Send emails from your own email domain with Email Creator
By default, when using the DISCO Email Creator, emails are sent from the @disco-mailer.net domain. However, if preferred, it is possible to change the sender email to your own custom domain.
Why is the default domain @disco-mailer.net?
This has to do with email authentication. Every time an email is sent, the recipient's email server attempts to authenticate the sender's message before passing it along to the recipient's inbox. If the sender's message fails authentication, the server may send it to spam or not deliver it at all.
Authentication failure is often caused by a discrepancy between the sender's email domain (in our case @disco-mailer.net) and the domain of the email address entered in the "From" field. This is called domain authentication failure.
To avoid domain authentication failure, we send emails from the @disco-mailer.net domain rather than your actual email address. This is because if we were to use your actual email address without permission, it is very unlikely that your emails would be delivered to the recipients.
Authenticating your custom domain
If you wish like to use your own custom domain when sending emails via the DISCO Email Creator, you will need to give our mail servers permission to use your email address by setting up custom domain authentication. This process can also help if you find that your emails are frequently be delivered to your recipients' spam folders, or they are not being delivered at all.
Note that this process is quite technical and requires that you have access to your DNS (Domain Name Service) provider's control panel. Your DNS provider may be your webhost or it may be a third party. If you are uncertain, we suggest reaching out to your webhost directly. If you do not have access to your DNS provider's control panel or you are not sure if you have access, please contact your webmaster or a member of your IT team.
Step 1: Adding CNAME Records
The first step in setting up custom domain authentication is to add new CNAME records to your DNS records.
The process for adding CNAME records varies depending on which DNS provider you use. We suggest checking your DNS provider's documentation or contacting their support team for specific instructions. You can also find links to the relevant documentation for a few common DNS providers at the bottom of this page.
- Log into your DNS provider's control panel.
- Locate the area of where you update DNS records. The name of the area varies by provider; it may be called DNS Manager, Zone Editor, Domain Manager, or something similar.
- Add the following CNAME records, replacing YOUR-DOMAIN.COM with your own actual domain:
It is important to note that some services, such as GoDaddy, automatically append your domain at the end of any host records you add. For example, if you were to enter "s1._domainkey.cooltunes.com", it would result in a CNAME host record of "s1._domainkey.cooltunes.com.cooltunes.com".
Look at existing host records on your control panel. If they don’t include your domain URL, then you only need to enter everything to the left of “.YOUR-DOMAIN.COM” (e.g., "s1._domainkey" instead of "s1._domainkey.cooltunes.com").
Note for Cloudflare users: when adding CNAME records, make sure that you turn off the "Cloudflare Proxy" setting for the CNAME records that you're adding. Refer to their documentation for more information.
Step 2: Verifying CNAME Records
Once you've added your CNAME records, it can take up to 8 hours for the new records to propagate (or take effect), though most often they propagate in less than an hour. Unfortunately, there is no way to speed up this process and nothing can be done on our end until it has been completed.
You can confirm that your new records have propagated using this tool. In the domain field, enter s1._domainkey.YOUR-DOMAIN.com, replacing YOUR-DOMAIN with your actual domain. You do not need to change the other fields.
If the "Answer section" includes the text “s1.domainkey.u5958710.wl211.sendgrid.net.”, then congratulations your CNAME records have propagated!
Step 3: Contact DISCO Support
Once you've verified that your CNAME records have propagated, contact our Support team so that we can take the final steps in setting up your DISCO to send emails using your own domain.
You can also reach out if you have any questions along the way, we are always happy to help! 😊
FAQ
Q: Do I also need to manually add an SPF TXT record?
A: You do not. By adding CNAME records to your DNS configuration, you are pointing your domain to one of our email system's domains. Your domain will automatically inherit the correct SPF records.
DNS Provider-Specific Documentation
Here is a list of documentation on adding DNS records for a few of the more popular DNS providers: