Send email from your own domain

Use a verified sender address so clients recognize your organization. The From address identifies the sender; the Reply-to address determines where replies go. Verify both choices before sending.

Before you begin

You need access to organization email settings, the domain's DNS administrator and each mailbox you want to verify. Your website host and DNS provider may be different companies. Use the provider that actually manages the domain's DNS.

Verify the domain

Open the organization's From email settings.
Enter the domain requested by the page and click Verify.
Download or copy the DNS records shown by Activity Messenger.
Ask your DNS administrator to add those exact names, types and values. Do not substitute example records from another organization.
Return to Activity Messenger and refresh the verification status. Continue when the domain is verified.

The records displayed for your domain are the source of truth. Copy each record's type, name and value as shown; do not assume a fixed record count or add an SPF record unless Activity Messenger displays one. The domain verification process can display a TXT identity-verification record and DKIM CNAME records.

DNS changes are not always visible immediately. Follow the current status and any verification email rather than assuming a fixed completion time.

Resolve a verification failure

Check the domain spelling and confirm that you added the records to the provider that manages its DNS. Compare every record's type, name and value with the records displayed in Activity Messenger. Some DNS consoles append the domain automatically; duplicating it can create a record at the wrong name. Check the provider's instructions before changing the record.

If verification has failed, correct any DNS entries that do not match the displayed records, then restart verification using the controls in Activity Messenger. If the page offers Remove, use it to remove the failed domain and add the domain again to restart verification. Ask your DNS administrator or support for help if the status still does not change.

Troubleshooting a DKIM failure

Activity Messenger sends email through Amazon Web Services (AWS). When you click Verify for a domain, AWS starts looking for the DNS records displayed on the page. A DKIM setup failure notification means AWS stopped looking because it could not find the DKIM records within its detection window (the in-app help gives this as three days). The notification comes from AWS, not from Activity Messenger. It does not block your account or your messages: see "While the domain is unverified" below.

When this happens, the General › From email page shows Failed verification. Could not find DNS records. Please remove and try again. instead of the records table.

Which DNS records to check

The records are listed only while the status is pending, in a table with each record's type, name and value, with Download DNS records as CSV below it. The page displays:

One TXT record named _amazonses whose value is the verification token for your domain.
CNAME records named <token>._domainkey whose value is <token>.dkim.amazonses.com, where <token> is a string generated for your domain. Each CNAME uses its own token in both the name and the value.

Names are shown without your domain because most DNS consoles add it automatically. The complete names are _amazonses.yourdomain.com and <token>._domainkey.yourdomain.com. The note under the table says that some consoles require you to append your domain to the Name value; if verification fails, try again with the domain appended.

Typical causes

The records were added at the wrong host. Your website host and the company that manages the domain's DNS can be different; use the DNS provider's console. The in-app help links to the instructions of Google Domains, GoDaddy and Namecheap.
The name is wrong for your console. A console that appends the domain automatically turns a full name into _amazonses.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com; a console that does not append it needs the full name. Check the resulting record in the console after saving.
The value was changed. Copy <token>.dkim.amazonses.com and the TXT token exactly; do not add text, spaces or a second domain.
The records are on a different domain than the one entered. Activity Messenger removes http://, https:// and a leading www. from the domain you type, but keeps any other subdomain, so the records must exist under the exact domain shown on the page.
The change has not propagated yet. The pending message says the change may take a few hours. Wait, then refresh the page.

How re-verification works

Activity Messenger asks AWS for the current domain and DKIM status every time you open an organization settings page (except the Website settings). There is no scheduled check and no separate refresh button: open or reload General › From email to see the latest status. The pending message asks you to visit or refresh the page to check the status.

Once the status is failed, refreshing does not restart detection. Click Remove, enter the domain again and click Verify: AWS starts a new detection window and the page shows the records to use. Use the records displayed after this new request rather than an older download. If the page shows the Domain field again with your domain filled in instead of a status, click Verify to restart as well.

