On Track With Jack: Plan Ahead For The Holidays

BOO!  Hope I didn't scare you too much. Today is the last day of October, which means it's Halloween! It also means that the holiday season is right around the corner, and there is a lot you can do to get ready!

I want you to plan ahead this year and really focus on going the extra mile to scare… I mean, connect with your customers using JangoMail.

Here’s how you can plan ahead: 

Think creatively:  Like each year, you are going to have a ton of holiday competition. Make sure you stand out from all the other businesses. Brainstorm unique promotions and offer something different to your customers. Broadcast your message through your email.

Get organized:  Determine key sale days and note the important ones like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Free Shipping Day. Set deadlines for yourself and create a calendar with send dates. Schedule your campaigns in advance. You can always pause your campaign and update before your final send in JangoMail.

Don’t go overboard:  We know that you want to get the word out, but do not over mail.  We don’t want your readers to get irritated and unsubscribe. Refer back to your schedule and stay on track. Remember, timing is everything. Monitor your campaigns through the JangoMail Report Dashboard, and keep an eye on the unsubscribed and bounced addresses. We suggest running a Delivery Health Check on any email address in question.

Don’t be a Scrooge:  The sooner you embrace the holidays, the better. Be festive, and have a positive attitude. Show your holiday spirit by hosting an event or even by decorating your store (if you have one). Send holiday invitations, announcements, and greeting cards using your email.

To recap: Many businesses miss the opportunity to connect with their subscribers during the holidays using email. Plan ahead.

Next week, we are going to cover my Holiday Email Guide, where I’ll review the top marketing trends to try with your email.

Happy Halloween!

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

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On Track With Jack: The Best Time To Email

What's Up, JangoMail Users?

Jack is back with an ON – TRACK – FACT.  I tried rapping in a former life, but email marketing is my forte.  We’ll leave the rapping to Kanye.

With that tangent out of the way, here is your tip of the week:

Examine your campaigns to determine the best time to send emails. 

Are you struggling to find the ideal time to send your emails?  You are not alone.  Deciding the best day and time can be overwhelming.

As your business changes, so do the best times to email.  In essence, this is subjective to your industry, business, and audience. If you have a traditional sale day that your customers watch for, we suggest starting there first.

If you are an email marketing newbie, and are not sure where to start, try sending at different times.  Check your campaign reports and compare open and click rates.  The proof is in the pudding!  If one time works better than the other, send at that time.  This is also a great checkpoint for all of our users.

At JangoMail, we send millions of emails per day.  Our highest volume fluctuates between Thursday and Friday. Friday is on top this month, but not by much.  Both days work very well for our clients, and we strongly recommend either of them.  Peak times are usually 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. In the past, Tuesday was also a key day.  Currently, Tuesdays rank third in volume.

To recap:  In the end, find what works best for you.  If you have a traditional sale day, or had past success with a certain day, start there.  If you are an email newbie, try sending on Friday or Thursday.  Always look at your campaign reports and make adjustments as needed. 

We are here 24/7 for you! Call us at 855-709-4099, or submit a ticket at jangomail.com/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

Subscribe to On Track With Jack

Gene Marks: Why Social Media Is Not Your Answer

A guest post by Gene Marks

A few months ago I spoke to a group of business owners at the Composite Can and Tube Institute.  This is a real organization made up of real people.  Smart people.  If you visit their website you’ll find that CCTI is “international trade association representing the interests of manufacturers of composite paperboard cans, containers, canisters, tubes, cores, cones, fibre drums, spools, ribbon blocks, bobbins and related or similar composite products; and suppliers to those manufacturers of such items as paper, machinery, adhesives, labels and other materials and services.”

After speaking about upcoming trends affecting the industry and businesses in general a member raised his hand asked me why I didn’t mention social media.  “I’m curious about social media,” the gentleman said. “We’re not using it very well at my company.”

OK, let’s step back and recap:  I was speaking at the Composite Can and Tube Institute.  The 150 or so members of the audience run companies that manufacture things like cans, containers, drums, spools and ribbon blocks.  In my opinion, no one in that room had any business being on Facebook or Twitter unless they were planning a family reunion, reaching out to a high school classmate or following Kanye and Kim’s latest escapades.  Social media for this industry is a waste of time.

By now you’ve probably figured out that if your customers are not on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest or Tumblr then there’s probably not a whole lot of reason why your company should be there too. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t create and build a great community.  You can.  Just not with social media.  Instead, try these 3 steps.

Step 1:  Get a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.  This is a database.  There are great cloud based providers offering products for every sized business, priced from zero (try Zoho CRM to hundreds of dollars a month a user (the most well known being Salesforce.com).  You’ll likely pay somewhere in between.  Setting it up is easy.  Import your customer and contacts from Outlook and your accounting system.  Make sure you keep adding people, prospects, vendors, suppliers, anyone to your database that touches your business.  Have someone in your company responsible for maintaining this valuable system.  And most importantly:  categorize these people.  Why?  See Step 2.

