Ask Jo: The Email Newsletter

I announced in last evening’s post that I was starting a new email newsletter program.  I showed you how to sign up and I thought I explained it all…but there was some confusion I think.  I’m writing today to hopefully clear up some of the questions.

To sign up you simply need to click where it says, “Click here to join the blog’s email list”.  It’s on the right-hand column of the blog.

Then this will pop up…you fill in your info.

(Don’t you love the cattle trailer picture Gannon drew me that’s below my computer-those are cows sitcking their heads out.  HA!!)

With that, if you click Daily Digest, you get an email each day that has links to the most recent two blog posts and the two most recent Youtube videos.  These emails are automatically generated from a company caller Mailer Lite.  I have an account with them and I am paying them for this service.  They are legitimate and are working for me to better serve you.

There is another option that says from Jo.  You can click that option as well.  This is where I will manually very occasionally send an email that was generated and written by me or Kayla.  We might send an email if the blog is down.  We might send a Christmas letter.  We might send an extra email just for fun.

I know so many of you worry if I miss a blog post.  This way if you get an email, you might know that I was called away or the blog is down.  It’s an alternate way to communicate with you if something should happen.

So…Let me get to some of the questions that have been asked…

Cynthia in Nebraska asked:
“How is this different from if we already signed up for the email? Also, what’s the benefit of signing up v. just… Checking the blog site twice a day?”

This isn’t different than if you signed up for email previously except the email will have a heading that says it’s coming from me and Mailer Lite.  Kayla did a bunch of work behind the scenes to migrate the old email list company to the new email list company.  I’m sure in the migration some didn’t go through, as with any job like this so it’s best to re-enter your info to make sure you’re getting the email.

Convenience is the answer as to why not check the blog twice a day.  Some people long ago got in the habit of having an email come to them through Blog Lovin’ and old habits are hard to break.  Many people like things the way they have always been and this will ensure that things are close to the way they have always been.

Blog Lovin’ has proved to be unreliable and the email feed through Jet Pack wasn’t either.  I have been getting about three emails a day from people who think I’ve dropped off the face of the earth and miss me because, for some reason, these other email services quit working.  I’ve written blog posts explaining that people can simply come to the blog directly but no matter what I do, people want an email coming to their inbox that tells them when new posts are published.  I try really hard to please as many people as I can…(it’s the people-pleaser in me) so I am trying this program to try to help out the people who really want this service.

If you already have a system in place or a habit in place for reading the blog, this might not be something you want to have in your email box and that’s perfectly okay.  It’s for the people who want it.

Glenda said:
“Jo, I received an email yesterday with your name at the top instead of Country Threads(I did something wrong in entering you into my system so you and Mary are the same.) I can’t seem to have the knowledge to change it. I know that you wouldn’t know if it would be ok but just was wondering if you had done a posting for us yesterday. Thank you for your help. I just don’t want to open it if is spam.”

It is not spam.  You can open it.  I think the rest will work its way out.  If not, let me know and I’ll have Kayla look into it.

Linda said:
“I also have tried to sign up via the pop-up box and have not received a confirmation message in my Inbox so I assume it didn’t work. What do I do next? I don’t want to miss your blog posts.”

There is no confirmation email so you didn’t miss out on anything.  One of the reasons we were having trouble with the other programs handling email newsletters is that they did have confirmation emails.  People would sign up.  The confirmation email went to their spam folder and they never saw them.  Then they would wonder why they weren’t getting emails.  We made this be automatic with no email confirmation provided.  It’s one less thing for you to do.

Kristy said:
“I signed up on the pop-up but so far have not seen anything come to my inbox. I do come and read your blog on my own but would like the extras. Did I not do a step? Thanks for being willing to pay for this. That is a big commitment. Love your blog and love all the ways you reach out. I am not a social media girl either though I do lurk on Instagram a bit but don’t have an account. Thanks again- K-”

Please check your spam box.  Also, the emails are scheduled to come to your inbox once a day at 6 pm.  I’m not sure if that’s central time or what though.  Just trust each evening an email will come to those of you who signed up.

Any manual email that comes directly from me could come at any time of the day.

I hope that answers some questions and clears up a few things.

I’ve had several people worried about the added cost I have for this.  It is an added expense but if it works, it’s totally worth it to have emails coming to you regularly and to have things running more smoothly.

One more thing…
Kayla currently had the email sign-up as a pop-up.  We are hoping to encourage people who haven’t signed up and want to, to see how to sign up.  If you have already signed up or aren’t interested in signing up, just hit the “X”.  We will likely take that down in a month or so and only have the smaller sign-up button.

As always thanks for your patience as we work our way through the kinks and questions.

Important takeaways:
-Emails are not spam if it comes from Jo or Mailer Lite
-Emails will come once a day at about 6 pm for those who are signed up
-There is no confirmation email
-If you already have a regular habit of catching up on the blog, you don’t need this
-I’m trying my best to help those who want this service

Again, thanks for your patience.