How to modify your DNS settings to keep email campaigns out of spam folders

Christine

December 04, 2020 15:28

Email campaigns are sometimes flagged by a contact’s spam filter. Update your website’s DNS settings to deliver your emarketing content more reliably. This article will outline the steps necessary to update your DNS settings.

Accessing Your DNS Records

1. Sign in to your domain host’s website.

(Example) GoDaddy sign-in page.

Note: example images in this article are specific to GoDaddy. The process will be similar regardless of domain host, but contact your IT associate if you are unsure of any step.

2. Navigate to your DNS records. Depending on domain host, you can typically find them under ‘DNS Management’ or ‘Advanced Settings.’ Click ‘DNS’ to view your records list.

Image showing a 'DNS' button, that will yield DNS records when clicked.

Configuring Your DNS Settings

You will either need to update your existing SPF record, or create a new TXT record if no SPF record exists. Skip to Step 6 if you already have an SPF record.

Creating a TXT Record

3. Click ‘Add’ at the bottom of the page.

Click 'Add.'

4. When prompted, select ‘TXT’ from the ‘Type’ drop-down menu.

Click the 'Type' drop-down menu, then select 'TXT'.

5. Fill out the remaining fields as follows then click ‘Save’:
‘Host’: @
‘TXT Value’: v=spf1 a mx include: sendgrid.net~all
‘TTL’: 1 Hour

Image showing the fields populated with the specifications mentioned above.

Updating Your SPF Record

The following can be skipped if you set up a TXT record through Steps 3-5.

6. When editing your SPF record, add ‘include:sendgrid.net-all’ to the end of the existing contents in the ‘TXT Value’ field. If the existing contents ended in ‘-all’ already, then delete the old ‘-all’ and paste ‘include: sendgrid.net-all’ to ensure that ‘-all’ is only present once. Do not delete anything else.

Congratulations, you have updated your website’s DNS settings!