Configure DNS Records

Only a systems administrator who has access to the DNS records for your domain name can complete this step for you. If you use an external DNS provider, you should forward these instructions to them.

Except for the "postmaster@" step below, which should be completed by the person who manages your distribution lists and email inboxes.

NOTE: Whenever you see yourdomain.com below, you should replace that with your actual domain.

Step 1: Add the Sailthru Include to Your SPF Record

There are many different options available when creating an SPF record, but in general your statement should be something like:

v=spf1 a mx include:aspmx.sailthru.com ~all

Or if you use only Sailthru and Google Mail for your email, your SPF Record might look as follows:

v=spf1 a mx include:aspmx.sailthru.com include:_spf.google.com ~all

If you do not have an existing SPF we recommend you have a competent network administrator create an SPF record for your environment.  Please keep in mind that an improperly configured SPF record can cause your email to be rejected by the receiving mail server.

Step 2: Configure Google Postmaster Tools

It is likely that many if not most of your recipients use Gmail. Google Postmaster Tools allows you to analyze your email sends to these users, offering data on delivery errors, spam reports, reputation scoring, and more. The setup process below is required to ensure that you and Marigold Engage by Sailthru can work to ensure optimal deliverability, mitigating any issues that may arise.

These configuration steps require a Google account of your own, and one for each additional co-worker for whom you wish to grant access to this data.

  1. Go to postmaster.google.com.
  2. If domains are listed, and you need to add a new domain, click the plus sign in the bottom-right. If no domains are listed, click Get Started.
    postmaster tools get started

  3. On the Getting Started dialog, under "What domain do you use to authenticate your email?", enter the domain that your company uses for your From address when sending email.
    postmaster step 1 enter domain

  4. Under Domain Configuration, copy the entire TXT record displayed in the gray box and ask your domain/IT administrator add this text as a "TXT record" for your domain.
  5. Click Not Now if you are waiting to have this TXT record implemented by your IT/domain administrator.
  6. Once the TXT record is implemented, return to postmaster.google.com, hover your mouse over the domain name, and click Verify Domain.
    postmaster verify

  7. Once the domain is verified, you'll need to add Sailthru as a user, plus any additional coworkers who will need to view Gmail deliverability information.
    1. Next to the domain, from the menu, select Manage Users.
      postmaster manage users
    2. Click the plus sign to add the email address of a user to authorize. The user's email must be associated with a GMail or Google Apps account.
      The Sailthru address to add is gpt@sailthru.info.
    3. Enter the email address and click Next.
    4. Click Add Another or Done.
  8. Notify your Project Manager or Customer Success Manager when the Sailthru address is added.

Step 3: Setup your DKIM using a CNAME

Create a new CNAME for your DKIM record. The CNAME

sailthru._domainkey.yourdomain.com should point to yourdomain.com.sailthrudkim.com.

Examples:

If you are Amazon:

sailthru._domainkey.amazon.com should point to amazon.com.sailthrudkim.com.

If you are Wikipedia:

sailthru._domainkey.wikipedia.org should point to wikipedia.org.sailthrudkim.com.

Note:

  • This step requires you to set up only a CNAME. Once this is finished, your Account Manager will set up the DKIM key (a long string of letters, numbers, and other characters) for the DKIM record to be complete.
    • The DKIM record proves authorization from your sending domain.
  • If your "from" address uses a subdomain of your site, then you should complete this step using that subdomain. For example, if you're Amazon and your from address is deals@sports.amazon.com, then you would need sailthru._domainkey.sports.amazon.com to point to sports.amazon.com.sailthrudkim.com
    • Note: A subdomain, while optional, is also recommended. If ever your top-level domain gets blocklisted, it won't affect the mailing domain.

sailthru._domainkey.sports.amazon.com to point to sports.amazon.com.sailthrudkim.com.