Step 2:  Match categories with your communications.  The days of unpersonalized e-mail “blasting” or “mail-merging” a database are over.  Today, it’s all about segmentation.  Everyone in your database should be hearing from you.  The questions you need to answer are how often, what kind of info should you provide, and how should you provide it?  Look at each category (suppliers, prospects, customers, partners) and think about how you want to touch them throughout the year.  Some categories may need further sub-categories.  For example, you might want to have additional customer and prospect categories based on industry or product interest.  So how often does each group hear from you?  Once a month?  Once a year?  And what kind of information is important to that specific group?  Training advice?  Product updates?  And how best to provide that information?  You’ll have to ask.  Because some people like getting emails.  Others like printed materials.  Some still want to get a phone call.

Step 3:  Execute...again and again and again, year after year after.  This is not a one time shot.  This is a consistent plan of communicating helpful information to your community.  Information that is specifically paired down to the people that find it relevant.  Information that is delivered on a schedule based on your determination of how often this group wants to hear from you, without being too intrusive.   And information that is delivered in a format (email, print, etc) that is desired by the recipient.  This is not a little job.  This is a big, long, consistent, time-consuming job.  You will need someone to do this.

Why? Because after time (and this will take time) you’ll find yourself building a community better than any social media site.  You’ll be consistently communicating with groups of people that want to hear from you.  And they will be responding back.  They will be thinking about your company the next time they have a need for something you provide.  They will enjoy the information you’re providing and look forward to hearing from you.

Building a community isn’t running a Facebook page.  It’s about creating and then investing in a relationship over a long period of time.  The commitment is significant.  But the payback is substantial.  Even for guys that manufacture cans.

How to Set Up SPF Record and a Domain Key

Let’s explore the reasons why you want to use an SPF record and a domain key, and how they can improve your inbox delivery rate.

If you own your own domain and are sending using your domain name as the FROM address (through JangoMail's servers), adding SPF and DKIM records essentially authorizes JangoMail to send on behalf of your domain.  This tells the recipients' email clients that we have permission to send email on your behalf.  It’s just one more thing you can do to legitimize your messages in the eyes of the different email clients you'll be sending to.

What's more, setting up your DNS records will allow your_domain_name.com to establish its own reputation with a recipients' email client (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.).  When you send through JangoMail without doing this, you are sharing a reputation with all of our other customers, past and present.  This is why it is a good idea to set up your SPF and DKIM records at your earliest convenience.

When we are working with a customer, our call center usually asks for a list of FROM address domains they want to use, and creates a personalized guide for them.  This DOES require users adding SPF and DKIM records into their domain's DNS settings.  This is the template we use:


SPF Record
Create a new DNS record at your_domain_name.com. The type will be TXT. The value should be:

v=spf1 include:jangomail.com a mx -all

If you already have an SPF record, then just add include:jangomail.com, so that you have:

v=spf1 (whatever you had before) include:jangomail.com -all

DKIM Record
Create a new DNS record of selector._domainkey.your_domain_name.com.  The type will be TXT. The selector value should be a single word/string of jm, jango, myname, and so on.

You have to first create the key in your JangoMail account. Copy the text shown in the Value field of the popup window you see when viewing the key (starts with k=rsa; p=MIG...).  You will paste this into the value field for the TXT record you are going to create in your DNS settings.  The host value will be:

selector._domainkey

For example, if you used jm as the selector value, the left side would be jm._domainkey, and the right side would be the long string of k=rsa; p=MIG....

Custom Tracking Domain
Create a new CNAME record in your DNS settings.  The host value can be a single word or character such as x, trk, or track.  The right side value (alias or "points to" are common names here) is jngo.net.  If your domain is acme.com and you used trk, then when entering trk.acme.com into browser, you'll see a JangoMail landing page.


Your DNS changes can be seen right away, in some cases.  In others, it may take a few hours before the values can be seen by our system.  For your domain key, come back into your JangoMail account and enable it.  For your custom tracking domain, enter the tracking domain name you used (e.g., you would enter trk.acme.com using the example above.  You don't need to do anything within your JangoMail account for the SPF record.

In a GoDaddy account (as an example of a domain provider), the SPF and domain key records will look something like what is shown below (this example uses jangomail as the selector value):"

The custom tracking domain CNAME record (this example uses "track")

Lastly, once your SPF record is in place, and when sending a new campaign, turn off the "Use System MAIL-FROM" setting in the new message's settings tab.

If you have any questions about setting these up, please let us know! Also, once they're set up, feel free to contact support, and we'll be glad to verify, and put them in place, on our end.

You may also be interested in reading:  Branded Subdomain Setup

On Track With Jack: Support Pointers

Hi JangoMail Users!

Working hard or hardly working? Today and every day, we are working hard to bring you the best support ever! Our customers are treated like VIPs because, let’s face it, YOU are very important to us!

This week, I have three small pointers from our support team:

 1.  Don't panic. If you forget your password and are locked out of your account, wait 10 minutes and try again. For security purposes we lock all accounts for at least 10 minutes. IP addresses are also locked. If you have multiple accounts and get locked out of one, you’ll have to wait the 10 minutes before attempting to login under any of them. Remember, your safety and security are top priorities to us.

