My journey into MailWizz LESSON ONE

MailWizz V 1.6.3 - September-2018

This sharing is about my MailWizz journey and the lesson(s) I have gained along my FIRST BLUSH/padawan path of Learning the GUI and functional uses of MailWizz.

I must say/share these things/learning’s before these memories of this journey seep out thorough my socks never to return. I must capture and share them as best I can while the memories are still relatively fresh. WARNING: I do repeat to clarify, emphasize and be explicit in my distinctions, being aware that this is being read by a wide learned spectrum of users from Initiator to Guru.

The joy I most often have in the ITC world is learning NEW programs and systems, as so many of us do. As we/most all know ITC is an ever changing world, my current love is the Crypto world… anyway enough of that waffle...

Just briefly a heads up about me: While I personally have been in ITC since the early eighties, and after graduating from Uni with double majors in ITC and Marketing Management, and later being employed on contract over the following decades in programming, databases, testing, also Senior Systems Analyst, Trainer, Coach, Educator and Author.

So after all the techo fun setting up and installing this beast;

After the first few days of familiarising myself with the interface and also watching (interactively) as many Video lessons as I could, many lessons of course unfolded into new leanings and ahhhaaa moments and of Ohhh that is how MailWizz does that function, regardless as I had expected it to be, or not so… etc.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

WOW. What an extensive and well built program.

MASSIVE is all I can say from the outset….

You .dev guys and gals… have put some serious time of your life into this beast.

The Backend etc is truly awesome and very extensive. KUDOS.


My learning curve & confusions reign.

FIRSTLY: It took me while to “get” the understanding of the Backend/Customer paradigm. That was not so (BLATANTLY) clear from the outset, as such I did not understand immediately that the Customer area was where I was to set up my so called “campaigns”.

SECONDLY: the terminology/word “CAMPAIGN” as used in MailWizz? And other “words/terminology/pedagogy” I will explain at an other-time.

Then not being able to edit a so called ‘CAMPAIGN’ was confusing. At first I could not work it out. Why could I not EDIT a campaign to FIX stuff or adjust stuff or to “dev Test” stuff as it goes out into the WORLDS (my dev test accounts on the web) emails systems and make these simple adjustments? Bewildered I was. Clarifications and Distinctions I was seeking.

THIRDLY: When creating a so called “campaign” the timer being then set to go live… (The setting of a DATE/TIME to go live by default) or even as one adjusts that to few minutes hence ahead of NOW time… just did not make sense right away as in my head I was thinking “when this campaign should be sent out, NOW, or in a few minutes forward of NOW TIME, so I can test it straight up. (That was MY LEARNING OK, my experience, so ”you” don’t need to “FEEDBACK” me up the wharzooo, LOL, as all these learning’s herein are MY-MISS-TAKES. Lol.)

FURTHER MORE: ALSO with “the timing thing re DATE/TIME” when one is used to OTHER popular email/AUTORESPONDER systems and their user/functional paradigms, I was expecting to NOT set an actual fixed DATE/TIME, but to trigger a delay as explained further down below ...

For each individual so called “CAMPAIGN” this has TWO ramifications

a) that the time set is then when it goes live, I had to “re-frame” that in my head (way of thinking) is to make it (campaign) go live as of TIME SET such as NOW TIME (or thereabouts) and

b) That there is NO (as expected) way to EDIT that just roughed out so called “campaign”, because it is now set to LIVE, or would be live, by the time you come back from filling up the bottomless cup of coffee, if that is how far into the “future” one set the “go live” DATE/TIME setting.

AS I WAS LEARNING this GUI/Interface/Awesome-Machine the time set is also usually going to be (NOW-TIMEISH) by default, as (a learning) one does not know what functions this locks in later, such as the inability to EDIT that so called ‘campaign’. Once it is live, there is NO EDITING available.

OTHERWISE as I frustratedly found out the hard way is to use COPY. ……….. this is where USER/Myself/Customer must make a COPY of a so called “campaign” which is then set to DRAFT (appropriately) so one can edit this “NEW” copy version.

# This is redundant in my view and the “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN” would be better set as/to PAUSE so as to then enabling a customer/user to EDIT that/a campaign.

## Not only that, the current method/system causing redundancy, it also has the ramifications of creating an ever growing list of so called “campaigns” with new names and new id’s, which I feel can be better handled by PAUSE then EDIT a given “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN”.

