An auto email sender is the identity your automated emails come from: the domain, the address, the display name and the authentication that tells inbox providers the email is genuinely yours. Get it wrong and every automation you build lands in spam, however good the copy. This article answers how to configure the sender behind your automated email on the levelpartner.ai platform, so workflow and campaign emails reach the inbox and replies reach a person.
Why the sender matters more than the content
Inbox providers decide where to put an email before anyone reads it. They check whether the sending domain is authenticated, whether the domain has a history of sending wanted mail, and whether recipients engage with it. An unauthenticated domain sending automated email looks exactly like a spammer.
For a 10 to 250 person firm, the risk is wider than one campaign. If your main domain gets a poor reputation from automated sending, the emails your staff send every day from that domain can start landing in junk too. Setting up the sender properly protects both.
The parts of a sender identity
Sending domain. The domain in the from address. Many firms use a subdomain for automated and marketing email, such as "mail.yourfirm.com", so its reputation is kept separate from the main domain used for staff email.
Authentication records. SPF, DKIM and DMARC are DNS records that prove the platform is allowed to send on behalf of your domain. Without them, inboxes treat your automated email with suspicion.
From name and address. What the recipient sees. A person's name at your firm gets more opens than a department.
Reply-to address. Where replies go. This must be a monitored inbox.
Before you start
- Access to your domain's DNS settings, or the contact details of whoever manages them.
- A decision on whether to send from your main domain or a dedicated subdomain.
- A monitored mailbox for replies.
- Admin access to Settings on the platform.
How to set it up
- Go to Settings and open Email Services.
- Select the Dedicated Domain and IP tab.
- Click Add Domain and enter your sending sub-domain.
- Let the platform auto-configure the DNS records where it offers to.
- Otherwise, add the records by hand at your DNS host.
- Return to the settings panel and verify the records.
- Allow up to 24 hours if verification is still pending.
- Add a DMARC record at your DNS host, monitoring only at first.
- In each workflow's Settings tab, open the Sender details.
- Pick the verified domain, then fill in From name and From email.
- Send a test to inboxes at two different providers.
Main domain or subdomain
Sending from a subdomain is the safer default. If an automation misfires and sends too much, or a list import includes stale addresses, the damage stays with the subdomain. Your staff's day-to-day email on the main domain is not affected.
The trade-off is that a new subdomain has no sending history. Start with smaller volumes and your most engaged contacts, then increase. A brand-new domain sending a large campaign on day one looks suspicious to inbox providers.
Suppose the firm sets up "updates.firmname.co.uk" for workflows and newsletters. For the first two weeks it would send only workflow emails to new enquiries and recent clients, a few hundred a week. In week three it could send a first newsletter to its 1,000 most engaged contacts, then the full list of, say, 4,000 the month after. The numbers are made up; the point is that volume climbs in stages.
What this replaces
It replaces the default shared sending address many systems use out of the box. Shared addresses carry the reputation of everyone else who sends through them, and they look generic to recipients. Your own authenticated domain carries only your reputation.
The time it takes each week
Setting up the sender takes an hour, plus however long your DNS provider takes to update. After that, check deliverability monthly: bounce rates, spam complaints and whether test emails still land in the inbox. A sudden rise in bounces usually points to a bad list import.
The mistake most people make
Setting the from address to a no-reply address. It feels tidy, but it tells recipients you do not want to hear from them, it throws away replies that could be sales conversations, and it does nothing to improve deliverability. Use a real name and a monitored inbox.
Copying DNS records by hand and introducing a typo. A single wrong character stops verification. Copy and paste each record, then wait for the verification check to pass before sending anything.
When not to change it
If your automated email is already authenticated, landing in the inbox and getting replies, do not move domains for the sake of it. A domain change resets your sending history. Only move if you are on a shared default domain, or if your main domain's reputation is being put at risk.
For sending times, batching and throttling large sends, see how an automatic email sender schedules and batches sends. For sending from personal mailboxes instead, read connecting Google mailboxes for automated emails. For the design side of inbox placement, see email design principles.
Troubleshooting
Verification fails. DNS changes can take time to propagate. Wait a few hours and check again. If it still fails, compare each record character by character with what the platform shows.
You already have an SPF record. A domain can only have one. Merge the platform's include into your existing SPF record rather than adding a second.
Emails land in spam despite authentication. Look at content and list quality. Too many links, image-only emails and old, unengaged contacts all hurt placement.
Replies bounce. The reply-to mailbox does not exist or is full. Check it with a test reply.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need DMARC as well as SPF and DKIM?
Yes. Major inbox providers expect DMARC for anyone sending marketing email in volume. Start with a monitoring policy and tighten it once you are confident all legitimate senders are authenticated.
Can different team members send from different names?
Yes. The domain stays the same, but the from name and address can be set per workflow step or campaign, including the contact's assigned owner.
Will setting up a subdomain affect our website?
No. Email records on a subdomain do not change how your website works.
How do I know if my sender reputation is damaged?
Watch for rising bounce and spam complaint rates in campaign reports, and test emails that start landing in junk. Both are early signs.