Thursday, June 26, 2014

On Track With Jack: Test Personalization With a Test List

The sun is shining out here in Dayton, Ohio and next week is the Fourth of July!  Before the fireworks, picnics, and barbecues kickoff make sure your email marketing has a personal touch.  Customers respond better to messages that are tailored specifically to them.

With JangoMail you can easily personalize your messages beyond a first and last name.  You can send personalized:

  • Subject Lines
  • Messages
  • From Email Address
  • From Display Name
  • Reply-To Address
  • CC Address
  • BCC Address
  • Attachments

Today, my tip is on testing personalization:



Test Personalization With a Test List



In order for a successful test, you must send to a list.  Personalization will not work by just clicking the “Send a Test” button and sending a preview.  When we test our campaigns, I have a special “Jack” test list I’ve created with a few of my own personal email addresses. 

When I’m ready to preview my campaign I send to my “Jack” test list first.  Again, I’m going through the same steps that I normally would when sending a campaign, but just sending to my test list and no others.  Always double check your lists before you hit Send to make sure you’re only sending to your test list.  Once you've received your message and everything looks good, you’re ready to officially send to your active customer lists or database.

To recap: Customers respond better to messages that are personalized. Make sure you test your personalization with a test list in JangoMail.

If you need a refresher on how to create a new list like a “Jack” test list, take a look at the list section in our Quick Stat Guide.  For a step-by-step guide on how to incorporate personalization in your emails, check out our documentation.




Have questions? Ask. Dial 1-888-465-2646 or drop us a line here.

Jack the Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoMail



About Jack
Jack the Jangolope is our JangoMail mascot.  Each week, look for Jack's emails for marketing advice, trends, and quick tips on how to grow your email marketing plan to the fullest!  Hop into email marketing each week with Jack's helpful tips!
We want to hear from you. Remember, at JangoMail it's your email, your way.  Have a topic you would like Jack to cover?  Email us at marketing@jangomemail.com with the subject line: On Track With Jack.  Follow Jack on Facebook

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

JangoSMS Announcement


By: Amber Henry
Account Executive

Things have been warming up here at JangoMail just as summer kicks off this Saturday!  We are very excited to launch JangoSMS.  In a few short months you can reach any customer, anywhere!



JangoSMS, a unified platform for mass email and mass texting.





With JangoSMS, you can send:

  • Immediate, real-time alerts for important messages
  • Transactional notifications, such as shipping confirmations
  • Announcements for team and club events 
  • Promotions about time-sensitive deals and coupons
  • Alerts about service or new information


Why market via SMS? 

  • Customers are on-the-go more than ever and their smartphones go with them! 
  • More time is spent on smartphones in the U.S. than TV (CTIA).
  • The average person looks at their phone 150 times a day – 23 of those times at messaging (Tomi Ahonen).
  • Mobile coupons have a ten time redemption rate compared to print coupons (BizReport.com).
  • Want to add something new to your marketing campaign? Try text with JangoSMS. Your customers won't be able to put their smartphones down...even more so than they already do!

Important things you should know about SMS marketing:


  1. SMS is PERMISSION-based. You must have express consent to send.
  2. It’s best to have a focused marketing plan in mind that includes SMS before you send your first campaign. 
  3. Set expectations for your customers about what they will receive and how often. The customer shouldn’t opt-in to receive one type of message, and then start receiving a totally different type of message.
  4. Keep in mind that your message will probably be read in less than 5 minutes!
  5. Make every sentence count! JangoSMS messages are limited to 140 characters.
  6. A call to action should be present and the customer’s next step to take clearly explained.

JangoSMS will be available in the United States. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned for more JangoSMS news and information. Contact us for more information!  

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Good and Bad Unsubscribe Techniques

By: Ajay Goel
Founder, Chairman

When I first founded JangoMail, I would subscribe to as many newsletters as I possibly could, in order to check out the "Powered by ..." tagline at the bottom of emails to gauge which companies are using which email marketing services.  It helped me keep an eye on the competition.  Recently, however, I wished to clean up my Inbox and decided to unsubscribe from all of the newsletters that I had originally subscribed to for data collection purposes, but never ended up reading.  I was infuriated at how difficult most email marketing services' unsubscribe processes are and simultaneously proud of JangoMail's own unsubscribe feature, which is simple, intuitive, and customizable.

I found that if an unsubscribe mechanism is too difficult to use, I'm more likely to click my email tool's "report spam" button, which is an easy way to ensure I don't receive that sender's email anymore, but makes me feel guilty for punishing the sender.

