James Explains: Stay True to Your Subject Line

It’s very simple actually, stick to your subject line.  The purpose of your email should be identified in your subject.  Keep it short and sweet and do not overthink it.  Tell your audience what they are about to open and the rest is gravy.

Your subject should be clear, concise, and true. If your message is a transactional one, meant to confirm that your customer’s order has shipped, make sure your subject line says so. “You’re Order has Shipped!” Enough said.

The body of the message should also be composed in a way that your reader is going to see the promised information first and foremost. Promotional content should be included but should not be taking up prime real estate.

Related products or services are most effective below the fold. Don’t think your customer won’t notice a bait and switch move. They will. The idea is to capitalize on the opportunity to provide valuable marketing information to your customers, should they decide they are ready to see it.

So, stay true to your subject line and don’t veer from it.  Your open rates depend on it!

Special thanks to JangoSMTP Account Executive, Erica Melzer, for helping me with this post!

Cheers,

James The Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoSMTP

About James

James the Jangolope is our JangoSMTP mascot. Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest  

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains. Follow James on Facebook

Subscribe to James Explains

James Explains: Upsell Through Transactional Email

There’s no better time to upsell than through an email confirmation.

Imagine this, a customer has just completed an order on your ecommerce site. Let’s say they've ordered 250 business cards. You have your automated messages set up in JangoSMTP, like a lot of our users do, so that your customers receive an order confirmation immediately following each transaction.

When would be a better time to offer that customer a discount and free shipping on an additional 250 business cards?...NOW

You could also offer related products like personalized stationary, promotional ink pens, or business card magnets. This customer is in the mood to buy, so take advantage of each opportunity.

They've already placed an order through your website, and entered their payment and shipping information. It would be unusually easy to add items to their order now. That's an opportunity no business can afford to ignore!  Make sure you incorporate upselling into your next campaign.

As always, I’m James, the most interesting animal in email marketing.  Keep it locked here for the latest and greatest!

Special thanks to JangoSMTP Account Executive, Erica Melzer, for helping me with this post!

Cheers,

James The Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoSMTP

About James

James the Jangolope is our JangoSMTP mascot. Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest  

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains. Follow James on Facebook

Subscribe to James Explains

5 Things you didn’t know about JangoSMTP

Written by: Erica Melzer
Account Executive


Think you know everything about JangoSMTP?  Think again.

1.  We were the world’s first.

Did that hiring manager see your resume yet or is it time to give her a call? JangoSMTP was the first to make it possible for you find your answer to questions like that. While we weren't the first to offer transactional emails to the world, we were first to track those opens and clicks. This means that you can keep using your current email client such as Outlook, Thunderbird, or Gmail to send your messages and, using our relay, you can see how well they perform.

2.  Our support team is the fastest in the business. 

According to ZenDesk, our third-party ticketing system, we respond to support tickets within three hours on average. Seventy percent of our tickets this year have been answered within the first hour. These figures include tickets that come in overnight, on weekends, and on holidays. They all count. Compare that to the response time of others web applications in the industry; it takes them 20 hours on average to submit their first response. Those numbers speak for themselves, I think.

3.  We've got girl power on our side. 

Did you know that statistically speaking, successful tech start-ups employ twice as many women in senior roles than their less successful competitors?  (Dow Jones) According to Fortune Magazine, within the Fortune 100 tech companies, only four women fill CEO positions.  Women are consistently underrepresented in tech industries. This is NOT the case at JangoMail, where women represent 52.6% of our nerd-force. Jack and James may be boys, but JangoGirls provide tech support, develop our platform, and manage our marketing, customer service, and accounting departments. Even our President and COO is a woman.

4.  There’s a side to us you haven’t seen. 

JangoSMTP is all about transactional, but we do broadcast messages, too, at www.jangomail.com. JangoMail is an email marketing platform that gives users the tools you need to create, manage, send, and track email marketing campaigns. With JangoMail you can manage your lists and take advantage of powerful automation tools like autoresponders, and behavioral triggers. We support advanced personalization and dynamic content. The best part is, all JangoMail accounts can send transactional messages, too! If you’re interested in converting your JangoSMTP account and gaining access to the full range of JangoMail features, call 1-888-465-2646 ext.819 and speak with me, Erica Melzer.

5.  We’re not only the first and the fastest…

We’re also the best. JangoMail and JangoSMTP are consistantly rated highest among our peers.  Check out the JangoSMTP reviews over at GoogleApps where one user says that he:

"ENCOUNTERED SOME DIFFICULTIES DUE TO MY SOMEWHAT NON-STANDARD SERVER SET-UP, BUT I RECEIVED VERY PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, GOOD ANALYSIS THAT HELPED ME IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM, AND A SERIES OF AMAZINGLY QUICK RESPONSES."

Also check out our way above average ResellerRating’s reviews.


If you have any questions about the best ways to use your JangoSMTP account or if you’re interested in trying out JangoMail, give us a call at 1-888-465-2646 between 7 AM and 7 PM (US/EST) to talk to one of our knowledgeable sales and support reps.

James Explains: Name Recognition

Who is James? Name Recognition Explained.

