You are making a very good first impression and assuring them that you are not an imposter.
The essence of email authentication
Authenticate your emails for a very simple reason: If you don't, your marketing campaigns may end up in the dreaded spam folder. And, if that happens, any chance of conversion, engagement or ROI is greatly diminished.
Simply put, authentication serves to prove to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that the email marketing campaigns you send are legitimate and deserve a place in the recipients' inbox.
By authenticating your email you are verifying the identity of your domain allowing the MasterBase platform to use your domain to send messages. This way, you will avoid spammers to impersonate your identity and use your email to send malicious messages deceiving those who open them.
Email authentication consists of configuring a set of rules or protocols.
The receiving e-mail servers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and others) will be able to consult these rules when filtering incoming messages.
There are different ways to perform email authentication, each with its own configuration procedure and unique perspective to bring to the table.
- SPF: Your seal of approval
SPF, or Sender Policy Framework, is your first shield against phishing.
Basically, SPF verifies that emails sent from your domain are actually authorized by you. How? By means of a list of allowed servers and domains that is published in your DNS.
When you receive a message, the receiving server checks this list. If the sending server is not on the list, the signal is clear: do not open, do not trust.
- DKIM: The signature of your message
While SPF works at the server level, DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds an additional layer of security.
Think of DKIM as your personal signature in the digital world. Every message you send by email carries a unique digital signature that is verified against a public key in your DNS.
This is a critical step that demonstrates that the contents of the shipment are legitimate and have not been altered in transit.
- DMARC: The judge of your shipments
Finally, DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is the strategist that sits on top of SPF and DKIM, using information from both to decide what to do with submissions that fail the test.
If an email does not pass SPF or DKIM, DMARC has the final say, instructing servers how to handle those failed deliveries.
In addition, DMARC sends you reports on the actions taken, giving you a clear view of how your messages are being managed and how you can improve the authenticity of your mailings.
Why does all this matter?
If your email marketing strategy omits authentication, you will be at a disadvantage. Spam filters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and, without authentication, your mailings will have a hard time reaching the inbox.
On the other hand, when you authenticate your emails, in addition to improving deliverability, you build a solid reputation with email service providers and, more importantly, with your customers.
However, to achieve true success in email marketing and for your campaigns to be truly winning, you must work, in addition to authentication, on the relevance of your campaigns.
By relevance, we mean that your campaigns are desired by your audience, that they value them positively. Otherwise, no matter how much you authenticate your emails, if you send messages that do not add value to your target group, you will be wasting your efforts and will not achieve your business objectives.
MasterBase® and the authentication of your e-mails
At MasterBase® we take the authentication of our clients' mailboxes very seriously, as we know that it is the key factor in maintaining and maximizing their deliverability.
And for email communications to be secure and effective, all our customers must have the proper SPF, DKIM and DMARC settings.
To facilitate this process, we have detailed instructions that will guide you step by step in its configuration.
If you are a customer, we invite you to contact your Customer Success Manager to authenticate your email addresses through a correct configuration.
In a nutshell
Knowing what SPF, DKIM and DMARC are and what they are for should not be reserved for IT specialists. Understanding them is essential for any email marketer who wants to ensure that their campaigns reach their destination.
So get to work and authenticate your emails. You will see your deliverability rates and brand reputation improve.
Remember, every message you send via email is an opportunity to connect, convert and retain your customers. Don't let lack of authentication stand in the way of your success.
And never forget that to be successful in email marketing it is not enough to reach the inbox of your target group, you must also make sure that the messages are relevant, that they are of value to them.
Contact us to manage your authentication.
