Recipe for: a newsletter that lands
Your recipes belong in the inbox.
We fix your newsletter's email settings with you in one 30-minute call. You pay only after Gmail shows PASS.
Ingredients
- 1 DMARC record
- 1 SPF record, 10 lookups max
- 1 DKIM key from your newsletter tool
- Your login to the place that runs your domain's DNS (your domain registrar, host or Cloudflare)
- Your login to your newsletter tool
- 30 minutes, together
we do it with you, not for you
Pay after
it works
The problem
The problem: Gmail cannot tell your newsletter is really from you
- You send your newsletter from an address on your own domain, such as hello@yourblog.com, through Kit, Flodesk, MailerLite or another tool.
- Your domain has no DMARC record, or it has two of them. With two, no policy applies at all.
- Your SPF record needs more than 10 DNS lookups, or there are two SPF records. Then SPF fails for every email.
- DKIM, the signature from your newsletter tool, was never turned on for your domain.
Why it matters
What it costs your blog
- Google says mail that fails these checks might be marked as spam or rejected with a 5.7.26 error.
- A newsletter in spam does not get opened. Your open rate falls, and fewer readers click through to the new recipe.
- Fewer clicks from email means fewer sessions on your recipe pages, and less ad income from Mediavine, Raptive or your ad network.
- Thanksgiving and holiday baking are the busiest weeks for many food blogs. This is when you want every email to arrive.
Method
Method
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Step 1: Run the free check
Type your blog's domain into our free email check. It reads your public DNS records and shows what is missing. It takes a few seconds.
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Step 2: Book 30 minutes
Pick a time that suits you. We meet on a video call and you share your screen.
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Step 3: Fix it together
You stay logged in to your own accounts. We tell you exactly what to click and what to paste. We never ask for your passwords.
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Step 4: Send a test
You send a test email from your newsletter tool to a Gmail address. In Gmail, you open the menu and choose 'Show original'.
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Step 5: See PASS, then pay
When Gmail shows PASS for SPF, DKIM and DMARC, we send the invoice for USD 500. If it does not show PASS, you pay nothing.
Price: Email fix
USD 500
one time
You pay after Gmail shows PASS for SPF, DKIM and DMARC on a test email from your newsletter
If it does not work, you pay nothing.
Book the 30-min fixWhat is DMARC, and does a food blog need it?
When you send a newsletter, Gmail asks a simple question: is this email really from you? Your domain answers that question with three small text records in your DNS. DNS is your domain’s address book. It is a public list that tells the internet where your website and email live.
SPF is the guest list. It names the services that may send email for your domain, for example your newsletter tool and your inbox provider. There is one rule that trips up many bloggers. An SPF record may use at most 10 DNS lookups (RFC 7208). Each “include” for a tool counts, and the includes inside it count too. Add a few tools over the years and you go past 10. Then SPF fails for every email you send.
DKIM is the wax seal. Your newsletter tool signs each email with a private key. Your domain holds the matching public key. Gmail checks the seal, and if it is not broken, it knows the email was not changed on the way. You turn DKIM on inside Kit, Flodesk, MailerLite or your other tool, and then you add its records to your DNS.
DMARC is the house rule. It sits at a fixed place in your DNS, _dmarc.yourblog.com. It tells Gmail what to do when SPF or DKIM does not match the address in the “From” line. It can also ask for daily reports. A record that starts with v=DMARC1; p=none asks for reports and blocks nothing. Your domain must have exactly one DMARC record. If it has two, the rules say no policy applies at all (RFC 7489).
Does a food blog need it?
Google’s sender rules say that if you send more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts, you must set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Your “From” domain must match your SPF or DKIM domain. Your marketing emails must have one-click unsubscribe, and your spam rate must stay below 0.30 percent. Google says mail that fails “might be marked as spam or rejected with a 5.7.26 error.” Most newsletter tools already handle one-click unsubscribe for you.
Smaller lists still benefit. Google asks every sender to use SPF or DKIM. DMARC costs nothing, takes a few minutes, and helps Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook trust your name. It also stops other people from sending fake email that looks like it is from your blog.
How do I check my own blog?
Use our free email check. Type your domain, and it reads your public DNS records in your browser. It shows whether you have a DMARC record, whether you have more than one, and whether your SPF record needs more than 10 lookups. It cannot see your DKIM key, because DKIM records hide under a name that only your newsletter tool knows. We check DKIM together on the call.
If the check finds a problem, book the 30-minute fix. You pay only after Gmail shows PASS.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Do I need this if I send fewer than 5,000 emails a day?
Google's strict rules for bulk senders start at more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts. But Google asks every sender to use SPF or DKIM, and DMARC helps any sender prove their mail is real. If your list grows past 5,000 Gmail readers, you are already set.
Will you need my passwords?
No. You log in to your own accounts and share your screen. We guide each click. You stay in control the whole time.
What if I use Kit, Flodesk or MailerLite?
That is fine. Each tool gives you DKIM records to add to your domain. We find them in your tool's settings and add them with you.
Can this break my email?
We start DMARC at p=none, which does not block anything. We keep a copy of your old SPF record, so we can put it back in one minute if we need to.
What if Gmail does not show PASS?
Then you do not pay. We tell you what we found and what is still in the way, at no cost.
Goes well with
Related fixes
We fix it with you, and you pay after it works. If it does not work, you pay nothing.
We want to be your technology partner. We do not want to take your money for work that does not help.