Mail setup

SPF, DKIM and DMARC with Salesforce and Marketing Cloud.

The records Salesforce and Marketing Cloud needs, where to find them, and the failure specific to this provider.

SPF

Add include:a Salesforce-provided include to your existing SPF record. Do not create a second record: two SPF records mean neither works, and that is the most common mistake in this whole area.

DKIM

Found in the Salesforce or Marketing Cloud setup area, under email administration.

Salesforce configurations vary considerably by product and edition. Sender Authentication Package handles this in Marketing Cloud; plain Salesforce uses a different route.

Salesforce and Marketing Cloud publishes keys under Salesforce-generated selectors, which is what an external check looks for.

DMARC

DMARC is the same regardless of provider, because it is your instruction rather than theirs. Start at v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:you@yourdomain.com, read the reports, authorise everything legitimate, and only then tighten. The DMARC guide covers the order, and the order is what stops you blocking your own invoices.

Worth knowing with Salesforce and Marketing Cloud

Salesforce is the case where the SPF include is often added by a consultant during implementation and never revisited. It is worth confirming the include still corresponds to a product you use.

Watch the lookup count

Every include costs one of your ten SPF lookups, and so does every include inside it. Adding a third or fourth sender is where domains typically cross the limit, after which the whole record fails silently. See the lookup guide before adding another.

Check yours

Check whether your mail is actually passing.

Plain answers rather than policy strings. Free, no account.

Using a different mail provider?

The records differ per provider, and so do the mistakes.

HubSpot · Titan · Klaviyo · Google Workspace · Amazon SES · SendGrid

All 20 in this set