Email Authentication Setup: SPF, DKIM and DMARC So Your Emails Stop Going to Spam
A new service: I set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for your domain and every tool that sends email as you, such as your website, CRM, invoicing and newsletter, and then test delivery to Gmail and Outlook. From $130 ($100 founding), within a week; moving DMARC to full enforcement takes about 4 weeks.
See a sample report, proposal and weekly update- Price
- from $130
- Founding
- from $100
- Timeline
- within a week
- Format
- Fixed scope, fixed price
- Hours
- US Eastern Time, async
Who this is for.
A good fit if
- New businesses whose invoices, bookings or password emails land in spam
- Owners who added a CRM or newsletter tool and never set up its DNS records
- Anyone who got a “DMARC” or “unauthenticated sender” warning from Google or Microsoft
Common triggers
- Customers say your emails are in spam
- Outlook rejects messages with a 550 5.7.515 error
- You added a new tool that sends email as your domain
- Someone is sending fake emails from your domain
Not a fit if
- You need mailboxes set up, moved or managed (this is DNS and sending setup only)
- You need someone to send your marketing emails or grow a list
- You can’t get access to the domain’s DNS
What I do, and what you get.
What I do
- Find every service that sends email as your domain
- Set up SPF (within its 10-lookup limit), DKIM for each sender and a DMARC record with reports
- Test delivery and authentication to Gmail and Outlook
- On Standard, read the DMARC reports for 4 weeks and move the policy to quarantine, then reject
- Document every record and why it’s there
What you get
- Working SPF, DKIM and DMARC records
- A before-and-after test report
- A one-page record of every sender and DNS entry
- On Standard, a DMARC policy at enforcement and a short report summary
- Handover notes: what to do when you add a new tool
Your part
- Access to your DNS (registrar or Cloudflare), or someone who can add records
- Admin access, or help, for each tool that sends email
- A list of the tools you know send email for you
Included
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup
- Discovery of sending services
- Delivery tests to Gmail and Outlook
- DMARC report review and enforcement (Standard)
Not included
- Mailbox setup, migration or support
- Email content, lists or marketing
- Fixing a sender’s poor reputation from past spam
- Ongoing monitoring (available in a Care Plan)
Fixed prices, agreed before work starts.
One domain, up to 3 sending services, DMARC set to monitor
Up to 2 domains and 8 sending services, with DMARC reports reviewed and the policy moved to enforcement
Build your scope
- Timeline
- within a week
- Payment
- Paid in full before work starts
- Earliest start
- Oct 5
Founding price: 3 of 7 spots left, until Mar 31, 2027 — one-off work, in return for a testimonial. How it works
Prices are in USD, paid by bank transfer against an invoice. Work under $1,000 is paid upfront; larger work is 50% to start and 50% before handover, or monthly milestones. How working together works
Variations
- Google Workspace or Microsoft 365
- Both supported; I configure DKIM in the admin console.
- Website or app that sends email
- I also check how it sends (SMTP or an email API) and fix it if needed.
- Someone is spoofing your domain
- DMARC is moved to enforcement first, so fakes get rejected.
- Several domains
- Parked domains get a record that says they never send email.
How it runs.
- 01
Tell me what sends email
Email your domain and the tools you use.
- 02
Invoice and access
You pay the invoice and give DNS access, or a helper does.
- 03
Set up and test
I add the records and test delivery.
- 04
Enforce (Standard)
I watch reports for 4 weeks, then tighten the policy.
- 05
Hand over
You get the record of every sender and entry.
A new service, done openly.
I have not delivered this exact service for a client before, so there is no case study to point to yet. The approach above is built from parts I have shipped in production — see the case studies — and the fixed price and written scope protect you while it is new.
Questions buyers ask.
Will this guarantee my emails reach the inbox?
No one can guarantee that. Authentication is the entry ticket: without it, big providers junk or reject your mail. Content and sending habits matter too.
Do I need this if I only send a few emails?
Yes. The strict rules target bulk senders, but Gmail and Outlook use the same checks to decide on everyone’s mail.
Could this break my email?
The DMARC policy starts in monitor mode, so nothing is rejected until the reports show every real sender passes.
Do you need my email password?
No. I need DNS access and, for each tool, admin access or someone who can click through its setup with me.
Ask about Email Authentication Setup.
Tell me what you have and where it hurts. I reply within one US business day with either a fixed quote or the entry step that makes a fixed quote possible.
Helpful to include
- Your domain
- Where your email is hosted (Google, Microsoft, other)
- Tools that send email as you (website, CRM, invoicing, newsletter)
- What’s going wrong, and any error messages
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