Contents
Overview
Emails are at the core of your communication with your customers. By customizing your sender email, your customers will match your email address and your store, thus increasing your brand image while building trust with your customers.
You will use your store email address (showing in the "From" line of the email) to communicate with your customers on their returns.
Your Sender Email & Your Customers' Returns
When your customers create returns, they will be receiving notifications, confirmation emails, and updates on their orders from your email address.
Returnly will send those return transactional emails on your behalf.
On Returnly, you will be presented with 2 options:
- Your Returnly default email address (Example as shown below: help@returnly.com)
- Your default store email address (Example as shown below: info@zapshop.com)
If you would like to use a different store email address from the one shown on your Returnly dashboard, visit Your Account page to change that email address.
Before you start using your store email address as your primary email return communication with your customers, you would need to verify the DNS (Domain Name System) records. By doing so, your emails won't be blocked or flagged as spam. By authenticating your sender email domain, all servers worldwide would know your domain has been verified, which prevents spammers from sending phishing emails and helps deter spoofing attempts.
How To Verify DNS Records
To verify your sender email domain, you will need to perform the following actions:
- Log in to your account with your domain provider.
- Find your DNS settings: look for your account Administrator panel, or domain management area, DNS configuration, create a Hostname option, or similar.
- Open the DNS settings and view your current DNS records.
- Add or update DNS records (in our case, we'll add TXT values which are shown below).
- On your Returnly dashboard, visit your Customize page, Domains tab.
- Access Sender email and select your custom email address.
- Click Show DNS records.There you'll find the TXT values you need to add or update your records on your domain provider.
- Copy and paste TXT name and values to update your domain provider's DNS settings.
- Go back to your Returnly dashboard, Customize page, Domains tab, DNS Records.
- Click Verify and Save.
- Once verified, the Domains page will be displayed with a success notification indicating your custom email is already active.
Edit an SPF Record
Edit an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record to assure recipients that servers and domains are authorized to send emails on behalf of your business.
Consideration: If you already have one SPF record on your domain provider, you should update it, and not add a new one.
Note: Login instructions might differ per provider.
- Log into your domain provider.
- Select Domain Edit Options.
- Select Edit next to the TXT (SPF) record.
|
Host name (Root domain) |
Value | TTL |
|
Not all domain providers require this step. If so,leave it blank or with the@symbol. |
Add: include:spf.mandrillapp.com before the last operator, which is usually ?all, ~all, or -all. |
Default setting: 1 hour. |
Example
Go to your existing SPF record on your hosting provider
v=spf1 include:shops.shopify.cominclude:spf.mandrillapp.com+ip4:50.87.144.131 include:sailthruspf.yourstore.com include:_spf.google.com ~all
Update that SPF record to include your store email address for your returns
v=spf1 include:shops.shopify.com +ip4:50.87.144.131 include:sailthruspf.yourstore.com include:_spf.google.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com ~all
- Select Save.
Note: It may take up to 24 hours for new DNS settings to be available worldwide
(Timeframe varies per provider).
Add a DKIM Record
A DKIM record (TXT type) verifies an email message comes from your business.
Your domain can have multiple DKIM records for public keys: as many servers that send mail.
- On your domain provider, DNS settings, copy and paste the value in your DKIM record on your hosting provider.
Consideration: Some DNS providers require semicolons to be escaped, otherwise, you could get an error message.
Either they do it for you
or
you would need to when setting up the record.
\;an escape sequence for semicolon i.e.;
With semicolons escaped:
v=DKIM1\; k=rsa\; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQCrLHiExVd55zd/IQ/J/mRwSRMAocV/hMB3jXwaHH36d9NaVynQFYV8NaWi69c1veUtRzGt7yAioXqLj7Z4TeEUoOLgrKsn8YnckGs9i3B3tVFB+Ch/4mPhXWiNfNdynHWBcPcbJ8kjEQ2U8y78dHZj1YeRXXVvWob2OaKynO8/lQIDAQAB\;
With semicolons unescaped:
v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQCrLHiExVd55zd/IQ/J/mRwSRMAocV/hMB3jXwaHH36d9NaVynQFYV8NaWi69c1veUtRzGt7yAioXqLj7Z4TeEUoOLgrKsn8YnckGs9i3B3tVFB+Ch/4mPhXWiNfNdynHWBcPcbJ8kjEQ2U8y78dHZj1YeRXXVvWob2OaKynO8/lQIDAQAB;
This feature is available to Premium merchants.
Domain Provider Examples
Google Domains: Manage Resource Records
Video: Sender Email Domain Setup
Check out how to easily set up your sender email domain.
FAQs
Q: My CNAME Record isn’t updating when I create the domain key.
A: Depending on the domain host you’re using, you may only need to type in part of a domain key.
Example: if you enter “k2._domainkey.example.com” and “k2._domainkey.example.com.example.com” is created, update your CNAME record to only include “k2._domainkey”.
Q: My records are all correct, but my domain won’t authenticate in Mailchimp.
A: If you've entered all records correctly and your authentication isn't working right away, there typically isn't a cause for concern. You may need to wait a bit longer (up to 48 hours) since it can take awhile for servers to recognize your changes.
Q: I'm receiving an error that your TXT record is invalid or too long.
A: That relates to TXT Record Character Limit. If so, check with your domain provider.
Example: Your DNS editor allows up to 255 characters for TXT records.
Q: Can I have multiple DKIM records?
A: A domain can have as many DKIM records for public keys as servers that send mail.
Q: What DNS records enable email authentication?
A: SPF and DKIM records verify ownership of your sending domains before you can send email through your account.
Q: What is a TXT record?
A: A record that provides text information to sources outside your domain, that can be used for a number of arbitrary purposes.
Q: What is an SPF record?
A: SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework - unique for a given domain. If you already have one, you should update/edit it, and not add a new one. An SPF record protects you against spoofing & phishing.
The SPF record is composed of Name / Host and Value.
Q: How to set cache TTL?
A: TTL stands for Time to Live. It determines how long the server should cache information. The default setting is 1 hour.
Q: What is a DKIM record?
A: It is a text record. DKIM stands for Domain Keys Identified Mail.
- Adds a digital signature to every outgoing message.
- The authentication process verifies a message comes from your business.
- DKIM verification validates the email is from the verified IP by public key.
- DKIM public key — a randomized string of characters that is used to verify anything signed with the private key.
Your domain can have multiple DKIM records for public keys: as many servers that send mail.
