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Resolving Email Going To Spam Issues

Updated

Overview

This tutorial provides a breakdown of the IP Address and domain names used for sending emails.

Table of Contents

Email Setup Support Disclaimer

StudioCloud does not provide support for setting you SPF or DMarc records but we can make suggestions.

If you are experiencing issues setting up your SPF record or DMarc record please contact support@studiocloud.com and include the following information in the email:

  • The name of your email provider
    • For example, Google, Microsoft, etc.
  • The name of your domain name provider
    • For example, GoDaddy, BlueHost, etc.
  • The email address you have setup in StudioCloud

How to Setup an SPF Record With Your DNS Provider

SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework and it is used to approve domain names that can be used to send emails.

To setup StudioCloud to work with SPF you could use the following SPF settings:

v=spf1 include:studiocloud.com include:app1.studiocloud.com include:app10.studiocloud.com ~all

Specifically, you would enter the following into your DNS management interface:

  • DNS Type
    • TXT or TXT (SPF)
  • DNS Name
    • @
  • DNS Data
    • v=spf1 include:studiocloud.com include:app1.studiocloud.com include:app10.studiocloud.com ~all

SPF txt record setup can vary according to your email provider and, as such, you may have to include additional domain names and ip addresses depending on your email provider.

The SPF Setup Wizard and the email test solutions 3rd party tools below can help you verify that your email is setup correctly.

How to Setup a DMARC Record With Your DNS Provider

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Confirmation. It is used to tell email providers what to do if they identify an email from your email address that came from a domain name that isn't approved.

Below are some examples of basic DMARC setup options that can be added to the DNS txt record.

  • _dmarc
    • v=DMARC1;p=none
    • This option will have no action if an email doesn't correctly match the domain.
  • _dmarc
    • v=DMARC1;p=reject
    • This option will have the emails rejected if they do not match the domain.
  • _dmarc
    • v=DMARC1;p=quarantine
    • This option will have the emails quarantined if they do not match the domain.

The StudioCloud team recommends initially setting up the DMARC using the policy of none. After everything is verified to be working you may switch the policy to the other options.

Specifically, you would enter the following into your DNS management interface:

  • DNS Type
    • TXT or TXT (SPF)
  • DNS Name
    • _dmarc
  • DNS Data
    • v=DMARC1;p=none

How to Check Email Address Blacklists

You can check to see if your email address is blacklisted by entering in your domain name into the following link. 

Note: There are hundreds of lists that email providers use to track blacklisted email addresses and the link below only checks the most common ones. Even if your email address doesn't show up using the link below there is a chance it is on another blacklist.

  • https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
    • To use the link above enter in your custom email domain name. For example, to check if a StudioCloud email address was blacklisted we would enter in the domain name of StudioCloud.com into the link above.

How to Setup StudioCloud To Use Fixed IP Address

The changes below will force StudioCloud to use a fixed IP address to send emails. Although rare this change is sometimes required by email providers. However, we recommend not implementing the settings below unless instructed to do so by a StudioCloud tech as it will make it slower when sending out emails.

The settings below will switch StudioCloud over to using a fixed IP address when sending emails.

  1. Click on Settings
  2. Click on Manage StudioCloud Settings button
  3. Click on the Advanced Settings tab
  4. Select the Fixed Email Server (Slower and Requires Setup) radio button

The following StudioCloud services automatically send email messages:

  • CloudAlert personalized automated emails
  • Scheduled email messages
  • CloudForm confirmation emails

The above services send emails using the following setup:

  • IP Address: 54.245.226.16
    • Note: The above IP address is StudioCloud's IP address. StudioCloud connects to your email provider to send emails and, as such, sometimes your email providers smtp server's ip address will need to be used instead. 
  • Domain Name: app1.studiocloud.com

3rd Party Tools For Help With Email Spam

The following websites, which are not associated with StudioCloud, provide email solutions for resolving email spam issues. 

StudioCloud provides the below links as a courtesy and does not endorse their services.

  • https://www.mail-tester.com/
    • This service lets you send an email from StudioCloud to their provided email address and it will provide you a breakdown of any email setup issues.
    • Please note that the service listed above is limited to testing 3 emails per day before a payment is required.
  • https://www.mailgenius.com/spf-and-dkim-key-email-checker/
    • This service lets you send an email from StudioCloud to their provided email address and it will provide you a breakdown of any email setup issues.
    • Please note that this is a free service
  • https://www.spfwizard.net/
    • This service provides a wizard that can be used to help setup your SPF settings.