Skip the spam folder with your technical setup (tutorial)

Whether your emails will land in spam doesn’t just depend on their content.

Of equal importance is your technical setup. Your technical setup primarily consists of DNS records that help authenticate your emails.

Only the domain owner (you!) has access to these records, which helps internet service providers know that the sender (you again;-)) is legit.

On this page, we’ll help you get your technical setup in order so that you’ll have a much better chance of avoiding the spam folder.

Select your Email provider to get the right tutorial:

SPF setup

SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows you to specify which email servers can send through your domain. Email coming from other servers will fail authentication and potentially not get delivered.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Check your current setup

Check that you don’t already have an SPF setup. An SPF record looks like this:

If your domain already has an SPF record, please check with your IT and/or provider to see where the problem comes from.
Only 1 SPF should be created per domain. Deleting an existing SPF can disconnect other tools that require it.

Step 4 (if you have 2 or more tools that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 2 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text and replace “[tool-domain]” by the tool’s domain url:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:_spf.[tool-domain] include:_spf.[tool-domain] ~all

Step 4 (if you have 1 tool that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 1 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 72 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DKIM setup

DKIM checks if an email has been tampered with during transit. If the email content isn’t authentic, it will fail DKIM authentication.

Step 1: Sign in to the Google Admin console

Step 2: Navigate to the “Authenticate email” section

DKIM authentication

Step 3: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 4: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 5: Add your DKIM to your DNS records

It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
google._domainkey
VALUE
[your-google-TXT-record-value]
Replace [your-google-TXT-record-value] by the content you have here:
DKIM authentication

Step 4: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

MX records setup

MX records ensure that incoming email is routed to the correct server. In other words, without properly configured MX records, you won’t be able to receive replies.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Delete any existing MX records

They will look something like this:

Take a screenshot of all your DNS records before deleting any. This way you can revert back if needed.

Step 4: Add the following MX records

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
1
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
5
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
5
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
10
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
10

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DMARC setup

A DMARC record determines what to do with unauthorized emails if they fail authentication. DMARC can let the unauthorized email pass normally, send it to spam, or not deliver it at all.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your DMARC to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
_dmarc
VALUE
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-email-address]; pct=90
You only need to create the DMARC for 1 of your email addresses. It will apply to all other emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

Custom tracking domain (CTD)

Email sending tools, like lemlist and Mailchimp, use tracking domains to track stats like open and click rates. Since many of their customers use the default tracking domain, which may have a spammy reputation, your deliverability may suffer. To prevent this, use your own custom tracking domain.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your CTD to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
trail
VALUE
custom.lemlist.com.
You only need to create the CTD for each domain. It will apply to all emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

SPF setup

SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows you to specify which email servers can send through your domain. Email coming from other servers will fail authentication and potentially not get delivered.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Check your current setup

Check that you don’t already have an SPF setup. An SPF record looks like this:

If your domain already has an SPF record, please check with your IT and/or provider to see where the problem comes from.
Only 1 SPF should be created per domain. Deleting an existing SPF can disconnect other tools that require it.

Step 4 (if you have 2 or more tools that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 2 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text and replace “[tool-domain]” by the tool’s domain url:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:spf.[tool-domain] include:_spf.[tool-domain] ~all

Step 4 (if you have 1 tool that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 1 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 72 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DKIM setup

DKIM checks if an email has been tampered with during transit. If the email content isn’t authentic, it will fail DKIM authentication.

Step 1: Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center

Step 2: Then go the DKIM page, and select your domain

DKIM setup

Step 3: Click on “Create DKIM keys”

Publish CNAMEs

Step 3: Click on “Create DKIM keys”

Step 4: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 5: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 6: Add your DKIM to your DNS records

It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
selector1._domainkey
VALUE
[your-microsoft-CNAME-record-value]
TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
selector2._domainkey
VALUE
[your-microsoft-CNAME-record-value]
Replace [your-microsoft-CNAME-record-value] by the content you have here:
Publish CNAMEs

Step 7: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

MX records setup

MX records ensure that incoming email is routed to the correct server. In other words, without properly configured MX records, you won’t be able to receive replies.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Delete any existing MX records

They will look something like this:

Take a screenshot of all your DNS records before deleting any. This way you can revert back if needed.

Step 4: Add the following MX records

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
yourdomain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com.
PRIORITY
0

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DMARC setup

A DMARC record determines what to do with unauthorized emails if they fail authentication. DMARC can let the unauthorized email pass normally, send it to spam, or not deliver it at all.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your DMARC to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
_dmarc
VALUE
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-email-address]; pct=90
You only need to create the DMARC for 1 of your email addresses. It will apply to all other emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemswarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

Custom tracking domain (CTD)

Email sending tools, like lemlist or Mailchimp, use tracking domains to track stats like open and click rates. Since many of their customers use the default tracking domain, which may have a spammy reputation, your deliverability may suffer. To prevent this, use your own custom tracking domain.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your CTD to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
trail
VALUE
custom.lemlist.com.
You only need to create the CTD for each domain. It will apply to all emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

SPF setup

SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows you to specify which email servers can send through your domain. Email coming from other servers will fail authentication and potentially not get delivered.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Check your current setup

Check that you don’t already have an SPF setup. An SPF record looks like this:

If your domain already has an SPF record, please check with your IT and/or provider to see where the problem comes from.
Only 1 SPF should be created per domain. Deleting an existing SPF can disconnect other tools that require it.

