Understanding verification for sending domains

Overview

A verified sending domain is a subdomain of your business’s primary domain used exclusively for sending marketing content. Using a subdomain to send marketing content protects your primary domain so that your marketing channel does not negatively affect your primary domain’s email delivery, which you rely on for daily internal and external business communication.

Sendlane requires all users to send exclusively from verified sending domains, using authenticated sender profiles. An authenticated sender profile uses a verified sending domain as the email domain of its “sent from” and “reply to” email addresses. 

Sendlane’s preferred technique for verifying a sending domain is called subdomain DNS delegation using just a few records in your DNS setup. This technique provides SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verification for your chosen sending domain in the simplest way possible. Delegating a subdomain to Sendlane lets us handle all the technical details for you! Sendlane will manage your subdomain’s DNS while having no control of or impact on your primary domain.

What is a subdomain?

A subdomain is an extension of your primary domain. Subdomains are typically used to create staging sites to test updates to a website before they are formally published. In this case, the subdomain you create will be used as part of the email address you send marketing content from.

What does a verified sending domain look like in the inbox?

Let’s look at two from addresses in the inboxes of a Sendlane staff member:

This is the from email address on an email recently sent to Sendlane staff from our CEO, Shawn.

Because Shawn sent non-marketing content to Sendlane staff, he used his @sendlane.com email address which operates on Sendlane’s primary domain.

To send marketing content to opted-in subscribers, he would used a verified sending domain of something like @marketing.sendlane.com instead of an email address using the primary @sendlane.com domain. In this case, marketing is the subdomain.

Without a verified sending domain, your emails will appear in contacts' inboxes with a note next to the from email address saying something like "via creatensend.com" or "via sldelivery.com". These domains are shared among all non-verified Sendlane accounts.

Why can’t I just use my primary domain to send marketing content?

Businesses should never mix their marketing domain with their corporate domain or use the same domain for both purposes. If content or links in a marketing email are flagged by a real-time block list (RBL), email channels that send and receive email from the primary domain, including internal and vendor communication, could be blocked for an unknown time.

Delegating a specific sending domain allows Sendlane to maintain and update your DNS records to protect your business' website and to ensure that nothing is accidentally changed for your primary domain, causing domain verification to break for your entire website.

Sendlane continuously monitors the latest developments in domain verification and security. By delegating a sending domain to Sendlane, you will benefit from features we add to enhance security!

I want to take the risks associated with sending from my primary domain. Can I authenticate a sender profile using my primary domain without a subdomain?

No, a subdomain is required for verified domains and authenticated Sender Profiles. Sendlane does not provide domain verification for primary domains.

Does delegating a subdomain involve changing my default nameservers or giving Sendlane control of my primary domain?

No; your primary domain’s default nameservers should never be changed or adjusted on Sendlane’s behalf. Much like the IRS will never call you on the phone, Sendlane will never ask you to change or adjust your default nameservers.

Let’s say your primary domain is example.com. Your default nameservers would look something like:

$ dig +short example.com NS
a.iana-servers.net
b.iana-servers.net

and will remain completely unchanged by the process of delegating a subdomain.

You will create a subdomain in your Sendlane account, such as something like mail.example.com, then log into your DNS control panel and create the following new NS records for that subdomain:

Once the subdomain and new NS records have been created, the following authentication checks will resolve via Sendlane’s DNS servers rather than your primary domain’s servers:

mail.example.com TXT
_dmarc.mail.example.com TXT
slkey1.domainkeys.mail.example.com TXT

Sendlane will only process authentication checks at the mail.example.com level or above. Sendlane will never control example.com.

Will Sendlane still control my subdomain if I switch to another ESP?

Not if you don’t want us to! You can revoke Sendlane’s control of your subdomain at any time by deleting the four NS records you added to verify your sending domain from your DNS.

Can I verify multiple domains or create multiple authenticated senders?

Yes, you can verify multiple domains (for example, store.company.com and international.company.com can exist in the same Sendlane account) and create multiple authenticated senders (for example, hello@store.company.com, email@store.company.com, hello@international.company.com, and email@international.company.com can all exist in the same Sendlane account).

Can I hide the subdomain so that it looks like my emails are being sent from my primary domain?

No, subdomains will always be visible to Contacts in their inboxes. You can always use an email address associated with your primary domain as the reply to address:

How are sending domains verified?

Sending domains are verified by:

1. Creating a subdomain in Sendlane

2. Creating new records in your DNS control panel to delegate the subdomain to Sendlane

3. Attaching an existing or new Sender Profile to the subdomain