2.  Double check: Double check your campaign settings after you copy a message -especially if you are copying a previous campaign that had a suppression list. Suppression lists are great because you can exclude a group of subscribers from receiving a message. However, if you are copying campaigns, you may not realize that those suppression lists carry over along with the other settings.

When we get a call about this, let’s say a customer is wondering why only 20 subscribers out of 1,000 received their email, we have them check their filter settings first. This typically does the trick, and it doesn’t hurt to double check before you send a campaign. To look for any suppression lists go to the Filtering tab and check/uncheck the box under ‘Select lists’.

3.  The doctor is in. You can troubleshoot specific email addresses with our Delivery Health Check tool which is found under the Management Reports & Tools section of our Reports page. This comes in handy if someone subscribes or even if their email is full.

Enter in the email to diagnose any issues. You can check if the address is correctly formed, if it appears on your unsubscribe and bounce list, and you can view the 20 most recent campaigns that were sent to it. It will also indicate the reason why they did not receive the email. Remember, when someone unsubscribes, they unsubscribe across your entire account, not just in one message but all of your messages.

To recap:  Don’t panic if you are locked out of your account, double check your filter settings, and troubleshoot emails with our Delivery Health Check.  

Don’t be a stranger! We are here 24/7 to help you. Call us at 855-709-4099, or submit a ticket at jangomail.com/support.

Until we meet...well, email again!



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

On Track With Jack: Master and Subaccounts

Hello JangoMail Users!

Jack reporting from JangoMail headquarters. Each day we work with countless agencies, franchises, colleges, large corporations, and organizations. This week learn how our Master and Subaccounts feature can be a useful tool in managing your emails, no matter the size of your company. Here’s my tip for the week, agencies this one is for you:

Utilize our Master and Subaccounts Feature

I’m in the mood to list things this week. So, let's look at the benefits and examples of our Master and Subaccounts feature.

Reasons to use:

 1.  Stay organized: No need to have separate accounts with us. You can work with everything using one primary account.

2.  Fast and Easy: Set up subaccounts fast and control branding with our tools.

3.  Cost Effective: All accounts are billed together.  You’ll get the lowest cost per email on the combined total sending volume!

4.  Rebrand and Resell: You can create a 100% domain-branded private label solution that re-brands JangoMail as your own personal email advertising application.


Here are some examples of how different types of organizations use the Master and Subaccounts feature:

1.  Marketing, design, public relations, and communications agencies take full advantage of JangoMail's highly flexible client subaccount capabilities. Agencies can manage multiple clients or in-house departments. The agency has a master account with JangoMail but has individual subaccounts for different clients.  BONUS: They can then provide detailed reporting to each client but ensure that billing is only available at a master level, and that there is no visibility from subaccount to subaccount. 

2.  Another great example of using the Master and Subaccounts feature effectively is in an educational setting.  A college can set themselves up as a master account but have individual subaccounts for each department. The master account can push a template to departments with pieces that can be locked or edited. This ensures branding consistency, and that all the important components of the message are always included. BONUS: JangoMail's Master and Subaccounts functionality allows different levels of control, access, and visibility between accounts. 

3.  A final example is in the franchise world, where a franchise can control billing and ensure brand consistency while allowing local content and deals to be included. A template can be pushed to franchisees who can edit parts of it. The franchise controls who has access to billing information, and what is shared between accounts and what is kept hidden. BONUS: It's possible to set it up so that messages need to be pre-approved by the master account before they are sent.

To recap: At JangoMail, we offer flexibility. It’s your email, your way. Give your organization the tools to effectively manage multiple departments, clients, or franchises.

Contact our VP of Sales, Eamonn Flynn, at 650-339-7043 or eamonn.flynn@us.jangomail.com for more information.



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

Gene Marks: Best Sales Reports

A guest post by Gene Marks


Oops…just got a call from that guy.  He’s the sales manager and he just moved jobs.  “Gene,” he yells at me over the phone (they always seem to be yelling at me, why is that?).  “I just switched jobs.  Instead of selling industrial waxing balls I’m now selling fabricated wood slicers.  I have a sales group of ten.  I need you to come in here,  put in the same system  I had at my own place and get me my damn reports.  Oh, and I want this done tomorrow too.  Call me!”

And believe it or not, I actually like getting these calls.  They happen a few times a year.  This is a guy who knows what he’s doing.  Sure, he’s loud and obnoxious.  But give him a break.  He’s a sales guy.  And  he gets it.

As most of us are aware, the economy isn’t great.  Estimates of our economic growth are ranging around 2-2.5%.  Unemployment is still high.  Consumer and small business confidence remain at low levels.  But some companies are doing pretty good - those in industries of higher growth, like energy and healthcare and retail marijuana sales for example.  And others are doing OK too, mainly because they’ve got competent sales management.

