About: Email Sending Domains
Why This Matters
Email sending domains authenticate you as a legitimate sender with major email providers like Gmail and Yahoo. When properly configured, your marketing emails reach the inbox instead of being flagged as spam or blocked entirely.
In 2024, industry-wide changes made it mandatory to use a professional email address from your own domain when sending bulk marketing emails. Free email addresses from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or AOL are no longer supported for this purpose. Setting up an email sending domain protects your reputation, improves delivery rates, and ensures compliance with modern email authentication standards.
What Is an Email Sending Domain?
An email sending domain is a custom domain you own (like yourbusiness.com) that you configure to send marketing emails through the system The setup process involves adding DNS records to your domain registrar that verify you control the domain and authorize the system to send email on your behalf.
This authentication process uses three types of DNS records:
TXT Records verify domain ownership and set up SPF (Sender Policy Framework) to specify which mail servers can send email from your domain.
CNAME Records enable DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signing, which adds a digital signature to your emails proving they haven't been tampered with.
DMARC Records tell receiving servers how to handle emails that fail authentication checks and optionally provide reports on email activity using your domain.
Together, these records create a chain of trust between your domain, the system, and the email providers your contacts use.
Watch & Learn
đ„ Video: Email Sending Domain
Requirements for Setting Up an Email Sending Domain
Before you begin, you'll need:
Your own domain name such as yourbusiness.com (not a free email address).
An email address at that domain which becomes your "From" address (like you@yourbusiness.com).
Access to your domain registrar with login credentials to the service where you purchased your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, etc.) to modify DNS settings.
Basic technical knowledge to copy and paste DNS records. If you're uncomfortable making DNS changes, involve your IT person or contact technical support from your registrar.
Why You Can't Use Free Email Addresses
Free email addresses from providers like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and AOL have strict policies against bulk sending from their domains. When you try to send marketing emails from these addresses, you're essentially claiming to be Gmail or Yahoo, which triggers spam filters and authentication failures.
Using a professional email address on your own domain gives you control over your sender reputation and ensures compliance with modern email standards. It also presents a more professional image to your contacts and protects your ability to communicate reliably.
How Sending Domains Work with Teams and Multiple Accounts
Teams: If you have multiple users in the same account, the email sending domain configuration applies to the entire account. You can edit each user's Mail Merge Profile to assign the configured domain.
Multiple Accounts: If you manage multiple accounts and want to use the same sending domain across them, contact support. The domain can be configured once and shared across your accounts.
Common DNS Registrars
Your domain registrar is the company where you purchased your domain name. Common registrars include GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, DreamHost, Porkbun, IONOS, Hostinger, NameSilo, Dynadot, and Hover.
Each registrar has a slightly different interface for managing DNS records, but the process of adding TXT and CNAME records is similar across all platforms.
Questions and Answers
Q: How long does DNS propagation take after I add the records?
A: DNS changes typically propagate within 15 minutes, though they can occasionally take up to 48 hours. After adding your records, wait about 15 minutes before clicking the Verify DNS Records button.
Q: What happens if my verification lights stay red after adding DNS records?
A: If some or all indicators remain red after 15-30 minutes, there may be an error in how the records were entered. Contact your domain registrar's support team and ask them to review the DNS records you added. They can help identify typos or formatting issues.
Q: Can I use the same sending domain for personal emails and marketing emails?
A: Yes. Configuring your domain doesn't affect your ability to send regular personal or business emails from that domain. The DNS records you add are simply authorization to send on your behalf.
Q: What is DMARC reporting and do I need it?
A: DMARC reporting sends you regular emails showing how your domain is being used for email sending, including any authentication failures. While not required for basic compliance, DMARC reporting is recommended if you want to monitor your domain security and protect your brand from spoofing attempts.
Q: Do I need a separate sending domain for each user on my team?
A: No. One configured sending domain can be used by all team members in your account. Each user can have their own personalized "From" email address at that domain (like john@yourbusiness.com, sarah@yourbusiness.com), but they all share the same DNS configuration.
Q: What if I don't have technical knowledge to add DNS records?
A: You have two options: ask your IT person or technical team member to handle it, use the "Send DNS Details to Your Tech Team" button to email the instructions to someone who can help, or contact your domain registrar's support team and ask them to add the records for you.
Q: Can I use a subdomain instead of my main domain?
A: Yes. You will set up a subdomain like send.yourbusiness.com instead of yourbusiness.com for sending. This is configured when you set up your sending domain by choosing an appropriate domain prefix.
Guide Type: Reference Guide
Estimated Time: 5 minutes
Next Guides: Setup: Email Sending Domain, About: Professional Email Addresses vs Free Email, How to Set Up Your Mail Merge Profile
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.