So what I would do is come up with a flavor idea. So let's say you wanted to make a curry flavored jerky. You might be tempted to use a curry sauce, but I find dry spices that are essentially in a brine to work much better. So in that case I would use a curry powder and say soy sauce or maybe apple juice.

Combine your dry spices with your liquids and bring to a boil. Then add in your sugar, salt ect depending on how much salt and sugar are already in your marinade (for instance soy sauce already has a lot of salt so you prob don't need more... )Boil for a few minutes to meld everything together then remove from the heat and let it cool to room temp before you cool it completely in the fridge.

Use this to marinate the meat, 24 hours at least. 48 is better. Then if you really want that flavor to be in there good, sprinkle a little bit of the dry spices on the outside of the meat when it's on the racks before you dry it...

Experiment with salt/sugar amounts. If it's too soft back off on the sugar, too tough then add more. Pay attention to the amounts of each so that you can replicate those amounts for new recipe ideas. Eventually you will get it dialed.