Because even in a slow economy the sales managers and business owners who are hustling and paying attention to their numbers are succeeding.  They are using data to squeeze out every available dollar from their customers and prospective customers.  They have customer relationship management (CRM) systems and they’re pulling relevant reports out of their systems in order to manager their sales teams as effectively as possible.  And it all comes down to reports.  Getting the right information makes all the difference in the world.

So what are the reports that “that guy” wants from me?  They’re usually the same.  In fact the really good sales managers and business owners usually ask for the same three reports.  And they are:

1.  The Pipeline Report.  This lists all of your potential opportunities.  This tells you not only the name of the customer but the value of the opportunity, products, salesperson, expected date to be closed and “confidence level” – that means what percentage (20%? 50%) that the salesman expects this deal to go through.  It also shows notes, the last thing done on this opportunity (An email?  A call?) and the next scheduled follow-up.  This report is the holy grail of sales management.  How do you know what’s out there if you don’t have this?

2.  The Activity Report.  This shows past and future activities for each salesperson.  Why is that guy meeting with that customer who’s about to place a $100 order next week when he should be meeting with that other customer who’s looking to spend $10,000?  Some of these salespeople need a slap upside the head!  And how can you do that if you’re not following their activities?  Big brother?  Yes.  Do it for everyone?  No.  You know which guys need closer supervision.  Those are the guys you track.

3.  The Lost Sales Report.  Are you brave enough to run this?  Sure you are, as long as you’ve had a shot of Jack Daniels right beforehand.  But it’s worth it.  This report shows all the ones that got away – the deals that didn’t close.  Why didn’t they close?  Did the customer buy a competing product?  Was the price too high? Did they fall off the radar?  As long as your salespeople are completing their open opportunities with the right explanation you can start learning more from your failures.  Ugh.

Having a slow year in a slow economy?  It doesn’t have to be.  Maybe you’re missing deals because you’re not paying enough attention.  Maybe there are opportunities that can be further exploited.  Maybe that sales guy is spending too much time meeting with the pretty buyer from We-Don’t-Care-Corp when he should be visiting I’m-A-Big-Fish-Inc., even though their purchasing manager has hair on his palms.  Big deal.  A sale is a sale.  And it’s all about using the data to close the right ones.

On Track With Jack: Content Marketing

Hello JangoMail Users!

Jack coming at you from JangoMail’s Department of Awesome!  Have you heard about content marketing?

Content marketing is a new marketing strategy sweeping the nation. It’s more than just a trendy new phrase. In fact, if used properly, content marketing can evolve your email marketing campaigns. Readers will connect with you on a higher level than ever before. Without further ado, here’s this week’s tip:

Evolve Your Email With Content Marketing

Content marketing consists of creating and distributing quality information (content) that is invaluable to a specific audience. Instead of promoting a business, service, or product only using sales tactics, content marketing educates buyers.

The purpose of content marketing is simple: after providing consumers with quality information, you will be rewarded their business.

Instead of rushing to send out emails, stop and think about what you are sending. An informational email that is well written and concise, will make all the difference.

The key is to make your information relevant to your customer, and overtime, you’ll see great results. Readers will view you as an expert in your industry, and not just a company trying to sell them something.

Make sure you carefully manage your content and monitor your results. Be patient, content marketing is a process, not a one-time deal!

To recap: Content marketing is a great new strategy that is here to stay! It pays off to take the time to write quality content for your email and integrate content marketing into your marketing plan. 

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

Branded Subdomain Setup

Setting up a branded subdomain

Technically, all that is needed is the MX record, but we strongly recommend using an SPF record and a domain key.

Here is some general info on the subdomain setup:

https://www.jangomail.com/documents/Public/JangoMail_Custom_Sub-Domain.pdf

Let's say your domain is acme.com and you want a subdomain of news.acme.com (which will only be used for sending email through JangoMail).

In your DNS (where you registered your domain), you create the subdomain of news.

Since we are sending on behalf of your subdomain, your subdomain needs an MX record saying we can send for you. Set up an MX record for your subdomain that shows: mail.jangomail.com.

Overall, at the subdomain level, we look for a MX record (mandatory), SPF record and a domain key/DKIM (both are strongly recommended), and at the parent-level domain, especially if click tracking will be used, a custom tracking domain.  

Each of these has a short explanation below:

Custom tracking domain

http://blog.jangomail.com/2011/09/email-marketing-tracking-domain.html

If you are using a branded subdomain, the custom tracking domain only needs to be at the parent-level domain, not at the subdomain.

If you are using "track" for your custom tracking domain, the DNS entry will look similar to what is shown below.

Enter the tracking domain information in your JangoMail account. If you enter your custom tracking domain name into a browser and go to that address, you should see our landing page.

Domain key/DKIM

https://www.jangomail.com/documents/Public/JangoMail_DomainKeys_DKIM.pdf

A general summary of the DKIM/DomainKey setup is:

• Login to your account.
• Go to Settings > Advanced > Domain Keys / DKIM (in JangoSMTP) or Settings > Sending and Receiving > Domain Keys / DKIM (in JangoMail).
• Click on "Add New Item." Add your domain by entering your domain and a selector for your domain. The selector can be any word such as "jangomail" or even your account username. Keep in mind that the selector you choose will correspond to the DNS record you must add for your domain (TXT record for selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com). Click Save.

How it looks in your account before it is enabled:

If you are using a subdomain, then the left-side value is your_selector._domainkey.your_subdomain_name and the right-side value is the key value generated in your JangoMail.

A private key has now been created for your domain, but the key pair will be disabled until you add the public key into your DNS settings. To view the key, click the "View Key" icon on the line for your entry. A popup will launch showing you the public key, the private key, and the exact DNS TXT record you must add into your DNS server. Copy the "Value" entry onto your clipboard.

Create the TXT record in your DNS. An example using HostMonster is shown below (and it includes what you would add for the SPF record).

Once the DNS record is in place, you must come back to JangoMail to enable the key pair. Go back to DomainKeys/DKIM, and click the "Enable" link next to your domain. JangoMail will then verify that your DNS TXT record is in place and correct, and if so, it will enable the key pair. Your messages will now be signed with a domain key/DKIM.

SPF record

https://www.jangomail.com/documents/Public/JangoMail_SenderID_SPF_Guide.pdf

SPF setup is pretty straightforward, and the guide shows what to do based on two conditions.

FROM Address

In JangoMail, options for the FROM address are listed here:

https://www.jangomail.com/documents/Public/JangoMail_From_Address_Options.pdf

With the branded subdomain setup in your JangoMail account, send your messages using your subdomain name in the FROM address, for example, info@news.acme.com. JangoMail will be able to handle reply management for your messages.

General info

For your basic HTML email, a campaign has open tracking on by default. Click tracking is an optional setting, but one that you want to turn on for reporting reasons.

When you use a custom tracking domain, the URL for a hyperlink looks "better" in that it has your domain or brand in it, as opposed to ours. If you do not use a tracking domain, a URL will begin with something like x.jtrk86.net (that is not necessarily an actual URL, but you get the idea of what it looks like). With a tracking domain, recipients will see x.your_domain.com or track.your_domain.com (the "x" and "track" names are suggestions, you can use whatever you like).

Example domain

Using a subdomain named news.jangodemo.com, you can see the DNS values at network-tools.com (select the DNS Records radio button, enter news.jangodemo.com, and click Go, or use the link below):

http://network-tools.com/default.asp?prog=dnsrec&host=news.jangodemo.com

You can see the MX record referencing mail.jangomail.com, and the SPF record (the TXT entry) with include:jangomail.com. The domain key uses jm, so if you enter jm._domainkey.news.jangodemo.com, you'll see the key value. The custom tracking domain is track.jangodemo.com, so if you enter that, you will see entries for jngo.net. You can also enter track.jangodemo.com in a browser, and it will take you to the jngo.net landing page.

If you have any questions about the above, please let us know. It's actually pretty easy to do all of this - the explanation of the steps makes it seem like a lot of work, but all of this can done in less than 5 minutes (you may have to wait for DNS propagation of your settings, which can take several hours, but that usually takes place right away).

You may also be interested in reading:  How to Set Up SPF Record and a Domain Key

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

Gene Marks: Are You a Great Customer?

A guest post by Gene Marks


Why I’m In Love With Andrew.  Yes, That’s Right:  Love.

Andrew, I love you.

No, not in that way.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  It’s just that you’re a good guy and I’ve known you for almost ten years now.  You’ve been a great client of ours.  You’re nowhere near our largest.  In fact, I just checked this and I think you paid us less than $2K last year for services.  But that’s completely OK.  Because I look forward to speaking with you.  I’m happy to be your service provider.  I really enjoy doing business with you.  You are the kind of client everyone should have.  And everyone should aspire to be.  Why is that?

For starters, you are nice to me and my people.  You treat us with courtesy.  You offer coffee.  You place us in a nice conference room or cubicle when we come onsite to do work.  Your employees, watching how you act, act the same.  We never feel like villains when we come to your offices.  We appreciate your friendly atmosphere and we like the fact that you and your people treat us like an extension of your own company.  Some of our clients treat us terribly:  their offices are dim and their employees pretend we don’t exist.  It’s as if we’re the enemy.  We’re not.  And we appreciate that you recognize that.

You do what you say you’re going to do.  You’d be surprised how many people don’t.  They sign contracts with us, promising to pay when services are performed, and then we find ourselves chasing them down for money weeks or even months later.  It’s demoralizing, frustrating and unprofitable.  So thank you.  Thank you for paying your bills on time.  Thank you for getting us the materials that we request so we can do our jobs.  Thank you for being there when you say you’ll be there.  Thank you for not keeping us waiting, changing the dates of our visits again and again and letting us know in advance if there are any plans in your company that will affect the services that we’re performing.

