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This road takes you from a brand new account to a first campaign, in the order Lekalao needs. The dashboard shows a Next steps list that ticks itself off as you go.
1

Create your account

On a self-hosted installation, the first person to open /register creates the administrator account and the team; everyone after that is invited. On an online offer, each registration creates a team of its own.Switch two-factor authentication on straight away, in Settings → Security. See Profile and security.
2

Add a mailer

Lekalao sends nothing itself: it hands e-mails to a provider. Open Settings → Mailers → Add a mailer, choose the kind (SMTP, Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo or Resend), paste the credentials and, when your provider sets a rate, enter it.Save, then click Send a test e-mail. A mailer that has not passed its test cannot send a campaign.
On Postmark, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo and Resend, the Set it up for me button also creates the webhook that brings back deliveries, bounces and complaints. See Mailers.
3

Set the sender and the postal address

In Settings → General, fill in the default sender address and name, and your organisation’s postal address. That address is required in every marketing e-mail: Lekalao refuses to send a campaign while it is missing.
4

Verify your sending domain

In Settings → Deliverability → Add a domain, give the domain of your sender address and your provider. Lekalao shows the DNS records to create (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and an optional tracking domain) then checks them. Without them, Gmail and Yahoo put your e-mails in the junk folder, or refuse them. See Sending domains.
5

Create a list

In Contacts → New list, give it a name, choose the list’s language and decide about double opt-in. See Lists.
6

Add subscribers

Three ways to do it:
  • Import a CSV or Excel file from the list’s Imports tab (Import and export);
  • put the subscription form on your site (Forms);
  • Add a subscriber by hand, or go through the API.
Only import people who agreed to hear from you. A bought or scraped list brings complaints, bounces and, very soon, a campaign paused by Lekalao.
7

Write your first campaign

Campaigns → New campaign: a name, the list, an editor. In the Content tab, write the subject and the message; the preview keeps up as you type. Two variables are essential:
See Create a campaign and Personalisation.
8

Test it, then send it

Send a test to your own inbox, and check how it looks on a phone. In the Delivery tab, the summary lists what will go out and what is still missing; then Send now or Schedule. Follow the figures afterwards in Statistics. See Send a campaign.

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What next

An automatic welcome

A series of e-mails for every new subscriber.

Invite the team

Owners, editors and viewers.

E-mails from your applications

Order confirmations, password resets…

Wire up your site

Subscribe, tag and report sales through the API.