Enabling Email

Add an email channel and verify it with Amazon Web Services (AWS) before using it as a platform channel.

Before you begin

Review Email best practices.

1. Select Add Sender.
2. In the new window, open the Sender Type drop-down menu.
3. Select Email.

4. Enter the email address and alias.
5. Select Save.
6. In the Enabled channels table, select the eye icon for the new channel and confirm that its status is Pending.

AWS Email Address Verification sends a verification email to the address you added. Open its URL within 24 hours to verify the channel.

7. Open the verification URL. A confirmation message appears, and the email channel becomes available on the platform.

8. Select the eye icon for the channel and confirm that its status is Success.

If you do not open the URL within 24 hours, it expires and the email channel is not verified. The Sender Details window shows a Failed status.

Optional: Email best practices

Follow these practices to improve the likelihood that your email messages reach recipients' inboxes.

Authentication

1. Authenticate your domain with SPF. Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email validation standard that prevents email spoofing. Domain owners use SPF to tell email providers which servers can send emails from their domains.
2. Sign your outbound mail with DKIM. DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is an email security standard that verifies the domain owner authorized each outbound email. It uses public-key cryptography to sign an email with a private key. Recipient servers use a public key from the domain's DNS to verify the email was not modified in transit.

3. Test your authentication settings. Send a test email to a Gmail or Hotmail account, then inspect the original message to verify your domain configuration. To test with Gmail:

   1. Send an email from your domain to your Gmail account.
   2. Check the Inbox and Spam folders. If the message arrives from your domain, your email is authenticating.
   3. Open the message, select the kebab menu (three vertical dots) to the right of the From field, and select Show original.

   Gmail does not accept unauthenticated email. Inspect the message details to confirm authentication.

The resulting screen displays message details, including the authentication performed and the domain and IP address used.

In the example above, your domain refers to the domain you use for platform email messages. This result confirms that authentication is configured correctly.

If the test message does not arrive, your domain may not be authenticated or signed.

Domain and “From” address considerations

• Choose sending addresses carefully. Recipients see the “From” address early, and some internet service providers (ISPs) associate your sender reputation with it.
• Do not use a no-reply address, such as [email protected], for your “From” or “Reply-to” address. A no-reply address signals that you do not offer recipients a way to contact you or provide feedback.
• Keep your domain's WHOIS information accurate. An up-to-date WHOIS record demonstrates transparency and helps recipients determine whether your domain is legitimate.

Maintain a clean list

• Use a double opt-in strategy. When users sign up, send a confirmation link and wait for them to confirm their address before sending additional messages. This helps reduce hard bounces caused by typographical errors and maintains a healthier contact list.
• Validate addresses collected through web forms. Confirm that each address is well-formed, such as [email protected], and that its domain has valid MX records.
• Treat user-provided input with caution. Forum registrations and form submissions can contain content injected by spammers. Send only high-quality email content.
• Do not send messages to standard aliases such as postmaster@, abuse@, support@, or noc@. Send messages only to people who want to receive them. Email watchdogs commonly reserve these aliases, and malicious actors can add them to your list to damage your sender reputation.
• Periodically remove inactive users to maintain a healthy list and sender reputation with email service providers.