Configuring Email Creator to send via your own domain
Every time an email is sent, the receiving email server attempts to authenticate the message before passing it along to the recipient's inbox. If the message fails authentication, the server might decide to send it to spam or not deliver it at all. A common cause of authentication failure is a discrepancy between the domain of the sending email server (in our case disco-mailer.net) and the domain of the email address entered in the "From" field. When this happens, it's called domain authentication failure.
Domain authentication failure is why we send campaigns using addresses ending in "disco-mailer.net", rather than your actual email address. If we were to send emails using your actual email address without permission, chances are slim that the email would be delivered.
Custom Domain Authentication
If you'd like to send Email Creator campaigns via your own domain, you can give our mail servers permission to do so by setting up custom domain authentication.
Setting up custom domain authentication is entirely optional, but it can help if you've found that messages are frequently going to your recipients' spam folders or they're not being received 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're uncertain, we suggest reaching out to your webhost directly.
If you don't have access to your DNS provider's control panel or you're 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 vary depending on which DNS provider you use- consequently we are just going over the basic process here. We suggest checking your DNS provider's documentation or contacting their support team if you need specific directions. You can 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's important to note that some services, such as GoDaddy, automatically append your domain at the end of any host records you add. Consequently, if you were to enter "s1._domainkey.cooltunes.com", it would result in a CNAME host record of "s1._domainkey.cooltunes.com.cooltunes.com".
Take a look at existing host records on your control panel- if they don’t include your domain URL, that means 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. See their documentation for more info.
Step 2: Verifying CNAME Records
Once you've added your CNAME records, it can take up to 8 hours for the new records to take propagate or take effect, though most often they propagate in less than an hour. There is no way to speed up this process and nothing can be done on our end until it has 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're 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
Below we've compiled documentation on adding DNS records for a few of the more popular DNS providers: