval before changing the setup.

Why does everything look ready but sending is still unavailable?

Campaigns are being opened in a controlled rollout. A site outside the current group can prepare drafts, templates and previews, but tests and audience sends remain unavailable until it is enabled.

Why can't I send my email campaign?

A blocked campaign does not mean your website or inbox is broken. Campaign sending has its own checklist, and Bernard stops at the first missing part rather than trying another route.

The readiness checks

Open Community → Email campaigns. The page lists the current blockers in the order they need attention:

Your site's sending address is not ready. Set up the address shown on the site's Custom domain page, then add every record Bernard gives you. New setups usually show five required records, plus a sixth recommended protection record when your domain does not already have one. Older setups can show two.
The sender does not belong to this exact site. A verified address for another site or account cannot be borrowed. Each site's audience mail keeps its own identity and unsubscribe boundary.
The current Terms have not been accepted. An account owner must accept them. Another member cannot do it on the owner's behalf.
Marketing is paused. This is a deliberate safety stop. Ask Bernard to explain the pause rather than trying to work around it.
The monthly allowance cannot cover the audience. Bernard blocks the whole campaign before the first message. How many campaign emails can I send? explains the allowance and the options.
The rollout is not open for this site yet. You can keep writing and previewing, but tests and audience sends remain off.

Fix the sender without touching your inbox

Sender setup changes only Bernard's permission to send as your domain. It does not move your mailbox, change how you receive email or alter your website records. The setup itself is quoted first, tied to the exact domain, and waits for approval. It sends no email.

If the records are present but the page is still waiting, use the Retry action or ask Bernard to check them again. I added the email records but they are not working explains the common provider mistakes.

When every blocker clears

Readiness only opens the door. It does not approve a draft. The campaign still goes through its saved preview, exact recipient count and final send approval described in Send an email campaign to my audience. The wider picture is in How do email campaigns work?.

The prompt

“Check why campaign sending is blocked for [my site]. Explain each blocker in plain English and help me fix the next one without sending anything.”

Press Copy, then paste it into your AI and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard first - a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI.

Questions people ask

What has to be ready before a campaign can send?: The site needs its own verified sender, a matching active email setup, current Terms accepted by an account owner, no marketing pause, enough monthly allowance and access to the controlled rollout. The final campaign still needs its own approval after all of those pass.
Will Bernard use a shared address while mine is being checked?: No. Audience campaigns never fall back to Bernard's platform address. Your site and inbox keep working, and automatic practical emails use their separately shown route, but the campaign waits.
Can setting up the sender accidentally send my campaign?: No. Setup and record checks do not send mail or enable a campaign. Bernard first shows the exact domain it will prepare and asks for approval before changing the setup.
Why does everything look ready but sending is still unavailable?: Campaigns are being opened in a controlled rollout. A site outside the current group can prepare drafts, templates and previews, but tests and audience sends remain unavailable until it is enabled.