Configure DNS Records

Only a systems administrator who has access to the DNS records for your domain name can complete this step for you. If you use an external DNS provider, you should forward these instructions to them.

Except for the "postmaster@" step below, which should be completed by the person who manages your distribution lists and email inboxes.

NOTE: Whenever you see yourdomain.com below, you should replace that with your actual domain.

Step 1: Add the Sailthru Include to Your SPF Record

The domain’s situation may vary depending on if you currently have an SPF record.

If your domain does not currently have an SPF record the SPF record you are to create should look like this:

v=spf1 include:aspmx.sailthru.com ~all

If your domain does currently have an SPF record, you will need to add the include:aspmx.sailthru.com to your SPF record. For example, if your SPF record currently has Google Mail records, your SPF Record might look as follows:

v=spf1 include:aspmx.sailthru.com include:_spf.google.com ~all

We highly recommend you have a network administrator update or create an SPF record for your environment. Having multiple SPF records, having too many lookups, or a malformed record will lead to an improperly configured SPF record that can cause your email to be rejected by the receiving mail server for all of your mail streams, not just Sailthru.

Step 2: Configure Google Postmaster Tools

It is likely that many if not most of your recipients use Gmail. Google Postmaster Tools allows you to analyze your email sends to these users, offering data on delivery errors, spam reports, reputation scoring, and more. The setup process below is required to ensure that you and Marigold Engage by Sailthru can work to ensure optimal deliverability, mitigating any issues that may arise.

These configuration steps require a Google account of your own, and one for each additional co-worker for whom you wish to grant access to this data.

  1. Go to postmaster.google.com.
  2. If domains are listed, and you need to add a new domain, click the plus sign in the bottom-right. If no domains are listed, click Get Started.
  3. On the Getting Started dialog, under "What domain do you use to authenticate your email?", enter the domain that your company uses for your From address when sending email.


  4. Under Domain Configuration, copy the entire TXT record displayed in the gray box and ask your domain/IT administrator add this text as a "TXT record" for your domain.
  5. Click Not Now if you are waiting to have this TXT record implemented by your IT/domain administrator.
  6. Once the TXT record is implemented, return to postmaster.google.com, hover your mouse over the domain name, and click Verify Domain.
  7. Once the domain is verified, you'll need to add Sailthru as a user, plus any additional coworkers who will need to view Gmail deliverability information.
    1. Next to the domain, from the menu, select Manage Users.
    2. Click the plus sign to add the email address of a user to authorize. The user's email must be associated with a GMail or Google Apps account.
      The Sailthru address to add is gpt@sailthru.info.
    3. Enter the email address and click Next.
    4. Click Add Another or Done.
  8. Notify your Project Manager or Customer Success Manager when the Sailthru address is added.

Step 3: Setup your DKIM using a CNAME

Create two new CNAMEs for your DKIM record. Replace yourdomain.com with the domain you are setting up.

sailthru._domainkey.yourdomain.com should point to yourdomain.com.sailthrudkim.com.

sailthru2._domainkey.yourdomain.com should point to yourdomain.com.sub.sailthrudkim.com

Examples:

If you're sending from emailsender.com:

sailthru._domainkey.emailsender.com would point to emailsender.com.sailthrudkim.com and sailthru2._domainkey.emailsender.com would point to emailsender.com.sub.sailthrudkim.com

If you're sending from mail.emailsender.com:

sailthru._domainkey.mail.emailsender.com would point to mail.emailsender.com.sailthrudkim.com and sailthru2._domainkey.mail.emailsender.com would point to mail.emailsender.com.sub.sailthrudkim.com

Notes:

  • Once this is finished, contact your CSM who will finish setup on Sailthru’s side.

    • The DKIM record proves authorization from your sending domain.

    • The DKIM record is not active until Sailthru has completed setup on their end.

