When you email your supporters through Bloomerang CRM, you can use a custom sender address from your own domain. For example, if your organization's domain name is example.org, you might email supporters from an address such as [email protected]. If you send more than 5,000 messages on a given day, we especially recommend that you use a sender address from your organization's domain.
This article explains email delivery concepts and links to detailed instructions.
Important Considerations
If you use a custom sender address from your organization’s domain, you must:
Actively monitor your spam complaint rate. Your organization must be compliant with email service provider standards.
For detailed information about Google and Yahoo requirements, read Google and Yahoo Requirements for Bulk Senders.
Email Delivery Definitions
To help you understand email delivery concepts, here are some definitions for terms in this article:
Domain name — The example.org part of www.example.org
Domain name provider — A company from which you buy the rights to use a specific domain name.
Email service provider — This is a company that provides your email service, which might be different from the email client you use.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) — An email authentication method that designates authorized mail servers for your domain. With SPF, your messages are more likely to be delivered and less likely to be marked as spam.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) — An email authentication method that adds a digital signature to your email messages. The signature verifies the origin of email messages. With DKIM, your messages are more likely to be delivered and less likely to be marked as spam.
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) — This is a protocol that tells email server providers how to handle email messages that fail authentication checks.
Google and Yahoo Requirements for Bulk Senders
As of February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo require bulk senders to follow new email authentication requirements. To comply, your organization must follow all of these requirements:
If you send emails from Bloomerang CRM, and your sender email address is from your own domain, set up both Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).
If you email 5,000 or more Gmail or Yahoo addresses on any day, and your sender email address is from your own domain, set up DMARC.
Keep your spam complaint rate below 0.3% (three or fewer complaints for every 1,000 emails sent).
If you don’t set up SPF and DKIM, Google might bounce or even block some emails you send to Gmail or Yahoo addresses. If you previously set up SPF and DKIM, you don’t need to change your existing SPF or DKIM records to comply with the new Google requirements.
Note: For marketing or other promotional emails sent from Bloomerang, Google, Yahoo, and other email providers require that emails include an unsubscribe option in the message and one-click unsubscribe in the email code. We’ve got you covered–all Bloomerang emails for these "mass email" type messages automatically include an unsubscribe link and follow one-click unsubscribe guidelines.
Requirements from Other Email Service Providers
Other email service providers might have different thresholds for:
How many emails you can send daily before you must set up DMARC
The spam complaint rate
Send Emails from a Custom Sender Address
To send emails in Bloomerang CRM from a custom sender address from your organization’s domain:
Enter your custom sender email address in your organization settings.
When you create an email in Bloomerang CRM, enter the custom sender email address in the From Email field.
SPF
If you send emails from Bloomerang CRM, and the From Email is a custom sender address from your organization’s domain, you must set up an SPF record in the DNS settings for your organization’s domain.
For detailed instructions, read Set Up SPF and DKIM for Email Delivery.
Note: If you don't set up SPF for your domain, Bloomerang CRM replaces your email address to improve deliverability. Bloomerang CRM also replaces your email address if it's from a personal email service provider such as @gmail.com, @comcast.net, or @icloud.com rather than from your own domain.
DKIM
If you send emails from Bloomerang CRM, and your custom sender email address is from your organization's domain, you must set up a DKIM record in the DNS settings for your organization’s domain. This record includes the cryptographic key used to sign your emails. A DKIM record is part of the DNS records for your domain.
For detailed instructions, read Set Up SPF and DKIM for Email Delivery.
DMARC
If Your Sender Address is from Your Own Custom Domain
If your sender address is from your own custom domain, and you email more than 5,000 recipients in a day, you must set up DMARC for your domain.
For instructions, read Set Up DMARC.
If Your Sender Address is from a Personal Email Service Provider
If your sender address is from a personal email service provider, we handle DMARC for you. Bloomerang CRM replaces the domain name in your email address with mailman.bloomerang-mail.com.
Examples of personal email service providers include @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @comcast.com, @icloud.com, and others.
Note: If you send more than 5,000 messages on a given day from a personal email service provider, we recommend that you use a custom sender address from your organization's domain instead.
Spam Rate
After you send emails, monitor your spam complaint rate. Keep your spam complaint rate below 0.3% (three or fewer spam complaints for every 1,000 sent emails).
As of February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo now require senders to keep their spam rate reported in Google Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. For more information about spam rates, view Monitor Your Spam Complaint Rate.