Why Create a Sender Policy Framework Record

Help protect email delivery rates

If you use a custom sender email (e.g. the email address has a custom domain like jackie@mystore.com) to send campaigns from tinyEmail, I have a suggestion. You should create a small file called Sender Policy Framework, or SPF for short.

Here's why. When you send a campaign from tinyEmail, how does the email service provider on the recipient's end (e.g. Yahoo) know that tinyEmail has permission to send emails with your custom domain attached to the message? That is, after all, how spoofers work. They send a phishing email, but it looks like it's coming from a trusted domain.

That's the purpose of an SPF. It proves your email is not a phishing expedition.

What is an SPF?

Let me explain the purpose of an SPF record with an analogy.

Let's say you're a security guard working in front of a door. A stranger walks up to the door with a box and wants to enter. You have a clipboard with a list of names of people who can enter. You look for the stranger's name on the list. You confirm the person is on the list and let him through. Everything is okay.

Now think about email

Imagine you are Gmail (or another email service provider). The person at the door with a mysterious box is an email message. The email looks suspicious. The message comes from the tinyEmail IP but the sender's email domain (e.g. mystore.com) doesn't match.

Where is your clipboard? How can you confirm the message can go through the door? You should contact the company that hosts the custom domain and ask, "Does tinyEmail have permission to send messages with the mystore.com domain name?" The answer is inside the SPF record.

If the answer is Yes, open the door and send the email to the recipient's Inbox. If the answer is No (or there is no answer), you'll likely play it safe and send it to the Spam folder.

Now you know the purpose of an SPF record. It is the security guard that helps open the door for legit email. It increases the chances your email campaigns land in the Inbox and stay out of the Spam folder.

How to create an SPF record

Log in to your domain provider account.

Where is your domain hosted? It depends. You might be using a service like GoDaddy (which is a domain registrar and hosting service) or have a contract with a hosting service and access to Cpanel (or a similar control panel). This article has useful instructions for creating records on different domain registrar sites.

Go to the page that lets users manage their domains. Every hosting company is a bit different. Create a TXT record and paste in this code:

v=spf1 include:_spf.tinyemail.com ~all

You might need to add information to other fields, as the example below shows for Namecheap.

If your domain is on a hosting service and you can access cPanel (or another control panel), go to the Zone Editor and create a TXT record.

You might need to wait up to 48 hours for the changes to complete. Send a test message to ensure the email flows as expected. 

That's it.

Now you know how to create an SPF record and send confidently with tinyEmail. If you have any questions, contact the tinyEmail support team.