You want to learn, not attack.  We provide technology services.  That’s our expertise.  It’s not your expertise.  Thank you for recognizing that.  We appreciate that when you don’t understand something you don’t attack us.  You don’t become defensive.  You don’t unfairly accuse us of taking advantage.  You respect our role and our expertise.  You don’t hide your insecurities or lack of confidence behind an angry tirade to make yourself look better in front of your employees.  You are not afraid to admit that you’re ignorant about certain things.  We all are.  You ask us to explain these things, to educate you, to help you learn how you can be better.  We appreciate this.  We hate feeling like we’re the bad guy or that we’re doing something underhanded or taking advantage of your ignorance when it’s really you that doesn’t understand.  Thanks for admitting this and being a good partner.

You are the best kind of client Andrew.  You know what you know.  And you know what you don’t know.  You hire us, and other outside service providers, for our expertise.  You don’t nickel and dime.  You’re not confrontational.  You recognize, correctly, that we are in this to help you succeed.  Because when you succeed we succeed.  Good service providers know this.  And so do their customers.  Yes Andrew, I love you.  But no, not in that way (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  I love you because you’re the best kind of customer there is.

Our New "On Track With Jack" Series

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

Introducing…our new series: On Track With Jack.  Each week, look for our new emails and blog posts from our mascot, Jack the Jangolope, on marketing advice, trends, and quick tips. Jack will offer insight on how to improve your email marketing so you can use your JangoMail account to the fullest.  He will cover common support issues we receive from our call center, and the latest news in email marketing, to keep you on track.

What is a jangolope and why does one named Jack have tips for me?
To start, a jackalope is a mythical creature known as a jackrabbit with antelope horns. Over time the jackalope continued to change into what we, at JangoMail, call the jangolope.

Long, long, long ago a curious jackrabbit stumbled upon an old computer.  He grew tired of receiving and sending plain, ineffective emails.  He knew there had to be an easier way.  The jackrabbit thought long and hard.  Finally, he had an idea to evolve email marketing above all the rest.  As his idea grew, so did his antlers.

Through the wild countryside of North America, the jackalope soon became known as the jangolope because of his savvy computer skills.  Jack is a direct descendant of the original jangolope.  Half jackrabbit, half antelope, 100% email marketing professional.

Hop into our blog 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@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: On Track With Jack. Jack also has his very own Facebook page.  Follow Jack on Facebook.

How To: Upgrade your private label app to the new interface

JangoMail has for a long while offered a private label solution, such that you can fully brand the JangoMail solution around your own name and domain.  For more information, click here.

Given the launch of JangoMail's new interface a couple weeks ago, private label solutions can now be upgraded to use the new interface.  The one key difference in personalizing the private label application now versus in the old interface, is now you can upload a custom stylesheet (CSS file) which will override the JangoMail default styles.  Previously, you had to delinate ahead of time logo choices and color choices for certain areas of the application.  Now you have the ability to override any style by uploading your own CSS file to ftp://yourprivatelabeldomain.com.

To upgrade your private label solution to the new user interface, follow these steps:

1. Contact Support and ask them to convert your master account to the new UI.

2. After the appropriate response, login to your master account from www.yourprivatelabel.com website.

3. You can customize all styles within the interface by overriding the default JangoMail styles.  Upload your CSS file to ftp://yourprivatelabeldomain.com.  The easiest way to determine what styles to define is to use the Google Chrome browser while logged into the private label, and hover an area you'd like to change, and hit CTRL+SHIFT+C to reveal the style tag associated with that element.

In this example, the style div#wrapperNav is revealed, and can be overridden.  Create a file called CustomStyles.css and FTP it to the root of ftp://yourprivatelabeldomain.com.

4. You can experiment with your CustomStyles.css file on your master account until the desired look and feel is achieved.  After you are done designing, contact Support again to upgrade your sub-accounts to the new interface.

Get The Click: Five Effective Subject Line Strategies

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

It all starts with the email subject line; the first thing people see when they receive an email. The goal of any effective email relationship is to hook the attention of your audience right from the start, delivering your message in full to retain high open rates.  So, how do you get the click?  Follow these five simple, yet effective subject line strategies to keep them coming back for more!

1.  Be Direct And To The Point:  At glance, your subject identifies the content of the email. Whether you are announcing a special offer, event, or news update, be clear about the campaign.  Don’t send mixed signals.  We recommend approximately 50 characters or less, with the exception of highly targeted emails.

2.  Keep The Mystery Alive:  Don’t lay it all out on the line.  We want to intrigue our readers to read on, inviting them to open the email and read our message in full.  Use catchy words to trigger interest, while capturing the purpose of the email.

3.  Stay Fresh: Repetition will lower open rates.  While it's important to establish a brand, each subject line should highlight new content.  If you have a long-term message, work on building your brand to compliment your new material.

4.  Say ‘No’ To Spammy Words:  Remember to always put yourself in the shoes of the recipient.  What emails attract you?  Which ones do you delete right out of the gate?  Avoid excessive use of words like free, help, percent off, and reminder.  Multiple exclamation points, dollar signs, words in all CAPS, and these keywords and phrases will trigger spam filters.

5.  Testing 1, 2, 3:  When in doubt, test!  Worried about a long-term message? Test and see what works best for your audience.