Step 4 (if you have 2 or more tools that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 2 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text and replace “[tool-domain]” by the tool’s domain url:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:spf.[tool-domain] include:spf.[tool-domain] ~all

Step 4 (if you have 1 tool that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 1 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:spf.zoho.com ~all

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 72 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DKIM setup

DKIM checks if an email has been tampered with during transit. If the email content isn’t authentic, it will fail DKIM authentication.

Step 1: Sign in to the Zoho Admin panel

Step 2: Navigate to "Email Authentication", then "DKIM"

Step 3: Select the domain for which you wish to enable DKIM.

Step 4: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 5: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 6: Add your DKIM to your DNS records

It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
zoho._domainkey
VALUE
[your-zoho-TXT-record-value]
Replace [your-zoho-TXT-record-value] by the content you have here:
DKIM setup

Step 7: On Zoho, click on “Verify“

DKIM setup

Step 8: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

MX records setup

MX records ensure that incoming email is routed to the correct server. In other words, without properly configured MX records, you won’t be able to receive replies.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Delete any existing MX records

They will look something like this:

Take a screenshot of all your DNS records before deleting any. This way you can revert back if needed.

Step 4: Add the following MX records

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
mx.zoho.eu.
PRIORITY
10
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
mx2.zoho.eu.
PRIORITY
20
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
mx3.zoho.eu.
PRIORITY
50

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DMARC setup

A DMARC record determines what to do with unauthorized emails if they fail authentication. DMARC can let the unauthorized email pass normally, send it to spam, or not deliver it at all.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your DMARC to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
_dmarc
VALUE
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-email-address]; pct=90
You only need to create the DMARC for 1 of your email addresses. It will apply to all other emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

Custom tracking domain (CTD)

Email sending tools, like lemlist or Mailchimp, use tracking domains to track stats like open and click rates. Since many of their customers use the default tracking domain, which may have a spammy reputation, your deliverability may suffer. To prevent this, use your own custom tracking domain.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your CTD to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
trail
VALUE
custom.lemlist.com.
You only need to create the CTD for each domain. It will apply to all emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

SPF setup

SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows you to specify which email servers can send through your domain. Email coming from other servers will fail authentication and potentially not get delivered.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Check your current setup

Check that you don’t already have an SPF setup. An SPF record looks like this:

If your domain already has an SPF record, please check with your IT and/or provider to see where the problem comes from.
Only 1 SPF should be created per domain. Deleting an existing SPF can disconnect other tools that require it.

Step 4 (if you have 2 or more tools that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 2 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text and replace “[tool-domain]” by the tool’s domain url:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:_spf.[tool-domain] include:_spf.[tool-domain] ~all

Step 4 (if you have 1 tool that require SPF):

Add an SPF record for 1 tools. It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
v=spf1 include:_spf.[email-provider].com ~all

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 72 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DKIM setup

DKIM checks if an email has been tampered with during transit. If the email content isn’t authentic, it will fail DKIM authentication.

Step 1: Sign in to your email service provider's administration console.

Step 2: Locate the settings related to your domain.

Step 3: Find the DKIM settings within your domain's settings.

Step 4: Initiate the process to generate a new DKIM record.

Step 5: Specify a selector for the DKIM record if prompted.

Step 6: Obtain the DKIM record, which typically includes a TXT record name and value.

Step 7: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 8: Create a new TXT record using the DKIM details from your email provider.

It should look like this:

Copy-paste the following text:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
[selector]._domainkey
VALUE
[your-provider-TXT-record-value]
Replace [selector] and [your-google-TXT-record-value] by your email provider

Step 9: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

MX records setup

MX records ensure that incoming email is routed to the correct server. In other words, without properly configured MX records, you won’t be able to receive replies.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Delete any existing MX records

They will look something like this:

Take a screenshot of all your DNS records before deleting any. This way you can revert back if needed.

Step 4: Add  the MX records given by your email provider

For instance, if Google is your email provider, it looks like this:

TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
1
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
5
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
5
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
10
TYPE
MX
HOST NAME
@
VALUE
ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
PRIORITY
10

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

DMARC setup

A DMARC record determines what to do with unauthorized emails if they fail authentication. DMARC can let the unauthorized email pass normally, send it to spam, or not deliver it at all.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your DMARC to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
TXT
HOST NAME
_dmarc
VALUE
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-email-address]; pct=90
You only need to create the DMARC for 1 of your email addresses. It will apply to all other emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.

Custom tracking domain (CTD)

Email sending tools, like lemlist or Mailchimp, use tracking domains to track stats like open and click rates. Since many of their customers use the default tracking domain, which may have a spammy reputation, your deliverability may suffer. To prevent this, use your own custom tracking domain.

Step 1: Sign in to your domain provider

Step 2: Navigate to the page to edit your domain’s DNS records

It can sometimes be called “DNS Management”, “Name Server Management”, or “Advanced Settings”.

Step 3: Add your CTD to your DNS records

They will look something like this:

TYPE
CNAME
HOST NAME
trail
VALUE
custom.lemlist.com.
You only need to create the CTD for each domain. It will apply to all emails on the same domain.

Step 5: Check that your new setup works

Go to the “DNS checks” section of lemwarm to test your domain again.

Check your setup with lemwarm
It can take up to 48 hours to take effect and have the right status in lemwarm.
Galaxy image

3 minutes to set up, lifelong results
Runs 100% on autopilot!

Planer image