Setup: Email Sending Domain
Why This Matters
Configuring your email sending domain is a one-time setup that authenticates you as a legitimate sender with Gmail, Yahoo, and other email providers. Once complete, your marketing emails will have significantly better deliverability and won't be flagged as spam.
This setup ensures compliance with 2024 email authentication requirements and protects your ability to reach your contacts reliably. While the process involves technical steps, you only need to do it once, and support is available if you need help.
Before You Begin
Make sure you have:
A professional email address from a domain you own (not a free Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook address)
Login access to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, etc.)
About 30 minutes to complete the setup
Your IT person available if you're not comfortable changing DNS settings
If you don't have a professional email address yet, you'll need to obtain one before proceeding.
Watch & Learn
đ„ Video: Email Sending Domain
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Verify Your From Email Address
Navigate to the Profile Menu and select Mail Merge Profile. Enter your professional email address (like you@yourbusiness.com) in the From Email field. Click the button to send a verification email, then check your inbox and follow the instructions in the verification email you receive.
This verifies you control the email address and establishes it as your sending identity. Without verification, you can't proceed with domain configuration.
Time: 2-3 minutes
2. Add Your Sending Domain in the system
Go to Settings and select Email Sending Domains. Click the Add Sending Domain button. Choose a domain prefix (this typically matches the subdomain in your email address, like "send" or "mail") and enter your domain name. Click Save.
The system generates the DNS records you'll need in the next step. Keep this screen open as you'll reference it when adding records to your registrar.
Time: 2 minutes
3. Add TXT Records to Your Domain Registrar
Log into your domain registrar account (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Domain.com, Bluehost, or wherever you purchased your domain). Find the section for managing your domains and locate the DNS Settings or DNS Management area. If you're uncomfortable making DNS changes, send the details to your IT person using the Send DNS Details to Your Tech Team button.
Copy the first TXT record hostname and value from the system Email Sending Domains page. Add a new TXT record in your registrar's DNS settings, pasting the hostname and value exactly as shown. Repeat this process for the second TXT record.
Note: When the system shows a hostname like send.yourdomain.com, that's the complete entry. Many registrars automatically append your domain name, so you may only need to enter the prefix (the bold part). If you're unsure, check your registrar's documentation or contact their support.
These TXT records establish SPF authentication and verify you own the domain. They're the foundation of your email authentication setup.
Time: 5-10 minutes
4. Add the CNAME Record to Your Domain Registrar
Still in your registrar's DNS settings, copy the CNAME record hostname and value from the system Email Sending Domains page. Add a new CNAME record in your registrar, pasting the hostname and value exactly as shown.
The CNAME record enables DKIM signing, which adds a digital signature to your emails proving they came from you and haven't been altered.
Time: 2-3 minutes
5. Add the DMARC Record to Your Domain Registrar
Copy the DMARC record hostname and value from the system Email Sending Domains page (this is also a TXT record type). Add a new TXT record in your registrar with this information.
If you're just looking to meet 2024 compliance requirements, use the DMARC record provided by the system. If you already have a DMARC record for your domain or want to enable DMARC reporting, consult with an IT professional before proceeding.
For DMARC reporting (recommended for brand protection and monitoring), use Postmark's free DMARC Tool at https://dmarc.postmarkapp.com. Enter your email address and domain name, and Postmark will generate a DMARC record with reporting enabled. Use this record instead of the basic one.
DMARC tells receiving servers how to handle emails that fail authentication and optionally provides reports on your domain's email activity.
Time: 3-5 minutes
6. Verify Your DNS Records
Wait approximately 15 minutes for DNS changes to propagate across the internet. Return to the Email Sending Domains page and click the Verify DNS Records button.
Check that all indicators turn green. Green lights mean your DNS records are correctly configured and your domain is ready to send authenticated emails.
If some or all indicators remain red after 15-30 minutes, contact your registrar's support team and ask them to review the DNS records you added. There may be a typo or formatting issue they can help you fix.
Time: 15-20 minutes (mostly waiting)
7. Verify Your DMARC Settings
Click the Check Your DMARC Settings button on the Email Sending Domains page. Review the results to ensure your DMARC configuration is correct.
If you see any DMARC issues, the screen will show specific problems that need correction. Return to your registrar and verify the DMARC TXT record was entered correctly. Once all DMARC checks pass, the screen will show a success message.
This confirms your DMARC policy is properly configured and email providers can authenticate your messages.
Time: 2-3 minutes
8. Activate Your Sending Domain
Navigate to the Email Deliverability Dashboard. Select your newly configured sending domain from the email sending domain dropdown. Once selected, you'll see a green congratulations message confirming you're ready to send emails with your custom sending domain.
