Boost your outreach with Email Marketing—ideal for newsletters, event invites, and promotions.
Connect your custom domain to send thousands of emails without daily sending limits, ensuring better inbox deliverability and maximum impact.
Effortlessly scale campaigns, build stronger customer connections, and save time.
Table Of Contents
Before You Get Started
To get started, you'll need to own a domain and have access to its DNS (Domain Name System)* management portal.
We'll supply you with instructions for many popular domain registrars but don't hesitate to reach out if you need help.
The stuff below is a little technical, but the good news is that you only have to do it once and our servers will automatically ensure that everything is set up correctly.
For step-by-step instructions on editing DNS records with common domain providers, click this link
Public email providers like Gmail and Yahoo cannot be authenticated through Nimble.
Confirm that the domain is owned and controlled by you and your business.
*Email marketing systems require you to connect your DNS (Domain Name System) because it acts as a critical verification tool, allowing mail servers to identify the legitimacy of your sending domain and ensure emails reach their intended recipients, preventing spam and improving deliverability by authenticating your sender identity through specific DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Getting Started
To start, visit Settings >> Email Marketing Accounts and type your Domain into the field.
Nimble will generate the settings you need to put in your DNS for you. This process may take a few minutes, and in some cases, up to 15 minutes.
Copy Records To Your DNS
Follow these steps to update your DNS records:
Copy the required data from Nimble into your DNS
One at a time, add all four in the appropriate fields.
Check your DNS records
Click "Add New Record" and select the appropriate record type (e.g., TXT, CNAME).
3. Enter TXT Host information
If the TXT Host field is empty, enter
@as the value.
Note: If your DNS does not allow the @ as the value, enter your domain name instead.
4. Set the TTL (Time-To-Live)
Set the TTL to 60 minutes.
Be sure to save each record individually after making changes.
Confirm Domain Settings
Return to Nimble and click "Check My Domain." If any errors appear, review your domain settings carefully to ensure they are correct.
Troubleshooting SPF Record Validation
If you see a message in Nimble about an existing SPF record, don’t worry—you just need to update your domain’s DNS settings to include Nimble. This ensures your marketing emails are authenticated and reach inboxes instead of spam folders.
Watch the Video Guide
For a step-by-step walkthrough, watch our quick tutorial:
Why Am I Seeing This Message?
Your domain already has an SPF record, and DNS rules only allow one per domain. Instead of creating a new SPF record, you need to merge Nimble’s SPF settings into your existing record.
Common reasons your domain already has an SPF record:
You’re using another email service (e.g., Google Workspace, Outlook).
Your domain is set up for transactional emails (e.g., invoices, order confirmations).
A previous email provider added SPF settings.
How to Update Your SPF Record
1. Copy the updated SPF value that Nimble generated for you.
2. Log into your DNS provider's portal.
This is typically where you registered your domain (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare).
3. Find your existing SPF record.
Look for a TXT record that starts with
v=spf1.
4. Edit the record and update the value.
Replace the existing value with the one you copied in Step 1.
This update ensures your previous SPF settings remain intact while adding Nimble.
5. Save your changes.
6. Add the required records for Nimble. (If you haven't already)
TXT Record for domain verification
Two CNAME Records for DKIM
7. Verify Your SPF Record in Nimble
Once your DNS updates are complete, return to Nimble and click "Check My Domain" to start the verification process.
⚠️ Note: We will manually verify your new SPF record on our backend, which may take up to 2 business days.
Setting Up Sender Address
Choose your Sender Name – This is the display name recipients see when they receive your email, helping to build trust and recognition. Examples: The [Company] Team, [Company] Marketing, [Company] Support, etc.
Pick your Sender Address – Select the email address that will appear as the sender. This is typically a company domain email like support@[company].com or marketing@[company].com, ensuring professionalism and brand consistency.
You’re all set!
You can now start sending marketing emails using the Nimble Email Marketing engine.
Tracking Replies
To track replies to your campaigns, ensure you select an email account that is connected to Nimble.
If you haven’t set up an email account yet, go to Settings >> Email Settings to get started.
For complete instructions, refer to this article: Connect Your Email Accounts To Nimble
Your Sender Reputation
Under Stats & Manage, you'll see "Your Send Reputation".
Sender reputation is an integrated score designed to ensure that your emails will be delivered at a high rate. While each email server decides to accept emails on its own, maintaining a clean domain and reputation is essential to sending promotional or transactional emails.
Your sender reputation will go up if your emails are delivered and engaged with and it will go down if your email bounced or is marked as spam.
As a simple rule, your score will significantly go down once your bounce rate is above 0.75% and we will put you into quarantine once you're above 1%. To prevent bounces, make sure that you verify the email addresses you send to.
How to Send Messages
Now that your custom domain is set up, you can send Group Messages and Email Sequence. This article will walk you through the steps:
Instructions To Edit DNS Records for Common Domain Providers
Here you will find instructions for editing DNS Records for common domain providers. If you need further clarification or encounter any issues during the setup, it's recommended to contact your email provider or IT administrator for assistance.
Google Domain | |
Microsoft Domain | |
Amazon Web Services | |
GoDaddy | |
Dreamhost | |
Bluehost Bluerock | |
Bluehost Legacy | |
Hostgator | |
Hover | |
IONOS | |
Namecheap | |
Rackspace | |
ServerMX.com | |
Squarespace | |
WordPress | |
Siteground | |
Wix |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Domain?
A custom domain refers to a unique web address that you own and control, typically in the format of yourcompany.com or yourname.org. Unlike generic email addresses (like those ending in @gmail.com or @yahoo.com), a custom domain is associated with your brand or personal identity, providing a professional and recognizable presence online.
When it comes to email, using a custom domain means sending emails from an address like info@yourcompany.com rather than a generic email provider. This enhances your credibility, improves brand recognition, and allows you to have full control over your email infrastructure, including customization of DNS settings for better deliverability and security.
What can I do to avoid the recipient's spam folder?
This article will walk you through the steps of avoiding the recipient's SPAM folder:
Is there an additional charge?
Yes, to enable the marketing add-on, there is a base fee of $15 per company per month.
This includes 1,000 emails per user each month, which are shared between Group Messages and Sequence sends via your email service provider (ESP).
When you need more emails, you can easily purchase additional packages.
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If you have any questions, please write us at care@nimble.com, initiate a chat from this FAQ, or join one of our Nimble Onboarding and Best Practices sessions, held every weekday at 9 AM PT.