Custom Email Sending Domains

By default BusyPaws will send emails on your behalf using a BusyPaws domain (usually a subdomain specific to your account on busypaws.email). It has been authenticated with all modern mail security and is set to ensure the best possible deliverability. You may continue to use the BusyPaws email domain on your account or, after ensuring you have some mail authentications set up with your DNS provider you may use a custom domain.

Setting up authentication requires adding a sending domain to BusyPaws, configuring your DNS for DKIM and SPF authentication, and then verifying that everything’s working as expected. This documentation covers everything you need to know for each of these steps.

Authentication is a way to prove an email isn’t forged. BusyPaws automatically authenticates all emails sent through our servers, but by adding DNS records to your domain, we’re able to send on your behalf and digitally “sign” your emails.

Many ISPs use authentication to track sending reputation, and since authentication is handled by your domain, you maintain some control over the emails that affect deliverability for that domain. A positive reputation builds trust and improves deliverability, reducing the chance that your emails are caught by spam filters and improving how quickly the receiving servers will accept mail from your domain.

You’ll need to add DMARC, SPF and DKIM records and verify ownership of your sending domains before you can send email through your account. BusyPaws will not send any email from unverified domains or domains without valid DMARC, SPF and DKIM records.

To get started with authentication, you’ll need to add the domain that you want to send messages from.

Once you’ve added your sending domain, you’ll need to create DNS records that enable DMARC, DKIM and SPF email authentication for that domain.

To add the SPF and DMARC records for your sending domains, you'll need to add TXT records through your hosting provider, domain registrar, or DNS provider. We recommend referring to your provider’s documentation or support for specific information on adding TXT records.

To add DKIM you'll need to add two CNAME records, also performed within your DNS provider.

Create two CNAME records with the names and values as follows:

Create and save a TXT record in your DNS with a name of:

and a value of:

Replace yourdomain.com with the domain you're setting up. Some domain hosts automatically add yourdomain.com after the initial value—contact your domain provider for any specifics.

To enable SPF, add another TXT record, this time for the bare domain you added as your sending domain.

If you’re only sending mail for that domain through BusyPaws, the value should be, at minimum:

If you already have a TXT record with SPF information, you’ll need to add BusyPaws’ servers to that record by adding include:spf.mandrillapp.com in the record (before the last operator, which is usually ?all, ~all, or -all).

Domain verification is required to configure a sending domain. If your domain is configured and verified a green check will display next to it, if not a red 'x'.

If your domain has not yet been verified an additional key will be displayed below the domain field. It will look something like this:

Add this to your domain’s TXT records.

Once you’ve set up the TXT records for both DKIM and SPF, you can verify that you configured everything correctly by clicking the Verify button. Both your DKIM and SPF settings should now indicate that they’re valid and if the verify TXT record is detected your domain will be verified. A green checkmark will appear next to the domain name to let you know it's all set up.

If there are any errors, messages will be displayed in the notice box at the top of the page.

Each DNS provider may handle adding or editing records differently, so your host’s technical support or documentation is the best resource for any limitations or specific formatting. Some DNS providers take longer than others to publish and push a record. If you are adding a new record, those often validate in several minutes. Changing records can take longer, but can vary based on your DNS provider and TTL for the record. For additional information, there are also a few third-party resources you can use to help troubleshoot:

The SPF validator looks for a TXT record with the appropriate SPF information; if your domain has an SPF type record, it’s best to add a matching TXT record for compatibility. If you already have an SPF record, edit that record instead of adding a new one—the specs for SPF require that there be only one TXT record with SPF information.

If you’ve added the DKIM record and the Sending Domains page still lists it as missing, your DNS provider may require that the record be formatted differently.

Your messages’ deliverability has a direct effect on your reputation: spam complaints, bounces, and other rejections can lead to a lower reputation, reducing deliverability of your email. In addition to ensuring that you're sending to valid email addresses, please ensure the content delivered to your clients is both expected and the content is not generic or contain sales-speak. This will help to ensure high deliverability of your email.