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Launched Email Deliverability: Tips & Best Practices for setting up your own domain

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Written by Paul Whittall
Updated over 2 months ago

1) Setup you sending identity

Subdomain of your brand (recommended for most):

  • For example “marketing.launchedtech.io” so “marketing” is the Launched subdomain

  • Use descriptive subdomains to separate marketing and transactional streams, e.g. news.example.com, tx.example.com.

  • Control subdomain behaviour with the parent DMARC record’s sp= tag (e.g., stricter policy for all subdomains). With default relaxed alignment, subdomains align with the parent domain for DMARC. datatracker.ietf.orgrfc-editor.org

2) DNS configuration checklist (new or existing domains)

SPF

  • Publish a single SPF record at the From domain:

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v=spf1 include:your-esp.example include:your-mta.example -all

  • Keep it under the 10 DNS-lookup limit (includes nested include, a, mx, etc.). Flatten or consolidate vendors if needed. Exceeding this limit causes SPF PermError. rfc-editor.orgmailhardener.com

DKIM

  • Use 2048-bit RSA keys (rotate with multiple selectors like s2025, s2026).

  • Publish at selector._domainkey.yourdomain. rfc-editor.org

DMARC

  • Start with monitoring:

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_dmarc.yourdomain TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain; adkim=r; aspf=r; pct=100" Policy Options suggestions:p=none: Monitor only (no action taken).p=quarantine: Send failing emails to spam.p=reject: Block failing emails.

  • After authenticating all mail sources and reviewing reports, move to p=quarantine then p=reject. Use sp= to set a policy for subdomains. datatracker.ietf.org

Reverse DNS / HELO

  • Ensure your sending IPs have valid forward and reverse DNS and a consistent EHLO/HELO name. senders.yahooinc.com

TLS & tracking

  • Serve TLS for SMTP.

  • If your ESP provides link/open tracking, brand it with a CNAME on your sending domain (e.g., click.example.com).

You need access to the DNS settings, here is an example in AWS

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3) Requirements now enforced by Gmail & Yahoo

Mailbox providers enforce:

  • SPF + DKIM + DMARC in place.

  • One-click unsubscribe via List-Unsubscribe (RFC 8058), honored within ~2 days.

  • Keep spam complaint rate below ~0.3%. Google Helpsenders.yahooinc.com

Set up postmaster portals:

4) Warm-up plan (for new or “cold” domains/IPs)

Goal: build positive engagement signals and steady volume.

Principles

  • Start with your most engaged recipients (recent, explicit opt-in).

  • Keep content stable; avoid heavy images/links initially.

  • Grow daily mailbox volume gradually.

Example ramp

  • Week 1: 2 → 15 → 10 → day

  • Week 2: 15 → 20 → 30/day

  • Week 3+: 40 → 50 → 100/day

Watch & gate on metrics

  • Spam complaints <0.3%; hard bounces <2%; unknown users <1%; blocks/transient errors trending down. If you breach thresholds, pause growth or step back for 2–3 sends. senders.yahooinc.com

5) Using an existing domain? Do this first

6) List & content hygiene that moves the needle

  • Use confirmed (double) opt-in; never buy lists.

  • Remove hard bounces immediately; sunset long-term inactives.

  • Honor unsubscribes within 2 days and implement one-click in headers and a visible link in the body. senders.yahooinc.com

  • Keep brand, from-name, and cadence consistent; avoid URL shorteners; send from a branded tracking domain.

7) Troubleshooting quick hits

  • SPF fails intermittently: you’re likely over 10 DNS lookups—flatten or reduce include: chains. rfc-editor.org

  • Authentication shows “pass” but DMARC fails: check alignment (the DKIM d= or SPF envelope domain must align with the visible From domain). Consider relaxed vs strict. datatracker.ietf.org

  • Blocks at Yahoo/Gmail: check complaint rate, ensure one-click unsubscribe, and review Postmaster/SNDS dashboards; slow sending and re-engage only the most active cohort. Google Helpsenders.yahooinc.com

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