* So I recommend (attention dev’s) that a USER/CUSTOMER be able to set that/a/any campaign to PAUSE. Which a “CAMPAIGN” is currently available to set by the way…

Then once a “CAMPAIGN” has been PAUSED, make it so one can edit/update THAT SPECIFIC “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN” from there.

Some FURTHER INSIGHTS and recommendations to fix up GUI and Logic Flow.

Somewhere I am also still trying to figure out how it is currently being “functioned/activated/worked-around” in MailWizz at this current Version, these being those SHORT term work-arounds so omni-present in ITC…

AND some personal requirements of my own that I need as USE CASE SCENARIOS.

My FIRST USE CASE Scenario (to carry me through with REAL content, as I learned the MailWizz Beast) has been to email out as series of 5 LESSONS.

MORE in the next part of the thread.... PLUS SEE PDF ATTACHMENT
 

Attachments

  • My journey into MailWizz LESSON ONE..pdf
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My USE CASE #1

1. REQUIRED to send out FIVE-5 lessons to subscribers (testing 3 subscribers).

2. to Subscribers whom enroll on different/random days, and

3. Each subsequent lesson released/sent THREE-3 days (or as set) after opens. (as triggered opens = y) Or “n” days after the last one regardless of opens if so desired/required.

I found (in various video trainings and comments herein the forum) that setting the FIRST one/lesson to go out immediately as with the AUTORESPONDER (AR) function worked.

I WAS ASSUMING/EXPECTING MANY THINGS/OPTIONS HERE in that, I could then send them/lessons out from here (in the AR) as other email management systems do. (REF: Chimp, Octopus, Blue etc et-alia)

And then as I learned from this FORUM chatter/banter;

1. To set up each so called “REGULAR CAMPAIGNS” and set them to send out as triggered, one after the other, after the initial AUTORESPONDER was set/sent/received/opened.

2. Then subsequently as each “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN” when being opened by the subscriber triggers the next “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN” to send.

Which I have achieved 1+4. Whoooo.

BUT SADLY they all get sent/received as per the sequence, seemingly/experientially from the Subscribers perspective, at once, with no timing except the trigger to show open=y. As a person clicks on each new email coming in, while the requirements are such that they/lesson/emails should/must be delayed a few days or so to enhance the learning and heighten expectation and desire.

SO far my emails while they go out, all five of them, triggered to when the previous one has been opened, there is NO WAY I can find (as yet?) how to delay the sending to (in my use case scenario) 3 days, as required. Because currently they all go out instantly once the previous one is opened as per the trigger. NOT as per my USE CASE REQUIREMENT. (YET)

My suggested
MAILWIZZ -IMPROVEMENT/UPDATE/UPGRADE/FIX is to;


1. Set at the Subscriber level, (because each subscriber as will enroll randomly) such that

2. At each so called “REGULAR CAMPAIGN” level (a simple individual “mail-out” item in reality)

3. Program a method for setting TIMING TO SEND (not a specific fixed DATE/TIME) and such that it is based on the installed on Server System Time (@ now time) OR LOCAL TIME as per the CUSTOMER experience, plus “n” number of days, weeks etc and

4. Such that as the next email is released at that time frame delay, as per when that subscriber triggers “open” or not.

5. Timing is everything.

!!! While of course there are WORK-AROUNDS for many things and ways to set this trigger and that trigger and segment lists and all those things/options, these are not long term solutions, nor do these do FIXES address the primary functionality of the GUI, the fresh user experience and simplifying the flow through of simple required tasks.

For many of you (devs) I urge you to go and get a free account at some of those “big” AUTORESPONDER offerings out there, just as a Market Research / Role Modelling process (As Robert Kiyosaki used to tell us in training’s, to “put your scout-hat on and scout/research the market”) to see what the current market is offering and where the current market is being driven by user requirements. The purpose of “Genius” is to simplify the complex, not make it more complex and/or inaccessible. If your (dev) purpose is to complicate so that you can create a market to sell services/plugins to, then by all means ignore, but that is not the initial purpose of MailWizz, it is enabling email AUTORESPONDER FREEDOM to the people, and as such this MailWizz phenomenon that you have created here is going to be VERY BIG. You (all) are awesome, keep that awesomnessing up and shine your ever bright love light(s).

As Eva said (paraphrased) here in this forum: stating succinctly questions, that she “did not understand”, a lot. She is the Prime target market from a user perspective and we need so many more like her to being brave enough to as those so called “STUPID” questions.

REMEMBER: The only “stupid question” is the one not asked!