Removing the domain does not delete the sender addresses you entered earlier. They are listed again under Verify email addresses once the domain is verified, with their current status.

There is no fixed verification time. The pending message says a few hours; the detection window used by AWS is the limit after which a failure is reported.

While the domain is unverified

The alert at the top of the page says You currently send email from info@activitymessenger.com. All email is sent from that address until the domain shows Verified and at least one address under Verify email addresses shows Verified.
Verify email addresses stays disabled until the domain status is Verified.
If a message or template names a sender address that is not verified, Activity Messenger replaces it with the organization's default sender: the Reply-to email when it is a verified address, otherwise the first verified address, otherwise info@activitymessenger.com.
Clicking Remove on the domain clears its status and its verified addresses immediately, so sending reverts to info@activitymessenger.com until verification succeeds again.

If a message to a specific recipient is missing after the domain is verified, follow Troubleshoot undelivered messages. Before opening the organization to clients, run through the Go live checklist.

Verify sender addresses

Enter each From address you want to use and request verification. Open its confirmation email and follow the link, then refresh the status in Activity Messenger. Verification messages can come from Amazon Web Services, the sending service used by Activity Messenger.

Select a verified address in the message composer. Review the Reply-to field as well: it may be set from the selected sender address, and you can choose the monitored inbox that should receive replies.

Understand email authentication

DKIM signs messages so receivers can check the signature. SPF authorizes servers for the sending envelope domain. DMARC checks alignment with the visible From domain and defines a domain policy. These mechanisms improve authentication; they do not guarantee inbox placement. Your DNS administrator should review them together. See Amazon SES authentication documentation.

If a verified message goes to spam

Ask the recipient to check spam, mark a legitimate message as Not spam, and review blocked senders or allowlists with their mail administrator. Check message delivery results before assuming the domain is the cause.

Continue with messaging defaults to configure replies and sending a message to review the actual send.

Settings reference

Setting	Where	Default	Effect
Domain	General › From email	Empty	Clicking Verify sends the domain to AWS for identity and DKIM verification and shows the DNS records to add. `http(s)://` and a leading `www.` are removed; any other subdomain is kept. The domain cannot be one already verified by another organization.
Download DNS records as CSV	General › From email, shown while the domain is pending	—	Downloads `dns-records.csv` with the columns Record name, Record type and Record Value, followed by the note about appending your domain to the name.
Remove (domain)	General › From email	—	Deletes the domain identity at AWS and clears the status and the list of verified addresses. Sending reverts to info@activitymessenger.com. Entering the domain again restarts verification.
Verify email addresses	General › From email	Disabled until the domain is Verified	Adds `prefix@yourdomain` and asks AWS to email a confirmation link to that address. The address shows Pending until the link is opened and Verified afterwards.
Remove (address)	General › From email	—	Deletes the address identity at AWS and removes it from the list of senders.

Common questions

I received a DKIM setup failure email, what do I do? AWS could not find the DKIM CNAME records within its detection window, and the page now shows Failed verification. Compare each record in your DNS console with the names and values described in Troubleshooting a DKIM failure, then click Remove, enter the domain again and click Verify to start a new window.

How long does verification take? There is no fixed time: the pending message says the change may take a few hours, and the status is read from AWS each time you open General › From email. If the records are never found, the status changes to failed at the end of the AWS detection window.

What address is used while my domain is unverified? info@activitymessenger.com. It is used until the domain shows Verified and at least one address under Verify email addresses is Verified; an unverified address chosen in a message is replaced by the organization's default sender.

Do I need to add an SPF record? Only if Activity Messenger displays one. The page shows a TXT identity record and DKIM CNAME records; do not add records that are not displayed.

Does refreshing the page restart verification? No. Refreshing only reads the current status from AWS. After a failure, use Remove and enter the domain again.

Why does the page show the records without my domain name? Most DNS consoles append the domain automatically. If yours does not, append it yourself; the note under the table and the CSV repeat this instruction.