Take advantage of Patch's email marketing (included in your base cost) and increase brand recognition!
To do so first, make sure you have access to your Domain Registrar, specifically the ability to edit DNS records. Then you can proceed with adding your own subdomain to your Patch account. Once you have added your subdomain and verified ownership you will then create the email address you want to send from.
It is required that you send from a subdomain such as 'send.widgets.com' versus just widgets.com to help protect your main domain's reputation and not interfere with your current email system.
Are you using a subdomain? Have you set one up with your DNS/Domain provider?
To get started collect the subdomain you would like to use for your mailing address.
If you do not already have a subdomain set up, please contact your DNS/Domain registrar (ex: GoDaddy, Google Domains, Bluehost, etc.) or follow the instruction they provide on how to do so. Below are some of the more common DNS providers.
Common domain providers – How to add subdomain articles:
GoDaddy - https://www.godaddy.com/help/add-a-subdomain-4080
Digital Ocean - https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/dns/how-to/add-subdomain/
Host Gator - https://www.hostgator.com/help/article/what-is-a-subdomain-name-how-do-i-create-and-delete-one
Blue Host - https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/subdomains
Once you have your subdomain you are ready to begin the steps to add it to your Patch account.
Example how-to using GoDaddy:
Step 1: Navigate to Account Settings > Email Settings
Step 2: Scroll down to the Sending Domains section
Step 3: Click the purple (+) Button
Step 4: Type in the subdomain you would like to send emails from
Step 5: Check the 'I have access to' box then click Save & Close
Step 6: Copy and paste the DNS TXT/MX records from Patch to your domain DNS service provider
Once you have added the domain to Patch you will need to add the DNS TXT records that were generated to your domain’s DNS records.
This can be done by creating a new TXT record within your provider’s DNS management area and then copying and pasting the values from Patch to your newly created DNS TXT records.
Log into your DNS provider. Navigate to the DNS settings section. You will see an existing list of DNS records, do not delete or modify these unless specifically requested by your DNS provider or IT department.
Within your DNS account, you will need to click the 'ADD' new record button. Once a new blank record row has been added you will need to do the following steps for each section of your Patch account.
- Type = Select TXT or MX from the dropdown provided
- Copy the 'NAME' value from your Patch account and paste it into the blank 'NAME' input within your DNS account.
- Then repeat the same steps with the 'VALUE' field value from Patch to your DNS account.
- Click Save or Add within your DNS account.
NOTES:
1) There are slight variations for all of the NAME values, which one you need is solely dependent on your DNS provider. We recommend starting with what is directly under the NAME value, then if you get an error or are unable to verify at the end then go back without the redundancy of your domain name. Some providers automatically add your domain so therefore pasting the NAME value as provided causes duplication. Some providers will catch this through field validation when pasted into the DNS record, if this occurs select to proceed with the non-duplicate version.
2) Some DNS providers also require you to add quotation marks at the beginning and end of each of the values under 'VALUE' as noted in each section.
3) Typically the first two sets of Records verify immediately, the last two for Ownership and Incoming Email takes a little while and are dependent on your DNS provider. In most cases, we have seen that after you click verify and the first two are immediately good to go, if you leave the page and check back in about 5 minutes you will find the other records have been verified and you are all set to proceed with creating your Send From email address. Some DNS providers can take up to 48hrs, if after this timeframe you are still having issues, try the tips above and if you are still unable to verify please reach out to your DNS provider through their support channel.
DNS management areas can be found in various places depending on your service provider. Typically these can be set from within the provider’s platform or within the platform’s cPanel Zone Editor.
Here is an example from Bluehost:
These images are from the Bluehost DNS TXT Entry and are meant to provide an example. Please follow the process that applies to your domain host provider.
Add New TXT Entry
All TXT Entries Present on DNS Records
Step 7: Verify your domain in Patch
The next step is to verify that the DNS records have been added to your domain. A couple of things to keep in mind are:
- You will not be able to send from an unverified domain name.
- Once you have successfully verified your domain you can send and receive emails from within Patch
Unverified Domain
Verified Domain
When a domain has been verified, these additional icons will appear.
Green check marks with 'Verified' indicates successful and operational configuration.
If you are having trouble verifying your domain, reach out to your domain’s DNS service provider support team to ensure that your domain or subdomain is set up properly to send emails from.
DMARC Authentication
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is a protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM.
As of February 1st, 2024 anyone who sends emails in bulk is required to include a DMARC record in their DNS records. You will need to set up DMARC authentication for your sending domain in your DNS provider if you have not already. Please follow this step-by-step process below to ensure compliance with Google and Yahoo's email-sending requirements.
- Add a new DNS record: Click the button to add a new record. Once you do you will need to enter the following information:
Type: TXT
Host: _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none
rua tag: optional - read this article to determine if you want to include a rua tag for your domain.
Here is a basic example using GoDaddy:
Note: In the name or host value, GoDaddy does not require you to include your domain address (yourdomain.com), however, every provider is different so we recommend looking at their specific help center articles to determine whether this needs to be included or not. If you do need to include the domain value it would look like this instead: - Save Your Changes: Confirm and save your DMARC record settings. These changes will be propagated through your DNS provider.
- Verifying your email authentication configuration: To verify that the record has been published successfully, you can input your domain into the DMARC checker offered by EasyDMARC. With this tool, a status of Warning or Valid is compliant with Gmail and Yahoo’s sender requirements.
Step 9: Now you can add the email address in Patch to send from
In order to be able to send from your domain or subdomain you will need to create an email address. You will be able to send from any email address at a domain verified in your Patch account. For example, if you add and verify the domain “email.widgets.com,” you can create an email address such as hello@email.widgets.com. Once this is set up you will see this listed in the 'Send From' dropdown in your Send Settings within our Email Editor.
You can create a new 'Send From' Email Address by clicking the(+) sign in the lower right corner.
Select the subdomain from the dropdown list you just added to the account.
Enter the Prefix for the email, this is what comes before the @ symbol.
Give this Send From Email Address a Name for easy reference later.
Then enter the email address that you want to forward these emails to.
Then click Save & Close.
You will now see this Email Address in the Send From dropdown on the Send Settings tab of the Email Editor.
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