BE BRAVE ask away ... of you reading this … just do it, ask ...

Cheerings and regards; Glenn-Philip SINCLAIR​

a new brave MailWizz user.​

= That will do for now EOF =
 
As Always there are LESSON and then there are LESSONS....
Egg like egg McMuffins and EGG in the face type LESSONS.

So it is true that you can PAUSE a “so called REGULAR CAMPAIGN”... and I do find ot now that you can edit/update it also.... that was a good find/DISCOVERY as I needed to change the recurring status... SO now that it is RESET then now I am testing as to whether it will trigger current subscribers actions and emails sent.. we will see..

Having said all that, with EGG on my face... Whooops LEARNING MOMENT... LOL. the issue of setting "drip timing" remains which I guess is one of my MAIN USE CASE SCENARIOS at present. Onward and upward tally ho chaps (and chapettes) hahahah.
 
WELL ... I will be darned.... like a good winter scarf....

THAT problem is back again, cant UPDATE/Edit after PAUSE.. have tested settings on five different campaigns and NO LUCK, I don't even know where I got into that one before that allowed me to UPDATE/Edit.

Still skinning my knees,
Tally Ho and forward... CHARGE...
 
OK found it... thats what you get for having /backend/ and /customer/ open at the same time.
1/ /backend/ will allow you to pause so calle dcampaigns... but not EDIT/UPDATE them.
2. /customer/ will allow you to pause a so called campaign and then EDIT/UPDATE them.....

Whooo that was close, "I thought I BROKE SOMETHING"... ROFL.
 
Yo, thanks @frm.mwz, yes agreed @twisted1919 is doing a amazingly awesome job for sure....
PROBLEM: I do not see what you see, in my Campaign Confirmation screen or that would have been just way too obvious to missssss, or I was blinded by the awesomeness of MailWizz or some angel walking by...

BUT no I have taken a screen capture which I attached here...

firefox_2018-09-23_15-46-14.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mind you @frm.mwz ... I am editing a PAUSED problem child Regular/normal Campaign,
so maybe what you are showing me is only available when creating a new campaign perhaps?
Yes, the above screen shot is for an AutoResponder (AR) to show the timing options.
Just copy the campaign you want to turn into an AR and change the type of camp from regular to AR.
May the MailWizz Force be with you :cool:
 
Thank You @frm.mwz You are Bonza Mate. Ahoy.

Ok done that... (as Above) Now testing to see how all the timings go....

================================================================================
NOTE: For anyone who is following along here, perhaps to find out how to do this for yourself...
THEN
I shall shoot a few more screen captures and maybe even a Video Clip
to show you how to do this... for my follow up learners on the Learning Team.....

REMEMBER : I have a series of FIVE emails in my test use case, needing to go out one after the other,
and as I have selected timing to be at 3 day intervals... (although 1 hour in testing)...

SO now I am moving onto the Sign Up form (for this campaign),
which looks SO UGLY, gotta fix that also.

And do some more testing...
So (Ya'all) as you can all see below, WTF happens with these settings?
To find out, some more TESTING, TESTING, TESTING.

Cheerings All, Tally Ho. GPS

MailWizz -Changing settings from regular Campaign to AResponder.jpg
 
Thank You @frm.mwz You are Bonza Mate. Ahoy.

Ok done that... (as Above) Now testing to see how all the timings go....

================================================================================
NOTE: For anyone who is following along here, perhaps to find out how to do this for yourself...
THEN
I shall shoot a few more screen captures and maybe even a Video Clip
to show you how to do this... for my follow up learners on the Learning Team.....

REMEMBER : I have a series of FIVE emails in my test use case, needing to go out one after the other,
and as I have selected timing to be at 3 day intervals... (although 1 hour in testing)...

SO now I am moving onto the Sign Up form (for this campaign),
which looks SO UGLY, gotta fix that also.

And do some more testing...
So (Ya'all) as you can all see below, WTF happens with these settings?
To find out, some more TESTING, TESTING, TESTING.

Cheerings All, Tally Ho. GPS

View attachment 6041
hey thx, you are welcome!

'incl imported subs'
means to send to even the recently imported subs to this list to which the AR applies (i.e. also those that might not have been there for prev ARs if this AR is not the first)

'incl current subs'
means to send to the current subs, since ARs usually send only to new subs (see the pup-up box for each field, they contain very useful info)

;)

PS: nice initials, good for biz, ppl talk about u all the time, Mr GPS :D
 
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