If you have any questions, please contact us for help!

Gene Marks: Why Business Is Worth So Little

A guest post by Gene Marks

I’m still (relatively) young, so I don’t want to sell my business.  Also, I have optimistic hopes for the economy over the next few years and this may be a good period for me to earn a few bucks, particularly after all the past slow years.  Yeah, I’m definitely not going to cash out.  But these are not the real reasons why I’m not ready to sell my business.  The real reason is this: my business isn’t worth very much.

Is yours?

Sure, I’ve got plenty of customers.  But none of them are under a long term contract so there’s no guaranteed revenue stream.  And, being a service business, I don’t have many assets.  I’ve got cash and accounts receivable and that’s worth something to a potential buyer.  I have no debts and my payables are low, so that’s also a good thing.  But I don’t have any real property or equipment, except for a few computers and some office furniture.  Maybe your business has a better balance sheet than mine.  Maybe you’ve got a lot of equipment that has a good resale value.  Or a warehouse full of inventory.  Or long term contracts, or a big building with a low mortgage.  If you do then good for you.  Those are all hard assets and they all have value.  So you’ll definitely get a price for those.

But that’s not a business.  Those are just assets.  Each one of them has a market value.  They can be sold off as a group or individually.  You’ll hopefully get more than what you paid too.  But you’re not going to get what your business is really worth unless you build up a business that’s really worth something.  One that can stand on its own.  That’s the mark of a truly valuable business.

Take a McDonalds franchise, for example.  Now that’s a valuable business.  Sure, there’s equipment and property and hard assets.  But there is also something else:  a process.  If you own a McDonald’s franchise your employees know the process.  Everyone knows their job, from the manager down to the fry cook.  There are procedures to follow.  There are written manuals.  And rules.  If the fry cook leaves then you replace him with another fry cook who gets trained accordingly to those same procedures.  You buy from the same suppliers under established, long term contracts.  You have the same procedure for selling products to your customers, one that minimizes time and maximizes output.  Heck, even if your manager ups and leaves you can find and teach another manager.  You’re just inserting that person into the system.  It’s like a machine with replaceable parts.

Is your business like that?  Can you disappear for a week, two weeks, three weeks and it just keeps running?  Do you have a system in place?  I don’t.  If I were to get hit by a bus tomorrow my business would fold up within weeks.  I have no procedures or policies.  I’m a micromanager.  Everything needs to pass through my hands.  Every job is different, every project unique.  If someone were to buy my business they would need to also hire me along with it.  Who else would keep things running until the new owners could establish their own mark?  This is not value.  This is just another excuse for employment.

I’m not complaining, mind you.  My business is doing well.  And it’s been growing.  For the past twenty years my company has provided a livelihood for me and my family.  It has been a source of income and support for my employees and contractors.  But besides its cash and receivables it’s really not of any value to anyone.  Is yours?

Gene Marks writes daily for The New York Times and weekly for Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post and Fox Business.  He runs a 10 person consulting firm outside of Philadelphia.

New Separate Save and Test Buttons

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

Some of you may have noticed that over the weekend we launched two new buttons on our interface.  The old Save/Send A Test button has been replaced with two new buttons, so you can save without having to send a test email.

The Save button saves the email campaign you are working on and the Send A Test generates a separate preview, but does not automatically save.  It creates a new version in preview form.  Please remember to save often!  

When you are ready to send your email, you need to make a copy of the email, and then you can send. 

If you have any questions regarding the change contact us at: 1-855-709-4099, or submit a ticket at jangomail.com/support. 

Introducing…Our NEW User Interface

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

The wait is over! We are pleased to announce our new user interface here at JangoMail.  The new design combines the old with the new.  We’ve taken suggestions directly from you, our valued clients.  Enjoy our fresh new look that is easy to use and navigate, delivering the latest to you in email technology.

Here are our new features:

New Look: You’ll notice new matching colors to the site along with a well organized, easy to use dashboard that houses popular links.  These shortcuts are not only visually appealing, but convenient for easy access.

Walkthrough Guides:  Each user will appreciate the walkthrough guides which give an interactive tour of the entire system.  You will initially be prompted to take the tour, but can recall or hide the guides at anytime.

Navigation: The most important change has been made to our navigation.  JangoMail now has submenus which allow users to access features within the Reports, Messages, and List sections without interrupting any work.

Help Section: Whether you need a quick reference point or have an in-depth question, our help sections are everywhere.  Access explanations, useful links, tutorials and tips on each page to the right.

Countdown:  At the very top of the page, you’ll notice our new countdown feature which tracks the number of days left in your usage period, your next usage period, data used, and number of sent messages.  Note the Upgrade Account button next to the countdown for an easy upgrade.

The goal of our new interface was to improve our overall look and usability. We hope you enjoy our new features and look forward to answering any questions you may have.  Please don't hesitate to call us at 855-709-4099, or submit a ticket at jangomail.com/support.

Video: Tour our new User Interface!