This final step activates your authenticated sending domain for all outgoing marketing emails.
Time: 1 minute
Questions and Answers
Q: What if I can't access my domain's DNS settings?
A: Click the Send DNS Details to Your Tech Team button. The system will email complete instructions with all the DNS records to whoever can make the changes for you. They can use those instructions to complete the setup on your behalf.
Q: How do I know which registrar I'm using?
A: You can look up your domain's registrar at https://lookup.icann.org. Enter your domain name and it will show you the registrar of record. You should have login credentials from when you originally purchased the domain.
Q: Can I test my setup before sending to my full contact list?
A: Yes. After completing setup and seeing all green indicators, send a test email to yourself and a few team members first. Check that the emails arrive in the inbox (not spam) before launching larger campaigns.
Q: What happens if I make a mistake entering DNS records?
A: Incorrect DNS records will prevent verification (you'll see red indicators). Simply go back to your registrar, correct the mistake, wait another 15 minutes, and verify again. DNS mistakes won't break your website or existing email.
Q: Do I need to repeat this setup annually or does it expire?
A: Once configured, your email sending domain setup is permanent and doesn't expire. You only need to repeat this process if you change domain registrars, change your sending domain, or deliberately remove the DNS records.
Q: My registrar's interface looks different from the instructions. What should I do?
A: Every registrar has a different interface, but all support adding TXT and CNAME records. Look for sections labeled DNS Management, DNS Settings, Advanced DNS, or Zone File Editor. If you can't find it, contact your registrar's support and ask them to help you add the DNS records.
Q: Can I use this same domain setup for multiple accounts?
A: Yes, but you need to contact support to enable this. A single domain configuration can be shared across multiple accounts you manage, saving you from repeating the setup process.
Guide Type: One-Time Setup Task
Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes
Next Guides: About: Email Sending Domains, How to Set Up Your Mail Merge Profile, About: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
Video Transcript
In this video you will learn how to set up your own custom email sending domain.
To begin this process, you will need your own domain name that you control and your own email address on that domain.
I set up a fictitious domain name: tuvorex.com and my email on that domain is jeff at tuvorex.com.
First go to your mail merge profile and make sure that your email address matches the domain.
This will be the email address you use in the system.
To verify your email address, click the send verification email button and go check your email.
Then come back to this screen and your email will show as verified.
Now go to âsettingsâ and then âemail sending domainsâ.
We want to âadd a Sending Domainâ.
To set up your email sending domain, select the first choice, âsendâ and then enter your domain here. Click save.
Now to get your email sending domain working properly, you will need to add these records to your domainâs DNS settings.
This involves logging into your domain registrar account, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, SquareSpace or similar providers.
You will copy and paste these TXT & CNAME records into your Domainâs DNS Settings.
Locate your DNS settings in your domain registrar and find the option to add a record.
You will see a screen that looks like this with the option to choose record type.
You will be pasting 3 TXT records and 1 CNAME record.
In the CRM, Click the copy icon to copy the appropriate hostname and then paste that data into your domain DNS screen.
Then copy over the value.
If there are additional options or settings, leave the setting as is.
Click save.
Do this again for the next TXT record.
Same as before, click the copy icon to copy over the second recordâs hostname and value, and then paste that data the same way.
As you make these additions to your DNS settings you can click this button to check and see if you have done it correctly.
If you have done it correctly, these will be green.
It could take up to 15 minutes for these changes to take place.
CNAME copies over the same way.
Copy the hostname and value and paste into your Domain DNS screen.
To configure DMARC, we will add the record as a TXT record.
Copy the data over and save the record.
In total, you will have added 4 DNS records to your domain.
Unfortunately, we canât check to see if your DMARC settings are configured properly in the system, but you can check that here.
Once these are all green, you have one last step.
Go back to your âEmail Deliverability Dashboardâ and select your new sending domain from this drop-down.
Now you are all green and your email sending domain is configured properly.
Here are some tips:
Tip 1: Click the copy icon to copy the appropriate setting and then paste that setting into your Domain DNS screen.
Tip 2: Each domain registrar does things differently. In general terms, to find the area where you are adding DNS records, you want to look for terms such as âManage Domainsâ or âAdvanced DNSâ.
Tip 3: Each domain registrar uses varying terminology for different fields.
For Example:
In GoDaddy, Hostname is called Name, and Value is called Value.
In NameCheap, Hostname is called Host and Value is called Value.
In SquareSpace, Hostname is called Host and Value is called Data.
Tip 4: Domain registrars are usually good about providing support. If you run into any problems adding DNS records to your Domain, reach out to them and get support.