An example of how your completed DNS records should look once you've created them are shown below for yourdomain.com:

Example:

sailthru._domainkey.yourdomain.com 86400 IN CNAME  yourdomain.com.sailthrudkim.com
 
yourdomain.com  1800  IN TXT "v=spf1 mx a include:aspmx.sailthru.com ~all"

Step 4: Domain Alignment

Instructions for Domain Alignment:

  1. Create a new subdomain based on your sending domain: bounce.yourdomain.com EX: Sending domain is sailthru.com - create bounce.sailthru.com EX: Sending domain is email.sailthru.com - create bounce.email.sailthru.com
  2. Publish TXT and MX records:
    bounce.yourdomain.com IN MX 10 njmta-173.sailthru.com
    bounce.yourdomain.com IN MX 10 mtast-04.sailthru.com
    bounce.yourdomain.com IN TXT "v=spf1 mx include:aspmx.sailthru.com ~all"
    

Step 5: DMARC Policy

If you do not currently have a DMARC policy on your domain please add this policy:

Publish TXT Record

_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT v=DMARC1; p=none;

 

More information:

Basic Policy Requirement for Bulk Sender Guidelines is p=none.

*Should you want your Policy to be any different, for example collect DMARC reports, use p= reject, etc. Please consult a third party DMARC provider as moving to p=quarantine or p= reject can result in significant issues for all streams of mail if done incorrectly.

Step 6: Create a CNAME for link rewriting

  1. Designate a subdomain of your site that will be used only for link redirects. Set up a CNAME that points it to cb.sailthru.com. For example, link.yourdomain.com should point to cb.sailthru.com
  2. Add this new subdomain to the Link Domain field on your account Settings page.
    • If your account is used for sites on multiple root domains, create a link domain for each and in the Link Domain field, separate them with commas. For example link.brand1.com,link.brand2.com.
    • If you ever need to use a new link domain (for example, if your site is changing from oldbrand.com to newbrand.com), do not delete the old link domain in your settings as this will break links in older emails. Instead keep both domains in the Link Domain field separated by a comma. (For example, link.oldbrand.com,link.newbrand.com.)
    • When multiple link domains are set on your account, Sailthru determines which to use for each link based on the domain to which you are linking. For example link.brand1.com will be used for redirecting links to pages on brand1.com, while link.brand2.com will be used for links to pages on brand2.com. This happens regardless of the default link domain you select for a given template or campaign (under the Advanced tab). The default link domain is used for links to third-party sites that do not match the link domains. (For example, brand3.com.)

Step 7: Create a CNAME for Horizon

  1. Set up a CNAME record that points a subdomain of your website to horizon.sailthru.com:

    horizon.yourdomain.com should point to horizon.sailthru.com

  2. Add this to the Horizon Domain field on your account Settings page. This is required for Horizon to collect data.

The root domain must be the same for both the Link Domain and the Horizon Domain. The root domain is the mycompany.com portion of your domain. For example, you could not have a Link Domain at mycompany.net and a horizon domain at mycompany.com. Lastly, if you have multiple accounts, do not use the same Link Domain across multiple accounts.

Step 8: Create and verify your postmaster email address

  1. Create a postmaster@yourdomain.com address if you don't already have one. This must be done for every domain you send from.
  2. Notify your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or Project Manager (PM) once you've completed step 1
  3. Coordinate with your CSM/PM to set-up the Yahoo Feedback Loop
  4. Once your CSM/PM submits the form for the Feedback Loops setup, you will receive an email with a verification code to confirm your postmaster@ address. Provide this code to your CSM/PM as soon as possible as the code expires quickly. This will complete the registration.
  5. Your  postmaster@address is now created and verified

If you use Google Apps, you will already have a group (i.e. distribution list) in your Google Apps interface called postmaster@yourdomain.com. You will need to add a user (i.e. an email address) to that group, so that someone (you or a co-worker) can open and click an email sent to that distribution list. Once you've added a user to that group, let us know, so we can send the confirmation email you'll need to click.

Step 9: Add these records to your account Settings page

Visit the Settings page in my.sailthru and add your records to the relevant fields.

Please click here for details on each field.

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