Adding Your Own Sending Domain

What is a sending domain?

It's the domain your emails come from, the part after the @ in the from address. Every Encore Pro account already sends from poweredbyencorepro.com. If you'd rather your emails come from your own domain, like tickets@mail.yourvenue.org, you can add it yourself. You no longer need to raise a request with support or wait for us to send you the DNS settings.

You can add as many sending domains as you need, and each one can have its own click-tracking domain, so the links in your emails also carry your name.

Before you start

You'll need access to your domain's DNS settings, or someone who has it. That's usually whoever looks after your website or IT. The setup takes a few minutes in Encore Pro, and the rest is copying the records into your DNS provider. The Sending Domains tab is only visible to users who can edit system settings. 

Adding a domain

1. Go to Settings in the left sidebar and click the Sending Domains tab. You'll see a table of your domains, with their tracking domain and a Status.
2. Click Add domain.
3. Enter your Sending domain, for example mail.yourvenue.org. Use the full hostname. If it isn't valid, you'll see "Please enter a valid hostname" and the button stays greyed out.
4. If you'd like your email links to use your domain too, enter a Tracking domain, for example click.yourvenue.org. This is optional.
5. Click Add domain.

A panel opens listing the DNS records you need to create. You'll see a "Domain added successfully" message, and every record shows as Unverified until it's in place.

The DNS records

Encore Pro generates the records for you. You'll get three, or two if you skip the tracking domain.

Don't type these in by hand. Use the copy icon beside each record, or Copy all records at the bottom of the panel, and paste them into your DNS provider. The DKIM value is long, and one wrong character stops it working. Every domain gets its own DKIM details, so use the ones shown for your domain, not the example above.

You can reopen the panel any time from Settings, in the Sending Domains tab.

Entering them at your DNS provider

Every DNS provider looks different, but the steps are the same:

1. Add a new record.
2. Set the Type (TXT or CNAME) to match the record in Encore Pro.
3. Paste the Hostname into the Name field. Some providers want only the part before your domain (for example mail, not mail.yourvenue.org), because they add the rest themselves.
4. Paste the Value into Content (TXT) or Target (CNAME).
5. Save.

If you use Cloudflare, set the proxy status on both CNAME records to DNS only (the grey cloud). Cloudflare turns proxying on by default, and it stops these records working. Also check the Type box, because Cloudflare starts on A record and you need to change it to TXT or CNAME. 

Checking it worked

Once the records are saved, click Verify. Encore Pro checks them and the Status changes from Unverified to Verified. You'll see a "Domain verified successfully" message. Verification is usually almost instant, but can take a few minutes. DNS changes can take a little while to spread, so if it still says Unverified straight away, wait a few minutes, check the records again, then click Verify again.

Email sending only works once all the required records are in place. A domain with only some records verified can't be used yet.

Using your new domain

Set your verified domain on a Branding Set (Settings > Branding) and it becomes the default from address for campaigns and automations that use that set. You can change it case by case in a campaign's settings or an automation step's From Email field.

If it won't verify

• Check the hostname matches exactly, with no doubled-up domain (for example mail.yourvenue.org.yourvenue.org).
• Check you used CNAME for the bounce and tracking records, and TXT for DKIM.
• On Cloudflare, check both CNAMEs are DNS only.
• Check the DKIM value was pasted whole, with no spaces or line breaks added.
• Still stuck? Submit a ticket and send us the domain name you added.

Tips

• Use a subdomain. mail.yourvenue.org keeps your marketing email's reputation separate from your staff email on the main domain.
• Send the records to your IT team in one go. Copy all records, paste them into an email, and ask them to add them. A ready-made email is at the end of this doc.
• Don't delete poweredbyencorepro.com. It's your default and keeps working alongside your own domains.