Every email you send from your own domain passes an identity check before it reaches an inbox. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are the three records that pass that check for you. Together they prove your emails really come from your venue, keep them out of guests' spam folders, and stop bad actors from sending fraudulent email in your name.
This article explains what each one does in plain language and why inbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo now insist on them. It is background reading, not a setup guide. When you are ready to set your domain up follow Set up your sending domain, which walks you through it step by step.
Topics
- Why email authentication matters now
- The three layers, explained simply
- What your venue gets from it
- Authentication is step one: staying in the inbox
- FAQ
Why email authentication matters now
For years, email authentication was a nice-to-have. That changed in 2024, when Gmail and Yahoo began requiring it for anyone sending marketing or bulk email. They no longer suggest that your domain proves its identity. They expect it.
The reason is trust. Inbox providers cannot manually inspect the billions of emails that pass through their servers, so they rely on these records to tell legitimate senders apart from spammers and scammers. If your domain cannot prove who it is, your emails may be rejected outright or quietly filed into spam, no matter how good the content is.
For a venue, that means authentication is now the foundation of getting any email in front of your guests at all.
The three layers, explained simply
Think of sending an email like sending a letter that has to clear security on the way. SPF, DKIM and DMARC each handle a different part of that check, and they work together.
| Record | What it checks | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| SPF (Sender Policy Framework) | Whether the server sending the email is allowed to | An approved sender list. If a message comes from a server that is not on the list, it gets flagged. |
| DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) | Whether the message was changed after it was sent | A tamper-proof seal. If anything is altered in transit, the seal breaks and the receiver knows. |
| DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) | What to do when SPF or DKIM fails | The rulebook. It tells the receiving server whether to let a failed email through, quarantine it, or reject it. |
There is also a fourth record in your setup, BOUNCE. This handles delivery notifications, so that when an email cannot be delivered, the failure is reported back correctly. It is set up the same way as the others.
You do not need to understand the technical detail behind these to use them. The platform generates the exact values for you, and your job is simply to copy them into your domain host.
What your venue gets from it
Setting these records up once delivers three lasting benefits:
- Protection for your brand. Authentication stops scammers from spoofing your domain and sending phishing emails that appear to come from your venue, which protects both your reputation and your guests.
- Better inbox placement. A properly authenticated domain builds a trusted sending reputation over time, so more of your emails reach the inbox rather than the spam folder.
- Reliable delivery everywhere. Authentication is a universal standard. Whether your guests use Gmail, Outlook or another provider, verified records give you consistent delivery.
Authentication is step one: staying in the inbox
Authentication gets your email through the door, but it does not guarantee a spot in the inbox on its own. Once your domain is verified, the content of your emails still matters. Inbox providers score every message, and some common habits push emails toward the spam folder even when they are fully authenticated.
To keep your emails landing well:
- Write clear, honest subject lines. Avoid all capitals, rows of exclamation marks, and phrases that overpromise.
- Keep a healthy balance of text and images. Emails that are one big image with almost no text often get flagged.
- Make sure the content matches the subject line. Bait-and-switch teaches filters, and guests, to distrust you.
- Send to people who want to hear from you. Clean, engaged lists perform far better than large, unengaged ones.
Authentication plus good sending habits is what keeps you reliably in the inbox.
FAQ
Do I have to set all of these up? If you send email from your own domain, yes. Gmail and Yahoo require SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and Connect uses a BOUNCE record as well. Missing records mean your email may not be delivered.
Is one of them more important than the others? They work as a set. SPF and DKIM do the verifying, and DMARC decides what happens when a message fails. You need all of them for full protection and the best deliverability.
Will setting these up fix my spam problems overnight? It is the essential first step, but deliverability also depends on your content and your sending habits. Authentication gets you in the door; good practice keeps you there.
Does this cost anything? No. These are standard DNS records added at your domain host. The platform provides the values at no extra cost.
Where do I actually set this up? Follow Set up your sending domain for the full walkthrough.