{"id":2156,"date":"2019-02-06T02:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T02:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/?p=2156"},"modified":"2021-12-13T07:55:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T07:55:42","slug":"improve-email-deliverability-with-spf-dkim-and-dmarc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/improve-email-deliverability-with-spf-dkim-and-dmarc\/","title":{"rendered":"Improve Email Deliverability with SPF, DKIM and DMARC"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently completed a post about buying a domain name, setting up hosting and email<\/a>, and it quickly was apparent that I didn't know enough about email setup. More importantly, how to ensure the email is set up correctly to ensure the best chances of your email actually being delivered!<\/p>\n

After doing a little research I kept seeing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC popping up as important factors for helping to improve email deliverability<\/strong>. I knew little about these and have certainly never set these up.<\/p>\n

One of best friends, David, is pretty hot on this topic, so I reached out to him to see if he could write a little article on what SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are and how to best set them up. He kindly obliged and here is his article (using a nice example with his domain www.2fluffyducks.com!).<\/p>\n

There are a few certain and constant things on the Internet, one is SPAM.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to ensure your email doesn't arrive in your recipient's junk or spam folder, you need to ensure you have SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up properly.<\/p>\n

\nThe rest of the article has been written by David Brookfield<\/a>, you can reach out to him via his LinkedIn profile.\n<\/div>\n

\"Email<\/p>\n

Why Email Deliverability is An Issue<\/h2>\n

In this age of instant messaging and permanent contact, we\u2019re used to messages arriving and we\u2019re used to everything just working, but if you don\u2019t work with email, you probably wouldn\u2019t know just how tricky it is to get an email from your account to someone else\u2019s<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

There are many different ways an email can get screwed up. Have a look at this link<\/a> it's well worth noting this is just for the email server there are many other reasons an email may not get to its destination. <\/p>\n

With all this in mind here\u2019s a quick “how-to” on giving yourself the best chance of getting an email to someone\u2019s mailbox. <\/p>\n

We all know about spam and in some way email deliverability is all about how not to be confused with a spammer.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\n

10 Ways You Can Increase Email Deliverability<\/h3>\n

Below are 10 ways that you can increase the number of emails getting to someone\u2019s mailbox.the last 3 SPF, DKIM and DMARC and am going to talk about in detail.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Build an email reputation <\/li>\n
  2. Make sure your content isn\u2019t spammy<\/li>\n
  3. Build your own lists DO NOT BUY THEM<\/li>\n
  4. Ensure your email lists are squeaky clean <\/li>\n
  5. Even if you built your own list constantly update your lists<\/li>\n
  6. pare down your lists<\/li>\n
  7. make sure your unsubscribe button is easy to see<\/li>\n
  8. SPF (Sender Policy Framework)<\/li>\n
  9. DKIM<\/li>\n
  10. DMARC<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Before I go through SPF, DKIM, and DMARC a very quick explanation about DNS, where SPF, DMARC, and DKIM are published.<\/p>\n

    What is DNS?<\/h2>\n

    Here\u2019s a quick non-techie explanation of DNS. DNS stands for Domain Name System, but that doesn\u2019t really tell you what it is. <\/p>\n

    In this context think of DNS as an addressing system<\/strong>. Very much like where I live, I have an address that also corresponds to a set of co-ordinates. Because the world needs to know where www.2fluffyducks.com is right? <\/p>\n

    In DNS you have a name www.2fluffyducks.com (The address) and an IP address a set of numbers 185.43.78.144 (The co-ordinates). The address is translated into the co-ordinates. <\/p>\n

    You should also know that there are DNS servers that keep all of this, whilst they each don\u2019t keep all the records, they do keep information about where the addresses can be found. A bit like knowing a friend of a friend that knows how to contact someone. <\/p>\n

    You can create different types of records but for this purpose the ones you need to know about below:<\/p>\n

    A Records<\/h3>\n

    A hostname for a domain. www is a hostname, so too would be mail. To explain a little more the hostname where this is concerned is the bit before 2fluffyducks.com so the bit in red is the hostname www.2fluffyducks.com or mail.2fluffyducks.com <\/p>\n

    MX Records<\/h3>\n

    MX Records is the mail exchange record is where your mail is. <\/p>\n

    CNames<\/h3>\n

    CNames are aliases they map a name to another name \u2013 It\u2019s probably best I give you an example, you see them more often now with the rise of SaaS software. <\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s say 2fluffyducks.com uses the email services of city-support.com and the mail server is mail.city-support.com but I don\u2019t want my employees going to mail.city-support.com I could create a cname for mail.2fluffyducks.com to go to mail.city-support.com ie when you type mail.2fluffyducks.com you are actually going to mail.city-support.com.<\/p>\n

    Enough on this before you die of boredom.<\/p>\n

    TXT Records<\/h3>\n

    As it says in the name. txt records are exactly that text and SPF, DMARC and DKIM are examples. <\/p>\n

    That\u2019s a quick breakdown, but generally, just tell your hosting company what you are trying to do, and they\u2019ll do it for you albeit at a cost.<\/p>\n

    SPF (Sender Policy Framework)<\/h2>\n

    SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework<\/a> and is an email authentication method that is designed to detect forged sender addresses in emails<\/strong>, this a technique often used in spamming and phishing. An SPF record is published to your DNS as a txt record and as such allows the receiving mail server to check that an email claiming to come from a specific domain comes from an authorized IP address. <\/p>\n

    Typically, your mail admin (If you have one) will create the record for you. But in this time of solopreneurs, your probable mail admin, webmaster, receptionist as well as CEO, CFO, and any other role that comes along. <\/p>\n

    So, it's important to get on and create an SPF record yourself – it really can help with your email deliverability!<\/p>\n

    Anatomy of a SPF record<\/h3>\n

    Here is an example SPF record for the domain 2fluffyducks.com what can I say, it\u2019s a real domain, as memory serves me I bought it when I was drunk and I kept the domain. <\/p>\n


    \nv=spf1 a mx a:mail.city-support.co.uk ip4:185.43.78.144\/24 ~all
    \nv=spf1 = the start of all spf records
    \n<\/code><\/p>\n