  • This set up should be using the same domain that your "from" address uses. For example, if you’re sending from contact@emailsender.com then “yourdomain.com” in the instructions would be “emailsender.com” and if you were sending from contact@mail.emailsender.com then “yourdomain.com” in the instructions would be “mail.emailsender.com”

    • Note: A subdomain, while optional, is also recommended.

Step 4: Domain Alignment

Instructions for Domain Alignment:

  1. Create a new subdomain based on your sending domain: bounce.yourdomain.com
    EX: Sending domain is sailthru.com - create bounce.sailthru.com
    EX: Sending domain is email.sailthru.com - create bounce.email.sailthru.com
  2. Publish a CNAME record:
    bounce.yourdomain.com IN CNAME cmf.sailthrudkim.com

Step 5: DMARC Policy

If you do not currently have a DMARC policy on your domain please add DMARC. The below DMARC record contains the minimum policy requirement of p=none to abide by the ISPs Bulk Sender Guidelines.

Publish TXT Record

_dmarc.yourdomain.com IN TXT v=DMARC1; p=none;

There are additional ways to implement a DMARC policy. These policies allow for the monitoring of spoofing and taking action on that spoofed mail. While the above abides by ISP policy, it does not protect a sender from being spoofed.

Recommended Policies

  • p=none utilizing a rua or ruf tag in the DMARC record to collect feedback reports from ISPs. This can either be through a third party or an email inbox that is monitored by you. An rua contains aggregated reports while an ruf would include a report for each failure. The rua/ruf tags should be included in the record regardless of what policy is set.
  • p=quarantine so that all mail failing DMARC (spoofed mail) is sent to the junk folder
  • p=reject so that all mail failing DMARC (spoofed mail) is blocked by the ISPs.

In order to implement any of the additional policies noted above, it is recommended to work with a third party as moving to p=quarantine or p=reject can result in significant issues for all streams of mail if done incorrectly. We partner with a provider and can connect customers to them directly.

*Sailthru cannot support a DMARC record with adkim/aspf tags in strict mode.

Step 6: Yahoo Feedback Loop

Add the unique TXT record provided by Marigold Engage by Sailthru to your DNS settings.

Marigold Engage by Sailthru will generate and provide a unique TXT record for each sending domain.

Step 7: Create a CNAME for link rewriting

  1. Designate a subdomain of your site that will be used only for link redirects. Set up a CNAME that points it to cb.sailthru.com. For example, link.yourdomain.com should point to cb.sailthru.com
  2. Add this new subdomain to the Link Domain field on your account Settings page.
    • If your account is used for sites on multiple root domains, create a link domain for each and in the Link Domain field, separate them with commas. For example link.brand1.com,link.brand2.com.
    • If you ever need to use a new link domain (for example, if your site is changing from oldbrand.com to newbrand.com), do not delete the old link domain in your settings as this will break links in older emails. Instead keep both domains in the Link Domain field separated by a comma. (For example, link.oldbrand.com,link.newbrand.com.)
    • When multiple link domains are set on your account, Sailthru determines which to use for each link based on the domain to which you are linking. For example link.brand1.com will be used for redirecting links to pages on brand1.com, while link.brand2.com will be used for links to pages on brand2.com. This happens regardless of the default link domain you select for a given template or campaign (under the Advanced tab). The default link domain is used for links to third-party sites that do not match the link domains. (For example, brand3.com.)

Step 8: Create a CNAME for Horizon

  1. Set up a CNAME record that points a subdomain of your website to horizon.sailthru.com:

    horizon.yourdomain.com should point to horizon.sailthru.com

  2. Add this to the Horizon Domain field on your account Settings page. This is required for Horizon to collect data.

The root domain must be the same for both the Link Domain and the Horizon Domain. The root domain is the mycompany.com portion of your domain. For example, you could not have a Link Domain at mycompany.net and a horizon domain at mycompany.com. Lastly, if you have multiple accounts, do not use the same Link Domain across multiple accounts.

Step 9: Add these records to your account Settings page

Visit the Settings page in my.sailthru and add your records to the relevant fields.

Click here for details on each field.