The blog aims to cover some of the essential steps that every account holder/ subscriber needs to go through from, in order to completely setup the account for sending emails. After subscribing to any of the packages, you will be having your details to sign into the portal, where you can create lists, add subscribers, create campaign etc., but as long as the account hasn’t been setup with essential sender ID, it can’t be used for sending emails. So if you are a new user/subscriber, this blog will take you step by step and will assist setting up your account. Before we start this step by step guide, let’s take note of few important terms that we’ll be using during this write-up.
Sender ID
Sender ID is the set of information prerequisite for theSMTP account holder to setup, in order to have his/her account approved for sending emails or using SMTP details for remote send.
White Label Sending
theSMTP portal offers its clients an ability to setup their account with their desired domain and its corresponding DNS records/ email authentications. We categorize such accounts as white labeled accounts.
Non-White Labeled accounts
Such users that don’t want to setup their own domain and its corresponding DNS records, or finds it unnecessary to setup white label sending, they can still get their account approved as non-white label senders, by just putting forward the basic sender ID details, like the From Email, Reply Email, and desired username and password for their SMTP account.
Adding Sender IDs
Click “Add Sender ID” from the left navigational menu to start adding your first ID. Upon clicking “Add Sender ID” you will be taken to the page where all currently available sender IDs are listed. As we are setting up fresh account, and it hasn’t been setup with any sender ID yet, the columns of the table appear empty. So let’s populate the columns by setting up our first sender ID. Click “Sender ID” button towards the top right area of the table, refer to the image below.
Clicking the button to add a new sender ID will result in popping up a new wizard on your screen that would enable both, white label and non-white label senders to add Sender IDs. Let’s take non-white accounts at first.
Non-White Labeled Accounts
As mentioned in the above area, non-white labeled accounts are contrary to the white label ones. You don’t need to have your domain configured with its corresponding DNS records, in order to setup a non-white labeled account. theSMTP has already been setup with primary sending domain, necessary DNS records, and DKIM Fallback Identity. So when you are setting up non-white labeled ID, you are just required to fill the following fields with primary/basic sending information.
- Sender Email- The email address that you would provide in this field will be used to send your emails, and the recipient of your emails will be able to view the email as From Email.
- Reply Email- The second field needs to be filled with the email that the recipient will view as Reply To email and can use it for sending response to the sender.
- White Label Sending- Don’t tick the checkbox in case of setting up a non-white labeled account.
- SMTP Account- You can see two radio buttons (New and Existing) allowing to select one to continue. As we are setting up first sender ID, and haven’t already set any SMTP account yet, so naturally this is going to be the “New” account selection. But if you already have setup few accounts and have got them approved, you can select one of the “Existing” SMTPs to work with this new Sender ID. At this step you will need to propose desired username and password for your SMTP, once approved by the staff/admin of theSMTP, you will be able to use your SMTP account not only within Mumara, but also as remotely sending SMTP account( with Outlook etc.)
Non white label ID concludes at the very first step of the wizard, and doesn’t continue for the next steps.
White Label Sending
As we have discussed it above that the white labeled senders will configure their IDs with their own sending domain, bounce to email and relevant DNS records. The process of setting up an ID for white label sending takes all the steps of Sender ID wizard to complete. First step of which we already have discussed above for the non-white label accounts, with the only notable difference is that you tick the checkbox alongside “White Label Sending” that you have skipped in case of non-white label accounts. Clicking the checkbox will result in opening a new field underneath for providing the “Bounce Email” address. Rest of the fields will remain the same for the first step of the wizard.
2nd Step- Setting Up Bounce
It is where you configure your bounce to email account. Technically, the bounce to email account has to be configured with the same sending domain that you have provided during the first step with sender email and reply to email. Otherwise, you most probably will end up with DKIM failure, though theSMTP has arrangement of switching such account that failed to get authenticated for the primary DKIM to the DKIM Fallback Identity, but still, suggested choice is to configure bounce to email account with the same domain name as in the sending email.
- Bounce Host – Host information to your bounce server, it would typically appear as mail.yourdomain.com
- Bounce Processing- Select one of the options between POP and IMAP to use the selected protocol for accessing emails on remote server.
- Bounce Port- The default port for POP is 110 and for the IMAP it is 143, if you have configured some other port, mentioned it here, otherwise, continue with default port selection.
- Password- This is the password of your bounce email account on remote server
3rd Step- Masking Domain
Emails will be sent from this complete URL of your proposed domain, you can see that the domain you have suggested during the first step of the Sender ID wizard has automatically obtained, and you just need to complete the structure by defining Prefix, Alias or Host Field value. It is required to create CNAME record to map theSMTPs primary domain with your sending domain.
4th Step- Email Authentications/ DNS Records
Here comes the step where you would need to implement the required email authentications and DNS records in your DNS panel. Following are the records that you need to configure.
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)
DKIM typically works to authenticate the pair of public and private key. The type of the record in the DNS will be “Txt” record and the Sender ID wizard has returned with the Public key for you to implement into the DNS panel of your domain, theSMTP will automatically generate the other key (Private Key) for this public key to complete the pair. The wizard provides you the complete structure for the DNS that includes, Host Field Value, Type of Record and the Public Key as a value of record. Copy the entries and implement correctly into the DNS panel of your sending domain.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
This record is required to authorize theSMTP server to send on behalf of your domain that eventually prevents forgery and spamming. This would again a Txt record, and will authorize the server of theSMTP to send on behalf of your sending domain. It also has the complete structure to implement, from Host Field value, Type of Record, and complete entry for SPF record to input into the txt Data field.
CNAME (Canonical Name)
The process of implementing CNAME record will simply map your sending domain with the primary domain of theSMTP. The type of record would be CNAME in this case, host field value would be the complete Tracking/ sending URL that you have completed with Prefix/ Alias in the previous step of the wizard, and CNAME data would be the theSMTP’s domain. Wizard reveals the complete structure to implement with convenience.
5th Step- Verifying DNS Records/ Authentications
After you are done with the records and press next, theSMTP will run a verification query to test the records implemented during the previous step of the wizard. Sometimes your DNS may take some time to update DNS zone with newly implemented records; therefore, the verification can end up being unsuccessful. However, you can still select to “Proceed Anyway” and complete the process. For the unverified IDs there is a button under “Actions” column that will give you an ability to send a re-verification request for unverified IDs, you can send one re-verification request within 24 hours.
Here completes the process of setting up a white label sender ID, click finish to complete the process.
Sender ID Statuses
- Incomplete- If you left the sender ID wizard at some stage without completing it, the status will remain incomplete, until you complete the wizard. The “Incomplete” status is a clickable button that will resume your wizard from where you left it earlier.
- Under Review- All the IDs pending for the admin approval are categorized as Under Review.
- Approved- IDs that have been approved by the admin/staff of theSMTP and are effective for sending
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