Command Center: Delivery Optimizer

By: Chris Reibold
Senior Email Analyst


For those of you who don't know, JangoMail is based out of Dayton, Ohio and we are ranked as one of the 12 worst allergy cities to live in. With the dreaded pollen, I can only anticipate that our team of Jangolopes will be affected. However, I know we'll get through it like we do with everything. Like a bad cold or allergy attack, email deliverability can have many symptoms. There can also be a hidden problem or issue that might take a little more work to adjust, sniffles aside.

That's where our Delivery Optimizer tool comes in. Let us take care of the guessing work, so you're not left scratching your head wondering about a specific recipient or list. With a simple check of the Delivery Optimizer you can see what domains you are sending from, and if you have the proper DNS records in place for perfect optimization! Those DNS records are a major factor in whether or not your message passes the receiving server's authentication check.

Click here for a step by step guide on our Delivery Optimizer.

Don't forget about other tools we offer to improve your message delivery like our Spam Score Checker and Delivery Health Check. The Spam Score Checker can be viewed with any broadcast message. The Delivery Health Check sits right beside the Delivery Optimizer on the reports page and can help you determine why a specific email address isn’t receiving your messages.



If you are having trouble with this, just call us up at 1-888-465-2646 from 7AM to 7PM ET Monday-Friday, and we can help.

AOL Follows Yahoo in DMARC Policy Change

By: Chris Reibold
Senior Email Analyst

A couple weeks ago I wrote about how Yahoo’s DMARC change would be a new trend and that we would see it going forward with other email providers. No, I’m not psychic, but I was right.  Yesterday AOL announced the same change.

For more details, click here to read my first post.

Like the Yahoo change, this only affects messages with the From address of AOL.com. If you are sending from AOL.com to AOL.com through JangoMail (or any other email provider), then your message will never be delivered.

The domino effect is clearly in play here. You can expect Hotmail and Gmail to follow suit accordingly in the near future.  Keep it here for the latest.

Bottom line: Do not use an @aol.com, @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, or other free email provider address to send your emails. Instead, set up and send from your own domain. Learn how to here.

Yahoo Policy Change Impacts Delivery

By: Chris Reibold

Senior Email Analyst

While I did put considerable thought into titling this blog post “Yahoo breaks the internet!”, I thought that might be a little dramatic, but it was tempting.

Within the last 48 hours, Yahoo made a bold move in updating their DMARC policy setting to "p=reject." Therefore, mail containing a Yahoo from address is no longer considered legitimate if it does not contain an authentication signature, or if it did not come from properly identified Yahoo infrastructure.

What does this mean? If you are sending from a Yahoo address, to Yahoo users, your emails will always be bounced. Essentially, if the from address is @yahoo.com, and your message is not originating from Yahoo infrastructure (using their web interface, or sending with your Yahoo account from outlook, your iPhone, android, etc), it will never make it to the recipient.

If you look inside the SMTP logs of a message sent to Yahoo, it will look like this:

Message+not+accepted+for+policy+reasons.++See+http://postmaster.yahoo.com/errors/postmaster-28.html - - 0 0 0 SMTP - -

At JangoMail, we discourage our users from sending with a from address of major free email providers like Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail.  With the new change, however, users will be flat out blocked if they try to send from a provider. While this move seems drastic, it will limit the amount of spoofed email to Yahoo accounts to zero.

Since Yahoo is a major source of email on the web, you can expect Hotmail and Gmail to follow suit. Do not think of this as some security experiment that Yahoo is performing, but a real and secure change in the way email is handled on the internet today.

Bottom line: Do not use a @yahoo.com, @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, or other free email provider address to send your emails. Instead, set up and send from your own domain. Learn how to here.

On Track With Jack: Reconsider Email Attachments

Hello JangoMail Users!

Jack here reporting from the JangoMail headquarters. Today's tip comes from our support team:

Reconsider Email Attachments

When you have a large file to send, you may want to think twice about sending as an attachment. Ask yourself, "Is there a better way to get my message across?" Size and security are the two main deliverability issues that will prevent your subscribers from receiving your attached message.

There is a better way to incorporate files into your email marketing plan. Upload your assets to JangoMail and embed them within your email. For larger files, post to your website and create links within the body of your email. Encourage readers to click for more information.

Embedded links will not only increase traffic back to your site, but will also provide you with click tracking data throughout your email to see what your audience is interacting with the most.

Emails without attachments are also easier to access since downloading is not required. It sounds silly, but subscribers are usually on the go and this saves them a step. Convenience is key!

To recap:

• Attachments could cause deliverability issues.
• Email links encourage users to visit your website, which will increase traffic.
• You can track clicks throughout your email to see what your audience is interacting with most.
• Messages without attachments are easier for your recipients to access.  Your message is just a click away instead of taking additional steps to download.
• Are there times when attachments are needed? Of course. That's why we support them. Just remember to think twice before you send any attachments to make sure it's the right message for your audience!

If you need help with anything, like installing click tracking, please Contact Support.



Sincerely,

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!

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

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

Are You Heading Straight to Spam?

After all the work you put into your email campaigns, the least your emails could do is reach your recipients. Problem is, when you least expect it, they can miss the mark and hit the spam or junk folders.

The unusual suspects
So, what happened? Before you heavy foot it over to the IT department, consider the content of your emails as the potential culprit. Here's a short list of surprising keywords and phrases that could land you directly in spam land.

• Pennies a day
• Weekend getaway
• While supplies last
• Call now
• Apply online
• Cannot be combined with any other offer
• Billing address
• Call now
• Increase traffic
• Why pay more?

Shocked there's no sign of "free?" Don't be. 
Consider this a trick list - only noting triggers you might not expect. "Free" is still one of the most common ways to profile your email. But, keep this in mind: It's okay to use all these phrases. What weighs against you on the spam scale is the frequency in which you utilize any of these trigger words. Also, using any of them concurrently within the same email isn't a smart idea.


 
Who's pointing fingers and why
There's a lot of noise out there in the email world. And any decent email service provider is trying to protect its valued users, so they continue to utilize them. The problem is, sometimes respectable email communications get caught in the filtering mix for the greater good of keeping inboxes clean. The bottom line is you don't want to associate with the riff-raff and more importantly, have your timely communications get lost on the way to intended recipients.



Moderation is the medicine
Think of spam-folder-avoidance this way: If your email reads more like an infomercial, consider it a trigger candidate for the junk folder. Use trigger words in moderation, and you should be just fine. However, if you are experiencing consistent inbox deliverability issues, revisit your subject lines and main body content to see if you're inadvertently shifting email service provider spam filters into high gear.


Two leg ups
JangoMail's Delivery Optimization Tool analyzes your emails and determines changes you can make to optimize delivery even before you hit "send." We also recommend using SpamAssassin as an additional pre-screening tool. Visit their site for a more detailed trigger list as well (under the Tests tab).

JangoMail also scores your mass email campaign message using SpamAssassin - you can see the score in Broadcast Messages Report Dashboard. Send a message to yourself before sending to your list. Scores under 5 are generally considered to be free of spam.

The rules are always changing too! A good message today can be bad tomorrow; it just depends on how certain words and phrases are used (or over-used). We'll help you stay ahead of the curve on this.

If you have any questions about spam filters and triggers, just ask. Until next time, have a great rest of the week!