Have you received an email lately from a specific person?  If it made it to your inbox you probably didn't open it because you didn't recognize the name.  A week or so later it caught your eye again, because this time the subject line read, “Hi, it’s Casey Green from blank business”.

In my last post, we spoke a little about being personable and polite in our messages. You may be tempted to use a real person’s name as the sender of a transactional message, in fact, it seems to be a new trend lately. However, we caution against doing so.

Why?

Because we do not expect everyone to remember who Casey Green is from blank business.

While there is nothing about this that will seem impolite to a reader, it could confuse them a bit.  All of our customers, for example, know exactly what JangoSMTP is, but few of them would recognize my name by itself.  James could mean a number of people.

Name recognition can only help you when it comes to enticing a recipient to open your message.  Remember, often times, they are already expecting your transactional message…and they’re expecting it to come from your company, not an employee.

It’s okay to open using their name, or close your message with a personal salutation from a member of your team.  However, it’s your company name that should be visible from the inbox.

Special thanks to JangoSMTP Account Executive, Erica Melzer, for helping me with this post!

Cheers,

James The Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoSMTP

About James

James the Jangolope is our JangoSMTP mascot. Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest  

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains. Follow James on Facebook

Subscribe to James Explains

James Explains: No No-Reply

Whenever I start thinking about a no-reply from address, in any sort of email message, it gives me severe anxiety. My heart starts pounding and I swear, I can hear the Jaws theme song…Duuun dun duuun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

 

So, let me explain: No-Reply from address

Anyone with an inbox has seen this before. In fact, its commonplace. It usually looks something like this: no-reply@thebusinessname.com.

There are several sensible reasons to use a no-reply address when sending commercial messages. Some do it because they do not want to bombard one team member with hundreds of out-of-office replies. Common as this is, the practice is generally disliked by email recipients, myself included.

Why? No-replies feel impersonal and convey a certain arrogance. They also come across as uncaring to customers and limits your engagement with them. After all, you are asking them to take the time to read your messages, and with a no-reply email address, you are blocking any feedback from them

So, what can you do?  Set up a proper from address (click here to learn how) and respond quickly to any inquiries you receive. Good or bad, this is an extension of your customer service. Still, it’s important to use a real email address, if only for the sake of being personable and polite. If there is a better, more reliable way to contact your company, display that information prominently inside your message.

Special thanks to JangoSMTP Account Executive, Erica Melzer, for helping me with this post!

Cheers,

James The Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoSMTP

About James

James the Jangolope is our JangoSMTP mascot. Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest  

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains. Follow James on Facebook

Subscribe to James Explains

Protect Your Fleet with JangoSMTP

By: Erica Melzer

Account Executive
As the mother of three young children, I am already losing sleep over the thought of Cooper, Chase, and Amelia driving real cars on actual roads. Still, their coming adolescent years are very real things that I will eventually have to face. Like it, or not.

It's a well-known statistic, at this point, that car crashes are the leading cause of teen death in the United States. What you may not know is that, according to Geico, one in five 16 year-old drivers will be involved in an accident during their first year on the road and most of these, as with all types of accidents, will be speed-related.

When the time comes, I plan to monitor what my children do with their cars using GPS tracking. There are several in-vehicle monitoring devices and programs like OpenGTS that will send an email to my husband and I when one of our kids exceeds the speed limit or travels outside of their approved radius or “geofence.” These devices can also record and send a kid's exact routes, stop times, speeds, and more. A few of the tracking systems can even send us a warning message if our teen driver's seatbelt is left unbuckled.

Fortunately, I don't really have to start worrying about this for another 10 years or so (like that's going to stop me.) If you have a teen driver on the road already, you can use JangoSMTP to send alerts like these to your email address or smartphone today. Click here and find out how OpenGTS and JangoSMTP can help you keep an eye on your teen driver.

There is also huge potential for the commercial use of similar devices and programs. Trucking companies and businesses in service-related industries can keep track of their trucks and vans, keep their drivers safe, and lower their insurance premiums by installing devices into each of their fleet vehicles. Whether you plan to track your vehicles at home or keep an eye on your own fleet, JangoSMTP can provide the relay server you need to make the whole thing work and keep everyone safe.

JangoSMTP can be used with any device or program that requires an SMTP server to relay messages. If you have questions about setting something like this up, call 888-465-2646 between 7 AM and 7 PM (US/EST) Monday – Friday, and talk to one of our knowledgeable Support Reps. That's right, our free trial accounts get phone support, too!

James Explains: Transactional Email

Hi Ladies and Gents! Wishing you a Happy Spring from the JangoSMTP headquarters in Dayton, Ohio.

Welcome to the fist James Explains post. As you may have guessed, I'm James, the new JangoSMTP mascot. I'm so excited to be here and help you boost your sales with transactional email tips and best practices. Today we're going to review the basics so everyone new has a little background.

So, let me explain: Transactional Email
The CAN-SPAM act defines a transactional message as one that “facilitates an already agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer about an ongoing transaction.” The list of possible examples is a long one and includes things like order and shipping confirmations, invoices, receipts, appointment reminders, backorder notices, and username/password retrieval messages – all have some of the highest open rates out there!