A good unsubscribe mechanism:

  1. Focuses on convenience for the user, not on convenience for the sender.
  2. Should require two clicks at the most. One click within the body of the email message, and optionally one click on the web page to confirm that the first click wasn't a mistake or a bot.
  3. Should be instant on the sender's side. An unsubscribe mechanism shouldn't require "2-3 business days for processing".
  4. Should not require you to log in to a website.
  5. Should not email you "one final email" to confirm your unsubscribe. An unsubscribe means you don't want any more email from that organization.

Let's jump right in and look at examples of bad unsubscribe mechanisms:

Constant Contact--"Instant Removal" is anything but instant


To unsubscribe from an email sent by Constant Contact, you must ENTER IN YOUR FULL EMAIL ADDRESS.  This places the burden of the work on the subscriber, not the sender.  Therefore whenever I wish to unsubscribe from a newsletter sent via Constant Contact, I click "report spam" to save myself the work of navigating a difficult unsubscribe process.  As a veteran and proponent of the email marketing industry, I'm loathe to recommend to anyone to use the "report spam" mechanism in favor of the "unsubscribe" mechanism, since the "report spam" button will punish the sender and reduce their deliverability.  In cases where the unsubscribe process is as infuriating as Constant Contact's, however, I'd fully support clicking "report spam" to save the subscriber time. What's even more incredulous is how Constant Contact names its unsubscribe mechanism "Instant Removal with SafeUnsubscribe".  There is nothing "instant" about their unsubscribe mechanism.


eHarmony--requires a login



I haven't been a paid member of eHarmony for years, but I still receive their emails. Asking me to log in to unsubscribe is inconvenient and time consuming.  As a consumer, I'm more likely to report the email as spam instead of taking the time to figure out how to log in, which would require resetting my password since I can't remember what my credentials are, and then, unsubscribing myself.


iContact--insults your intelligence



The Unsubscribe link is prominent and clickable.  The resulting web page tricks the user though, by having the "Continue to send me email" selected by default.  Why would any legitimate email marketing service set that as the default option after a user has just clicked the "Unsubscribe" link?  The "Never email me again" option should instead be pre-selected so that the user need only click the Update button to complete the unsubscribe process.



Silverpop--confusing





In this example, there is no direct unsubscribe link.  Instead the email message provides an "Edit your Email Preferences" link. The resulting web page requires you to enter your email address, and then in what can only be an attempt at a Jedi mind-trick, the bigger more prominent button is the one to NOT UNSUBSCRIBE.  This button is useless, since it would be expected that the user would simply close his browser if he wishes to keep the status quo.

Early on in my career, I had a Yellow-pages ad saleswoman meet me in my office to sell me an advertisement space in the book.  At the end of our meeting, I thanked her for her time, but told her I wasn't interested in buying an advertisement space.  She then whipped out a contract and asked me to sign a statement indicating that I was declining to buy a Yellow-pages ad.  I was mortified.  Can you imagine a world where we have to sign a contract for everything we DO NOT want, versus everything we do want?  Don't make your unsubscribe mechanism remind me of my experience with the Yellow-pages saleswoman.


Zoniac--living in the 90s


Zoniac is an email marketing tool specifically for the IT staffing industry.  They impose a 24-48 hour window on when the unsubscribe will take place.  Imposing a two day time period on making an unsubscribe happen is akin to having a user go to a website and being told that they must wait two days before the homepage loads.  In today's modern world of real-time database transactions and 24-hour connected servers, there is no excuse for an unsubscribe process to take more than a few milliseconds to take effect.

In Conclusion...


Make your unsubscribe link easy to use in order to avoid being reported as spam. A good unsubscribe mechanism is good for email deliverability, and high email deliverability is tantamount to a successful email campaign.  JangoMail's unsubscribe mechanism is a direct link, and each client can customize whether the link within the email instantly unsubscribes the user, or whether the resulting web page asks for a second, confirmation link.  No 24 hour delays, no entering your email address, no logging in, and no "one final email" after the user has unsubscribed.  This is just one way JangoMail delights your subscribers and optimizes your deliverability.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law) Overview




By: Amber Henry

Account Executive





What is CASL?


CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law), pronounced "castle", will come into effect July 1, 2014. You do not have to be a spammer or located in Canada for it to apply to you.  If you send messages from Canada or to anyone who may read it there, this new law applies to you. Not sure where your recipients are located? You could ask, use geotracking, or see which emails end in “.ca”.

