Sending SimpleConnect Emails from Your Own Domain (Custom Email Domain)

By default, your SimpleConnect marketing emails are sent from a SimpleConnect address. If your business has its own website domain, you can send them from your own address instead, for example info@yourstore.com. This is called a custom email domain. Seeing your store's own address in their inbox helps customers recognize you, and it can help your emails reach the inbox instead of spam.

Our support team sets this up for you. Your part is to gather a little information up front and add a few settings to your domain. This article explains what you'll need, how the process works, and how to add those settings.

In this article

• Default address vs. your own domain
• Before you start: what you'll need
• How setup works
• Finding where your domain is managed
• Adding your DNS records
• Help from common domain providers
• Changing your mind later
• Related articles
• Quick recap

Default address vs. your own domain

Every SimpleConnect account can send email right away using a default address. Using your own domain is optional.

You can ask us to change the first part of your default address (the part before the @). The @mysimpleconnect.com part stays the same unless you set up your own domain.

Not sure if you need this? Many stores start with the default address and switch later. Switching doesn't affect your contacts, campaigns, or reports. See Changing your mind later below.

Before you start: what you'll need

When you ask us about using your own domain, we'll email you a short questionnaire. Having these answers ready makes setup much faster.

• The email address you want to send from. It must use a domain your business owns, like info@yourstore.com. Free addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, AOL, or iCloud can't be used, because only the owner of a domain can add the settings that prove email really comes from it.
• A mailbox someone checks. Customers may reply to your marketing emails, so choose an address your team reads regularly.
• Where your domain is managed. This is the company that controls your domain's settings (see the next section if you're not sure).
• Who will add the DNS records. This might be you, or a web developer, IT contact, or the company that built your website. If it's someone else, have their name, email, and phone number ready so we can send the records straight to them.
• Which location this is for. Setup is done one location at a time. If you have more than one location, let us know each one you'd like set up.

If you don't know an answer, write "Not sure" on the questionnaire. We'll help you track it down.

How setup works

1. Contact support and let us know you'd like to send from your own domain. We'll send you the questionnaire.
2. Return the completed questionnaire by replying to our email.
3. We set up your sending address and email you seven DNS records that are unique to your domain. Six are CNAME records and one is a TXT record. If someone else manages your domain, we can send the records to them directly.
4. You (or your web contact) add all seven records where your domain is managed, then reply to let us know.
5. We verify the records and finish your setup. We'll confirm once your emails are sending from your domain.

Your records can't be added ahead of time. They're created specifically for your domain in step 3, so wait for our email before making any changes.

Finding where your domain is managed

Your domain is usually managed by the company you bought it from, or the company that hosts your website. Common examples are GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, Cloudflare, Namecheap, and Network Solutions.

If you're not sure:

• Search your email for a domain renewal notice or invoice. The company that sent it usually manages your domain.
• Ask whoever built your website. They often manage the domain too, or know who does.
• Check your website platform's settings. If your site is on Squarespace, Wix, or a similar service, look for a Domains section in your account.

Adding your DNS records

DNS records are small settings on your domain that tell other email systems your marketing emails really come from you. Adding them doesn't change your website or your everyday email. The new records are added alongside the settings already there.

What's in each record

Each record in our email has three parts:

• Type: the kind of record, either CNAME or TXT. You'll pick this from a menu.
• Host: where the record goes. Your provider may call this Name.
• Value: what the record says. Your provider may call this Points to, Target, or Data.

The seven records do two jobs:

• Email authentication (3 CNAME records): prove you own the domain and allow SimpleConnect to send email on your behalf.
• Link branding (3 CNAME records and 1 TXT record): make the links in your emails use your own domain, with a secure connection, instead of the email service's.

Steps

1. Sign in to your account with the company where your domain is managed.
2. Find the DNS settings for your domain. Look for a button or menu named DNS, DNS Records, Manage DNS, or Advanced DNS.
3. Select Add Record (or Add New Record).
4. Choose the Type from our email, then copy the Host and Value into the matching boxes.
5. Save the record.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 until all seven records are added.
7. Reply to our email to let us know you're done.

Every provider's screens look a little different. If you get stuck, the links in the next section go to each provider's own instructions, or you can contact your provider's support team.

Tips for getting it right the first time

• Copy and paste, don't type. One wrong character stops a record from working.
• Watch for a doubled domain name. Many providers add your domain to the end of the Host automatically. If you see your domain already shown next to the Host box, enter only the first part. For example, if the Host is s1._domainkey.yourstore.com, enter only s1._domainkey. Otherwise it becomes s1._domainkey.yourstore.com.yourstore.com and won't work.
• Using Cloudflare? Select the orange cloud next to each CNAME record so it turns gray and reads DNS only. Records left on "Proxied" won't verify.
• Leave TTL as is. TTL (Time to Live) controls how often the record refreshes. If the box is required and empty, choose the default or 1 hour.
• Don't delete anything. Leave your existing records in place. If a record with the same Host already exists, contact us before changing it.

After you add the records

Verification may not work right away. New DNS records can take several hours to take effect. That's normal and doesn't mean anything went wrong. If our first check doesn't succeed, we'll check again and let you know if anything needs to be corrected.

Help from common domain providers

These links go to each provider's own instructions for adding records.

Use the same steps for the TXT record. Just choose TXT as the type instead of CNAME.

Changing your mind later

• Switching from the default address to your own domain doesn't affect your contacts, campaigns, or reports.
• Going back to the default address is also an option, for example if you're not happy with how your emails are being delivered. Contact us and we'll remove your domain. Your emails will go back to sending from your default SimpleConnect address, and your data and reports stay as they are.
• Using your domain again after removing it means starting setup over. We'll send you a new set of records to add.

Related articles

• SimpleConnect Overview

Quick recap

Your SimpleConnect emails can come from a default @mysimpleconnect.com address or from your own domain. To use your own, contact support and fill out our questionnaire. Have your sending address, where your domain is managed, and who will make changes ready to go. We'll send you seven DNS records. Add them exactly as shown where your domain is managed, then let us know. We'll verify them and finish setup, and you can switch back anytime.