How to Verify a Sending Domain on Convertkit

In order to use your own domain name to send emails from Convertkit you need to add a Sender Domain to the application.

To allow you to get started and send your first emails quickly, Convertkit defaults to sending emails from a shared converkit.com domain. However, you probably want to send from your own domain name - it makes your emails look more trustworthy and probably improves deliverability.

Luckily this process is fairly straightforward, and Convertkit is really good at guiding you. You just need a Convertkit account and access to your DNS-provider.

Add a Sender Domain

  1. Go to your Domain settings on Convertkit.
  2. Under "Verified Sending Domain Advanced" click "Verify your domain".
  3. Enter the domain name you want to send emails from (ie the part after the @ in your email address, for example emailsherpa.net).
  4. Click "Next".

The page that appears contains values that make up an SPF record and a DKIM record which you need to add to the DNS records of your domain name.

Add a TXT DNS record

How you actually do that depends on your DNS provider%, ie the service that hosts your domain name. Since most providers have their own ways of doing things, the following steps are somewhat vague.

Example using Gandi

For this example, I am using Gandi to give you a sense of the process. Other providers are likely to have similar workflows.

  1. Log in to your DNS provider account.
  2. Find your domain name and go to its settings.
  3. Go to the DNS records section and click "Add record".
  4. Choose "CNAME" as the record type.
  5. In the form that appears use ckespa for the Name value. In the Hostname field you need to copy and paste the "Value" from Converkit (the one that starts with spf and ends with convertkit.com).
  6. Click "Create".
  7. Repeat steps 3-6 and use the value from Converkit that starts with dkim and ends with convertkit.com.

Verify your TXT record

After the DNS changes have been made, head back to Convertkit. Back in Converkit, click the "Validate" button. You should see a message saying "Domain validation successful!" and your domain should appear in the list of domains with a green label.

Do note that not all DNS providers publish DNS record changes immediately. If your TXT record isn't verified you might need to wait a while (say 15 minutes) and try clicking the "Verify TXT record" button again.