As part of our continuing effort to provide the best service and functionality, we've recently upgraded our user interface.  Our very own Dave Walker has recorded a brief overview to help our customers better understand the changes we've made.  Click on the video below to watch!

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at 855-709-4099, or submit a ticket at jangomail.com/support.

Don't Miss The School Bell, Email Communicators!

Hey parent group leaders, school administrators and after-school program organizers, this one's for you. Email communications distributed through schools ensure everyone plays nice on the playground. More specifically, keeping parents and teachers in the loop about school-related events is critical to their happiness - and yours.

What? Email's not part of your curriculum? K - have fun with this all year ...

Still here? Awesome - no one wants to face the wrath of an angry parent. So don't! 

Email is the most cost-efficient, time saving distribution channel for school-related communications. The backpack express is anything but reliable, and word-of-mouth is lost on the young (i.e. they forget A LOT). We're sure you have plenty of content to pass along to parents and teachers. 

So the only question that remains: How do you get everyone on the same page - or in this case, on the same school email distribution list?

The answer is simple.  Most parents are plugged in - email, calendar alerts, Facebook & Twitter. And connecting to where your parents are is as easy as offering them a few choices in the places they're most apt to stay in touch with your school. Oh - and using JangoMail. (Duh.)

The choices:

• Add an Email List Signup Form to your school's website. Most parents prefer email, and it's highly effective way to communicate daily updates, weekly newsletters and time-sensitive alerts. You can determine what information you want to collect (name, telephone #s, address, etc.) on JangoMail's customizable, email signup forms to create distribution lists for specific grade levels, neighborhoods, volunteer rosters, etc.

• Share the announcement via Social Media. For parents who are less likely to open emails after work hours, but are plugged into social updates on their mobile devices, Facebook and Twitter are great ways to keep them in the loop last minute. Create a View as Webpage link in your email and share it on your profiles. It's a handy way to guide parents back to your email communication. If you know there's a lot of chatter on your profiles - or that of your PTO/PTA, take a few minutes to share your announcements on those pages.

• Backpack express? Sure, why not, you can try to send your signup forms through and hope they come back to school in one piece for you to then manually enter in your copious free time (exhale). But then again, save your sanity and skip straight to the bullets above. Plus, you'll be 'going green' by holding off on paper. Aren't you eco-clever?

Got questions? We'd like to think we have answers. Hit us up anytime. And to all the kids, parents, teachers and school staff heading back this month ... best of luck to all of you this year. It's going to be a great one!

Got a few cooks in the kitchen? Bring it - you've got JangoMail.

Managing multiple clients or in-house departments is child's play using our cutting-edge email marketing features. Some of our clients' favorites include the ability to create any campaign, capitalize on results reporting, and share out to as many or as few team members and partnering agencies as you want.

Here's how to do it:

Create sub-accounts
Easily create sub-accounts for your clients underneath a master umbrella account. With your consent, internal or external marketing, design, public relations and digital agencies can take full advantage of our highly flexible client sub-account capabilities. This feature allows you to maintain multiple JangoMail accounts; each distinctly modified to best service the unique needs of each entity.
It’s a smart deal for your business, too. All accounts are billed together, so you’ll get the lowest cost per email of the combined total sending volume.

Create multiple logins

You can create unique login credentials (username and password) for your account, without requiring the creation of additional accounts.
Any authorized user can have access, with the same permissions as the main username/password. For added protection, only the Administrator's login has API access, and the authority to initiate mass emails through an external email client or FTP to the JangoMail server.

Reporting only logins
Not everything is for everyone’s eyes – or usage. JangoMail lets you create separate logins for your account that allow a specified user to see and utilize reporting functions. However, they don’t have the ability to access other functions of the site that you’d rather keep proprietary.

Private Label

Keep JangoMail behind-the-scenes, so your business can steal the show. JangoMail features private label capabilities, which allow you to create a 100% domain-branded private label solution that re-brands JangoMail as your own personal email advertising application.

List sharing
If your master account contains sub-accounts, JangoMail lets you share out email lists across any of those sub-accounts. Those sub-accounts can then share email lists between other sub-accounts. Information is only proprietary as dictated by your master account, allowing sub-accounts free access to a variety of email lists.

Unsubscribe/Bounce sharing
For your accounts that have sub-accounts, unsubscribe and bounce lists can be shared from your master account to any sub-account you choose. Sub-accounts can also share out unsubscribe and bounce lists between other sub-accounts.
Information is only proprietary as dictated by your master account, allowing sub-accounts free access per your direction.

Locked templates
Some email campaigns are meant to be shared out by recipients. However, our Locked Template feature allows you to maintain the integrity of some information with that particular email – whether it’s brand-related or an exclusive offer.

FTP
Your JangoMail account also comes with an FTP account (FTP to client.jangomail.com) to upload images and other files (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.) into your account Assets, a library for your referenced files. For added peace-of-mind, all files are copied to both our primary and backup server locations during the upload process.

How cool is that? Tell us what you think about this or any other JangoMail feature. And if you don't see something you'd like or need, hit us up any time for ways to make it happen. Until next time, have a great week!