SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) are ways for email servers to verify that when they receive a message, it was actually sent by the person identified in the “From” field of the email. Correctly verified emails are much less likely to end up in the spam folder.
Curated will only send mail that has been verified with valid SPF and DKIM configuration. This means that when you first open your Curated account, we will send all mail from [email protected] but we’ll use a reply address that you specify in the Curated settings so you can still receive replies from your subscribers.
For most publications, there’s no need to use your own DKIM and SPF records. However, if you’d prefer to send mail using your own SPF and DKIM configuration, this is also supported. Once your DNS records are configured correctly and the domain has been verified, your reply address will be used both as the reply and also the sender address.
How do I use my own SPF and DKIM records?
In the Hosting, Subscriptions, and Publishing settings of your publication, click on the Email section to view your email configurations and the specific values needed for your domain.
Use your DNS control panel (not provided by Curated) and configure the values as directed. Please ensure that you use the exact values shown in the settings screen when configuring your DNS records
Important Notes:
- When configuring the SPF record, there may be an option to use a specific “SPF” record type in your DNS control panel. Unfortunately, this record type is deprecated. Please ensure that you use a TXT record for the SPF configuration.
- There can only be one TXT record containing SPF settings per domain. If you already have SPF configured for another service it will need to be edited and set to the value shown on your Curated settings screen. The value shown on the settings screen has been calculated to preserve any existing SPF settings.
- It’s critical that you set the DKIM TXT record on curated._domainkey.yourdomain.com and not just yourdomain.com.
I have no idea what any of this means, help!
While we don’t offer direct support on configuring the SPF and DKIM, your DNS provider should be able to assist if you are having difficulty. We have also included a set of links here to help pages for some of the popular DNS providers:
Are there any limitations?
Yes. You can only set up a custom SPF and DKIM configuration if you are in control of the domain from which your emails are coming. If your reply-to address is set as something like a Gmail.com, Yahoo.com, or Outlook.com email address you will not be able to add or modify the DNS records for that domain, as you do not own it. To take advantage of this feature you must be sending emails from a custom domain that you are able to change the DNS records for. Or, just continue to use the default Curated SPF/DKIM configuration.