Cakemail
Getting Started

First Steps

Description

This comprehensive getting started guide provides new users with a step-by-step roadmap to launch their first successful email marketing campaign. From initial account setup to sending your first campaign, these foundational steps ensure you establish good email marketing practices from day one. The guide covers essential elements including contact list management, domain authentication, form creation, and campaign optimization techniques.

Why it matters

A structured onboarding process is crucial for email marketing success and compliance. Following these initial steps helps establish proper sender reputation, ensures deliverability, and sets up sustainable email marketing practices. By completing these foundational elements correctly from the start, you avoid common pitfalls that can damage your sender reputation, reduce deliverability rates, or result in compliance issues. This systematic approach also maximizes the effectiveness of your email campaigns from your very first send.

Welcome to your new email marketing account!

Businesses of all sizes benefit from our email marketing services to send, track, and create email marketing campaigns while delivering the most essential business emails effectively. For optimal results, we recommend starting with:

  1. Build your contact list - Import contacts

    You can import your existing list or create one from scratch with our forms for websites and social media pages.

  2. Customize it - Create and add a subscription form to your website

    Your form should be targeted for maximum impact.

  3. Brand it - Create your confirmation and welcome email

    Let your personality shine through in your confirmation and welcome email.

  4. Optimize your deliverability - Authenticate your sender domain

    Your deliverability is optimized when your sender domain is authenticated.

  5. Prepare your first email - Create your campaign

    Set up your campaign, how it looks, and what you want it to say.

  6. Before sending: checklist of things to check - Test your campaign

    Before sending your email to your customers, make sure it's error-free.

  7. Track your success - Track campaign performance

    See what the charts on the dashboard mean.

  8. Your next email - Generate engagement

    You've impressed your subscribers once – do it again with great content.

Troubleshooting

Unable to import contacts

  • Ensure your CSV file is properly formatted with headers
  • Check that email addresses are valid and properly formatted
  • Verify file size is under the allowed limit
  • Remove any special characters from the CSV file
  • Try importing a smaller test batch first

Domain authentication failure

  • Allow 24-48 hours for DNS changes to propagate
  • Verify DNS records are entered exactly as provided
  • Check with your domain hosting provider for restrictions
  • Ensure there are no extra spaces in DNS record entries
  • Try authenticating one protocol at a time

Subscription form not working

  • Verify form code is properly embedded on your website
  • Check that JavaScript is enabled in the browser
  • Ensure the form is linked to an active contact list
  • Test the form in different browsers
  • Clear cache and cookies before testing

First campaign stuck in draft

  • Ensure all required fields are completed
  • Verify sender email is authenticated
  • Check that recipient list has active contacts
  • Confirm account has sufficient sending credits
  • Review campaign for spam trigger words

Not receiving test emails

  • Check spam/junk mail folders
  • Verify test email address is correct
  • Ensure sender domain is authenticated
  • Try sending to a different email provider
  • Wait a few minutes as delivery may be delayed

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