Starting from the Growth plan, Growave allows you to send email notifications from your own custom domain instead of the default [email protected]. This feature helps improve your email deliverability and reduce the chances of messages being marked as spam. To use it, you'll need a domain purchased and managed through a third-party provider.
Why custom domains matter
To ensure your emails are recognized as legitimate and avoid spam filters, it’s essential to configure DNS records correctly. Email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are key to building trust with mailbox providers and protecting your domain from spoofing or phishing.
DNS records and email reputation
SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Defines which mail servers are allowed to send email for your domain. Helps prevent spoofing.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to your email header, verifying the email’s authenticity and improving trust.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): An email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM. It allows domain owners to:
Define policies for how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail SPF and/or DKIM checks (e.g., do nothing, quarantine, or reject them).
Receive reports about authentication results and email activity from recipient servers.
Configuring these records properly boosts email security, strengthens your brand, and increases the likelihood of successful delivery.
Setting up your custom domain in Growave
To set up a custom domain for sending emails, you can watch a tutorial video or follow the textual instructions below:
Start the setup
Go to Growave admin → Settings → General settings → Custom email domain section.
Click Set up, enter your custom email address, and click Save.
You’ll receive a confirmation email from Amazon Web Services.
Open the email and click the confirmation link.
Generate and copy DKIM records
Return to the Growave admin and re-open the setup popup if it’s closed.
Click Get DKIM to generate three CNAME records.
Copy the Subdomain key and Value for each CNAME entry.
⚠️ Important
Depending on your domain registrar or email hosting provider, you may need to use Domain values instead of Subdomain values provided in the Growave setup. We recommend checking your provider’s documentation for exact requirements. If you're unsure, try entering the Domain value first. If it doesn't work or isn't accepted, switch to the Subdomain value shown in Growave.
Add CNAME records in your domain registrar
In your domain provider's DNS settings (e.g., Hostinger):
Go to your domain’s DNS records section. For each DKIM record:
Select CNAME as the record type.
Paste the Subdomain key in the Name field (for Subdomain option remove any “@” if shown).
Paste the Value into the Target field.
Click Add record.
In Growave, click Retry to verify.
Repeat to add all three records and confirm that they show Success.
Add MX and SPF records
MX record
In Growave under Custom MAIL FROM domain, copy the Subdomain for MX. In your domain’s DNS settings:
Add a new MX record.
Paste the copied subdomain into the Name field.
Paste the Value (without the leading "10") into the Mail server field.
Set Priority to 10.
Click Add record.
SPF record
Add a TXT record.
Use the same subdomain as the MX record. If verification is not successful, use @ (main domain) or leave the Name filed empty (if your domain registrar's system allows it).
Paste the following in the value field:
v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all.Set TTL to 3600 or less.
Click Add record.
⚠️ Important
You can only have one SPF record per domain. If you already have an SPF record (e.g. for Gmail), you may need to merge it rather than replace it.
For example: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:amazonses.com ~all
Confirm successful setup
Return to Growave admin, click Update, and wait to confirm all records show Success:
Add a DMARC record
Growave does not check this record via admin panel. To add a DMARC record to your email follow these steps:
In your domain registrar or email hosting settings, create a new TXT record.
Name:
_dmarcValue (recommended):
v=DMARC1; p=none; sp=reject; pct=100;Save the record.
DMARC policies can be configured with varying levels of enforcement:
p=none (Monitoring Mode):
In this mode, DMARC operates in an observation-only state. It collects detailed reports on email authentication results without affecting the actual delivery of emails. This is useful as a diagnostic tool to identify potential issues before applying stricter policies.
p=quarantine (Quarantine Mode):
When using the quarantine policy, emails that fail authentication may be delivered to the recipient’s spam or quarantine folder. This provides a middle ground between monitoring and outright rejection, allowing potentially problematic emails to be flagged without being immediately blocked.
p=reject (Reject Mode):
The reject policy is the strictest DMARC setting. It instructs email receivers to reject messages that fail authentication, preventing unauthorized or malicious emails from reaching the recipient's inbox.
‼️ Warning
Always start with p=none for monitoring, then gradually increase enforcement to quarantine or reject.
⚠️ Important
If your main domain (e.g., shop.com) has a valid DMARC record, all subdomains (e.g., newsletter.shop.com) will inherit this DMARC record by default. However, you can choose to configure separate DMARC records for specific subdomains if necessary.
Bounce and complaint rates
To protect your sender reputation and maintain high deliverability, Growave continuously monitors email performance, including bounce and complaint rates. These metrics are taken seriously, as they indicate that recipients are either not receiving your messages successfully or are unhappy with the content.
If thresholds are exceeded, Growave will temporarily pause email sending for your account until the issues are resolved. To restore email delivery, please review and correct your domain setup as described in the steps above.
⚠️ Important
To avoid delivery issues, we recommend properly setting up custom domain, regularly cleaning your email list, and enabling double opt-in to reduce bounce and complaint rates.
Blacklist check
Even if your domain has properly configured DNS and DKIM records, your email address or domain may still be flagged on various email blacklists. This can significantly affect email deliverability, as blacklisted domains are often filtered out by email providers.
How to check if your domain is blacklisted
Tools like Mail Tester can help you quickly identify if your domain or IP address is listed on any blacklists:
Send a test email from the address or domain you suspect may be blacklisted to the spam test tool’s designated address.
After sending, visit the tool’s website and click the "Check your score" button to get your results.
How to resolve blacklisting
Understand the cause: Listings may occur due to issues like spam complaints, sending to outdated email lists, or using disreputable email-sending practices.
Request delisting: Most blacklists provide a method to request delisting once the root cause is resolved. This may involve filling out a form or providing evidence of corrective actions.
Improve email practices: To prevent future blacklisting, ensure you're adhering to best practices, such as maintaining a clean email list, implementing SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and avoiding spammy content in your messages.
BTinternet.com delivery issues
Some users with btinternet.com, btopenworld.com, or talk21.com addresses may experience delivery issues. Despite Growave’s SPF and DMARC configurations, emails may be filtered out due to British Telecom's strict spam rules.
Helpful tools
Mail Tester – test deliverability and spam score
MXToolbox – check DNS records, blacklists, and more
Dig Web Interface – verify DNS records (TXT, CNAME, MX)
DKIMCore – check DKIM records
If you have any questions regarding this article or may need help, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or via the chat in the bottom-right corner. We're here to help! 🤗