Settings

This article will go over the tabs under Settings, what they do, useful tips and hints for troubleshooting and setting up.

****Please note you must have the following programs before you can utilize Mandrill; Web version 3.2.1.7 or later, Usetup version 6.1.1.30 or later, and PDFEmail version 6.1.3.3****

API Logs

 

The “API Logs” section under “Settings” is useful for seeing the results of calls from our system into Mandrill (in other words, for sending emails). While the image above shows the last few failed calls, the “API Logs” section also has an area for successful calls. Also interesting in this section is the ability to view the time a particular call took to complete, which may be important when troubleshooting performance issues for outbound emails.

Custom Metadata

 

The “Custom Metadata” section under “Settings” allows one to view the custom metadata that is attached to emails going through Mandrill’s system. This area is of somewhat limited utility, but if it doesn’t look like the above image, it can indicate that the system is failing to send along some of the metadata required in order for it to process emails effectively.

Rejection List

Blacklist

 

The “Rejection Blacklist” section under “Settings->Rejection Lists” shows the email addresses to which Mandrill will no longer send messages and the reason for the address(es) being in that list. This can be useful when troubleshooting delivery of messages to particular addresses.

Whitelist

 

It’s worth mentioning here that there is also a “Whitelist” option under “Settings->Rejection Lists” that allows you to enter a list of email addresses that can never be black-listed. Caution is strongly advised insofar as putting anything on this list, as it keeps people from being able to opt-out and could easily cause a violation of CAN-SPAM if misused. However, if someone is having difficulty in opting out, this is probably the first place you should look.

Sending Defaults

 

The “Sending Defaults” section under “Settings” is used for setting up tracking. It is important to make sure that “Track Opens” is checked, or Mandrill will not track the opening of emails (our system still will do so, however). It’s also CRITICAL to make sure that “Add Unsubscribe Footer” is checked in order to avoid violating CAN-SPAM.

Sending Domains

 

The “Sending Domains” (called simply “Domains” in the header for added consternation and confusion) section under “Settings” shows the domains for which emails are currently sent in the system. This is where you would configure DKIM and SPF, as well as verifying domains being used. The settings in this section greatly impact message deliverability. It is recommended that you verify the domain (which will require an email address on the domain), and configure DKIM and SPF for best results.

SMTP & API Info

 

The “SMTP & API Info” section under “Settings” shows the SMTP configuration for this account along with the API keys. Double check the API key used by the sending service if you are receiving errors regarding authentication while attempting to send emails. Also, it’s important to protect these keys, as they are essentially passwords (hence the redaction above). Be sure and also check the permissions assigned to the API keys by clicking “Edit”, to make sure that a key has sufficient permissions to be useful.

Webhooks

 

Webhooks are the endpoints in our system to which Mandrill will send updates. Therefore, it’s critical that they be configured properly. In the “Webhooks” section under “Settings”, one can configure one or more endpoints for Mandrill to call into when something updates. Be sure when creating a webhook for Uluro and related products that the endpoint is configured to receive “send”, “deferral”, “hard_bounce”, “soft_bounce”, “open”, “click”, “spam”, “unsub”, “reject”, “blacklist”, and “whitelist” messages, or inconsistent behavior may occur within the system.

Also, be advised that the area near “Description” will show errors that have occurred on the webhook, and should be checked first if it is suspected that not all mandrill updates are making it through.

 

Some Further Notes

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act, a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. Penalties are stiff.  Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $16,000. While these regulations are aimed at the sender of the correspondence, Uluro can be crafted to provide automation to the process.

Among the regulations sited in this act, there are a few that can benefit from automation. These are:

• Tell recipients how to opt out of the receiving future email messages. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.
• Honor opt out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days. You can’t charge a fee, require the recipient to give you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don’t want to receive more messages from you, you can’t sell or transfer their email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you’ve hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.

 

For more information on Mandrill please refer to the Mandrill Support Guide.