The general purpose of CASL is to prohibit the sending of commercial electronic messages without permission (consent).  A commercial electronic message is one that “encourages participation in a commercial activity” regardless of whether there is an expectation of profit. This includes messages to email addresses, social networking accounts, and text messages to a cell phone (Government of Canada).

Consequences can be severe. We are only providing a brief summary of CASL. If you feel this applies to you, be sure to consult legal counsel and take the steps necessary to ready your business. For more information visit: fightspam.gc.ca.



What are the requirements?


There are three main requirements of CASL:


  • Proper identification - the sender must be clearly identified and include a valid postal address, and either telephone number, email address, or website which must be valid for at least 60 days after the message has been sent.
  • Consent - if your email message does not meet one of the various exceptions laid out in CASL regulations, you must have consent BEFORE you send an email.
  • Unsubscribe - include a functional and visible unsubscribe mechanism, which must be processed without delay and within 10 business days. The recipient must not be asked to provide any information other than their email address.



When is consent not required?


There are two types of consent: express and implied. Either can be removed at all times by the recipient through the unsubscribe mechanism.

Express consent is very clear and the recipient has taken an affirmative action to give you permission to send to them. Express consent never expires until the recipient asks to stop receiving the message.

Implied consent is when a relationship exists, but the recipient has not explicitly asked to receive your emails. If you have implied consent, it is in your best interest to send a confirmation email to gain express consent, which never expires. Implied consent under CASL expires after two years. If a recipient has expressed interest in your product as part of the sales process, implied consent expires after six months.

Some exceptions to having consent:

  • Responding to a request for quote/estimate
  • Messages that facilitate or confirm transactions
  • Providing warranty, recall safety, or security info
  • Giving information about ongoing use or ongoing purchases, ongoing subscription, membership, accounts, loans, or similar
  • Employment relationships or benefit plans
  • Delivering a product, good, or service, including updates and upgrades


 What steps should I take to prepare?


It is recommended that you do some “spring cleaning” to your lists by creating an opt-in campaign.

Assess if you may be sending to anyone in Canada. Figure out whether you have express or implied consent and track it in your database. Develop a plan to obtain required consent and review your email message to make sure it is CASL compliant.

Starting July 1, 2014, you will need consent from any new client and each message must include identification and an unsubscribe mechanism. Where there is an existing business or non-business relationship that includes commercial electronic messages, consent is implied for three years.  It is recommended that you acquire express consent for customers that are on your list through an existing business relationship by July 1, 2017.

In the end, do not be mistaken for a spammer. Maintain the trust and confidence of your customers or clients by following these tips:

  1. Do not send a message without their consent.
  2. Provide an opportunity for customers and clients to say no.
  3. Clearly identify yourself and your organization.
  4. Be truthful in advertising.

Please keep in mind that the information provided above does not constitute legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional advice.


Examples of what to do / not to do:


Can I send out an unsolicited email survey for market info, product usage, etc?

Whether it is permitted under CASL or not, it depends on whether the message is deemed commercial. JangoMail’s Anti-Spam Policy does not allow you to send unsolicited email without prior consent.

Someone gave me their business card. Is it okay to contact them?

Under CASL, you would have implied consent for up to two years. As long as they did not specify their wish to be excluded from receiving promotional emails, it would be okay to send messages pertaining to their role. It is recommended to gain express consent.

Should I do anything with my existing lists?

If you have express consent from all of your existing contacts and have basic records of how and when consent was acquired, you probably will not need to take action with those contacts. If you are unsure of the opt-in status of your lists, or have no records, it is probably necessary to run an opt-in campaign as soon as possible.

Part of CASL requires that the sender be clearly identified. My business is a local franchisee. Our franchisor head office sends commercial emails. Is this okay?

You will need to ensure your customers have consented to receive messages from the franchisor head office, not just the local franchisee.

Is an electronic message that contains a request for consent to send messages considered a commercial electronic message?

Yes, it is. You will want to ensure you are following the guidelines when sending.

I am sending messages on behalf of a charity or political organization to raise funds. Do I need consent?

This is permitted under CASL, but JangoMail’s Anti-Spam Policy is stricter than Canada’s law in this regards. We only permit our customers to send to their own direct contacts with whom they have pre-existing relationships.


Resources

Government of Canada, Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation: fightspam.gc.ca


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