An emailed appointment reminder is just
one example of a transactional message.

While the primary purpose of a transactional email is not to promote products or services, they are an excellent opportunity to do exactly that. Transactional messages experience open rates that are nearly twice the average open rates for traditional email marketing messages like a newsletter.

Recipients are often anticipating these messages before they even arrive. A customer is inherently interested in opening a transactional message, too, because they know it will contain information pertinent to a purchase they've just made or a password they've just requested. Are you ready to start taking strategic advantage of the unique opportunity to engage a customer who's already waiting for your message to arrive?

There are a few transactional email musts that you should keep in mind along the way. Tune in for my next post when I explain why you should NOT use a no-reply address.

Special thanks to JangoSMTP Account Executive, Erica Melzer, for helping me with this post!

Cheers,

James The Jangolope
Department of Awesome
JangoSMTP

About James

James the Jangolope is our JangoSMTP mascot. Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest  

What is a Jangolope? Find out HERE

We want to hear from you. Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains. Follow James on Facebook

Subscribe to James Explains

How Cold is Too Cold for Rover… and what’s it got to do with JangoSMTP?

By: Erica Melzer

Account Executive
Most of our customers aren't located in Dayton, Ohio. So, you may not been experiencing the record-breaking cold temperatures that we have this winter. Still, chances are, you do live in a region where it gets uncomfortably hot or cold at some point during the year. And, if not, lucky you.

The rest of us, especially those with pets, could certainly benefit from having a thermostat or sensor that would send us an email if the temperature in our house dropped below or rose above certain temperature thresholds. Nest thermostats that do exactly that and they use an SMTP server, just like ours, to send those messages.

Texas A&M University's Department of Veterinary Medicine says, “It is generally accepted that indoor pets are not acclimated to cold weather.” So, despite their wild origins and furry coats, most domesticated breeds (especially those with short hair) should never be kept in temperatures below 45°F.  Regarding warmer temperatures, the AKC said in a recent blog post that “...most dogs begin to show signs of overheating between 81-85°F.”

Photo courtesy of Bethan Hazell.

Find out if your thermostat is capable of alerting you to dramatic changes in temperature. If so, create a Free Trial Account. Then, all you need to do is adjust your thermostat's settings and tell it that JangoSMTP is your relay provider. Our free trial volume will be more than you'll ever need. This peace of mind will never cost you a dime.

If you have any questions about setting something like this up, call 888-465-2646 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (US/EST) and talk to one of our knowledgeable Support Reps. That's right, our free trial accounts get phone support, too!

Our New Mascot and Educational Series, “James Explains”

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

Introducing….James, the most interesting animal in transactional email.

“I don't always have SMTP questions, but when I do, James Explains.”

Meet James, our new JangoSMTP mascot. James the Jangolope is Jack, the JangoMail mascot's, eccentric cousin. Not only is he extremely good looking, but he is also knowledgeable about all things JangoSMTP.

Each month, look for our new “James Explains” emails and blog posts on transactional email advice, trends, and quick tips. James will offer insight on how to improve your SMTP plan and how to use your JangoSMTP account to the fullest.

Subscribe to James Explains.

What is a jangolope?
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 JangoSMTP and 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. The jackrabbit thought long and hard. He knew there had to be a way to incorporate tracking capabilities into transactional messages. 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. James is a direct descendant of the original jangolope. Half jackrabbit, half antelope, 100% email professional.

We want to hear from you. 
Have a topic you would like James to cover? Email us at marketing@us.jangomail.com with the subject line: James Explains.

Are You a Safe Sender?

By: Melonie Mottice
Marketing Specialist

It's important to make sure you are following the best practices for deliverability. Encourage your customers to create a Safe Sender, or White List.

To start, I would recommend sending an email with step-by-step instructions on how to create a Safe Sender List, and remove emails from spam.   Step-by-step guides with screenshots work best.  If you're concerned that your customers never check their Spam Folder, post a guide on your website and social media networks.  They work well near your opt-in form and confirmation page.

In JangoSMTP, you can determine which email client your subscribers use most and shape your instructions around those providers.

In our case, Outlook ranks high and Gmail is king.  Here are the steps we suggest:

Microsoft Outlook 2010 / 2013

To remove from the Junk Folder:
1.  Check your Junk Folder
2.  Click on the email message to highlight it
3.  Go to the Home tab
4.  Select the arrow on the Junk drop-down menu
5.  Choose Never Block Sender's Domain

To create a Safe Sender List:
1.  Under the Home tab go to the Junk drop-down menu and click on Junk Email Options
2.  In the new window click the Safe Senders tab
3.  Click the Add button and enter in the desired email address
4.  Click OK

Gmail

To remove from the Spam Folder:
1.  Go to the Spam Folder
2.  Locate message from us
3.  Select the message
4.  Click the "Not Spam" button

To create a Safe Sender List:
1.  Enter JangoMail in the search bar
2.  Click arrow in the right of the search bar to filter
3.  Click Create filter link at the bottom right
4.  Select Never send it to Spam
5.  Click the “Also apply…” box to apply to similar messages
6.  Choose the blue Create button