How to setup Email Authentication with SalesNexus (DKIM, SPF, CNAME) for your email campaigns

DKIM, SPF and Return domains help ensure your emails are delivered to the inbox successfully by identifying you (your website) as the owner of emails you send through SalesNexus.  These are setup by adding records to your DNS.

Setting up DKIM also changes the appearance of your emails to recipients.  DKIM allows your business email address to appear as the from address in the inbox without any identification of SalesNexus.  See examples here.

DNS (Domain Name System) settings refer to the configurations that link your domain to specific services. These settings are managed in your domain registrar’s control panel and typically include the following:

1. A Record: Points your domain to an IP address of your web server (e.g., 192.168.1.1).
2. CNAME Record: Used to alias one domain to another (e.g., www.example.com to example.com).
3. MX Record: Directs email traffic to the correct mail server for your domain.
4. TXT Record: Used for various purposes, including verifying domain ownership or setting up email security protocols like SPF or DKIM.
5. NS Record: Points to the nameservers that manage your domain's DNS settings, typically provided by your hosting provider or DNS service.

To set up your domain properly, you'll need to enter the correct DNS records at your registrar to direct traffic to the right services. This can include pointing your domain to a web hosting provider’s server or configuring email systems. The changes can take time to propagate across the internet (usually within a few hours to 48 hours).

For the technically minded, a technical summary will be at the bottom of this article.

Here’s how to setup your DKIM:

1. DKIM

Generate a DKIM;

     - Go to Settings

     - Click 'Email' button

     - Click 'Setup DKIM'

     - Enter Domain Name

     - Click 'Generate DKIM'

           

Once your DKIM is generated, you'll see a long code you can simply copy.

Next, in your DNS hosting service, you will need to add a TXT record to your domain.

Type = TXT

Name = salesnexus._domainkey 

Value = what you copied from SalesNexus (starts with 'k=rsa; p='....)

If you are using Cpanel, it will look like this*.

If you are using route53 on AWS, it will look like this.

If you need help setting this up, you may want to contact support for your DNS provider.

2. SPF 

For SPF, you'll add another TXT record.

Type = TXT

Name = @

Value = v=spf1 mx include:_spf.salesnexusmail.net ~all

** for those with an existing SPF record, please add "include:_spf.salesnexusmail.net" before the "all" entry.

3. Return Domain

This part allows us to catch and deal with bounced emails.

Add a CNAME record to your domain.

Type = CNAME

Name = return2

Value = return2.snxmailer.com

4. Verify

Click Validate button on the DKIM page in SalesNexus.  If everything worked, you should see "Success".  

If you don't see "Success", then pay close attention to the reasons shown on that page.

The changes may take a few hours to be "live", depending on settings in your DNS.  Return to the DKIM page and hit the Validate button again to double check.

You can use this tool to check what is live on the Internet: https://www.whatsmydns.net/

5. Contact Support

If you're having trouble, contact us at [e-mail].

Technical details:

DKIM: (TXT)

Name: salesnexus._domainkey
Value:  copied from DKIM page in SalesNexus

SPF: (TXT)
Name: @
Value: "Value = v=spf1 mx include:_spf.salesnexusmail.net ~all"

Return:
Name: CNAME in return2.yourdomain.com
Value: "return2.snxmailer.com"