If you use MailerLite to send newsletters, marketing campaigns, or automated emails, it’s important to authenticate your domain before sending messages.
Proper domain authentication improves email deliverability, helps prevent messages from being marked as spam, and allows recipient mail servers to verify that MailerLite is authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.
Table of Contents
Why Domain Authentication Matters
Without proper authentication, your email campaigns are more likely to:
- Be delivered to the spam folder.
- Be rejected by recipient mail servers.
- Display warnings about the sender’s identity.
- Have lower open and engagement rates.
MailerLite uses DNS records to verify domain ownership and authorize email sending.
DNS Records Required by MailerLite
When you authenticate a domain in MailerLite, the platform will provide one or more DNS records that must be added to your domain’s DNS zone.
Common record types include:
CNAME Records
CNAME records are used to verify domain ownership and enable MailerLite features such as click tracking and link branding.
Example:
Type: CNAME
Name: litesrv._domainkey
Value: litesrv.mailerlite.com
SPF Records
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records specify which servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain.
Example:
v=spf1 include:_spf.mailerlite.com ~all
If your domain already has an SPF record, do not create a second one. Instead, update the existing SPF record to include MailerLite’s authorization mechanism.
DKIM Records
MailerLite may also provide DKIM records. DKIM adds a digital signature to outgoing messages, helping recipient servers verify that emails have not been altered during delivery.
Adding DNS Records in mybox
- Log in to the mybox control panel.
- Open the Domains section.
- Select your domain.
- Click Manage DNS.
- Add the records exactly as provided by MailerLite.
- Save the changes.
If an SPF record already exists, edit the existing record rather than creating a duplicate.
Verifying the Configuration
After the DNS records have been added, return to MailerLite and start the verification process.
DNS changes are not applied instantly. Depending on DNS propagation and cache expiration, verification may take anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours.
Once verification is complete, MailerLite will confirm that your domain has been successfully authenticated.
Troubleshooting
If verification fails:
- Check that record names and values were copied exactly.
- Make sure there are no duplicate SPF records.
- Confirm that DNS changes have had time to propagate.
- Verify that records were added to the correct domain.
You can use online DNS lookup tools to confirm that the records are publicly visible before attempting verification again.
Summary
Authenticating your domain in MailerLite is an important step in improving email deliverability and protecting your domain’s reputation. By correctly configuring the required DNS records in mybox, you ensure that newsletters, marketing campaigns, and automated messages are more likely to reach recipients’ inboxes successfully.