How Do I Configure a Custom Sender Domain for Newsletters?
Add SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to your domain DNS so newsletter emails land in the inbox, not the spam folder.
Configuring a custom sender domain means your newsletters arrive from [email protected] instead of a VeloCMS system address. It's the single biggest thing you can do to improve email deliverability.
Why does it matter which domain I send from?
Email providers like Gmail and Outlook check whether the sending server is authorized to send mail for the domain in the From address. When you send from a generic system address, the alignment is fine — but the sender name looks generic to readers. When you send from your own domain without proper DNS records, providers see a mismatch and route to spam. Get the DNS right and your own brand name shows up in inboxes with full trust signals.
Where do I start in VeloCMS?
Go to Admin → Settings → Newsletter → Sender Domain. Enter the domain you want to send from (usually the same domain as your custom blog URL, for example yourdomain.com). VeloCMS generates the exact DNS records you need — an SPF TXT record, a DKIM CNAME record, and an optional DMARC TXT record. Copy them all.
How do I add these records to my DNS?
Log in to wherever your domain's DNS is managed — usually your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains) or Cloudflare if you've moved nameservers there. Find the DNS management section and add each record. The SPF record goes as a TXT record on your root domain (@). The DKIM record goes as a CNAME on a subdomain that looks like resend._domainkey.yourdomain.com. The DMARC record is a TXT record on _dmarc.yourdomain.com. DNS changes usually propagate within a few minutes on Cloudflare and up to 48 hours on some registrars.
If your domain already has an SPF record, don't add a second one — email providers only honor one SPF record per domain. Instead, edit the existing record to include Resend's sending servers alongside your existing ones.
How do I verify the records are set up correctly?
Back in Admin → Settings → Newsletter → Sender Domain, click Verify DNS. VeloCMS checks each record and shows a green tick or a red warning per record. If something's red, double-check for typos in the record value — trailing dots or extra spaces are the most common culprits. Once all three show green, your domain is verified and you can start sending from it immediately.
What is DMARC and do I really need it?
DMARC is a policy record that tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM — either quarantine them or reject them. Starting in 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require senders above a certain volume to have a DMARC policy. Even at low volume, a basic DMARC policy at p=none (monitor only) costs nothing and signals to providers that you take email security seriously. VeloCMS generates a sensible starter DMARC policy — go with it.