Introduction
These services are used to perform the sending of emails when you:
(a) run an email campaign in conjunction with REC's Email Manager which is where you design and create the campaign and store the subscriber lists, plus track the open and click performance. Pricing and terms are also described there.
(b) Send email via Prospect Manager which is tracked so an alert is sent to the prospect owner when the recipient receives the email.
You can use an SMTP service or one of the integrated 3rd party email sending providers (ESP's): Mailgun & AWS. ESP's are for sending large volume campaigns and tend to be much faster than SMTP services and may offer other functionality and analytics.
A Quick Note On Deliverability
Using SMTP services normally ensures a much higher level of deliverability because they require SPF & DKIM records to be set up and are more trusted. However, emails are still subject to other factors which stop them being delivered which are outside of our control, for example high filter settings on client machines and email systems.
Mailgun
This is the recommended method of integration.
Setting Up A Mailgun Account
Set up a mailgun account
In your new Mailgun account, skip past step 1 (Sandbox test) and go to step 2 Add your site as a subdomain rather than using your main domain name e.g.prospects.yourdomain.co.uk or campaigns.yourdomain.co.uk
NOTE: Do not use mail.yourdomain.co.uk as this is usually already in use for your mailboxes!NB setting it up this way makes it disposable if a subdomain is banned for spam
Set up your DNS Records following the directions given on screen for TXT (SPF and DKIM) and MX (by entering in the subdomain you are using) but not CNAME (open/click tracking and unsubscribe is carried out in REC)
- This might be on Cloudflare or via your own DNS provider. NB Cloudflare is typically within hours, other DNS providers could take 24-48 hours.
- If you are using a nested subdomain (e.g. email.mycompany.prospectmanager.uk) and your DNS admin console won't allow you to change your DNS setting then you may need to set up a Cloudflare account and do it through there instead).
- If you are using Prospect Manager you can receive replies to quotes you have emailed out by setting up Email Piping routes (see below)
NB When entering MX & TXT records, the DNS services require you to normally only enter the subdomain eg 'prospects' rather than the full domain 'prospects.wildfireinternet.co.uk'.
If you enter the full domain when it's not necessary, the DNS will not propagate (see below).
MX Records
TXT Records
- Validate your Mailgun account via the email confirmation and mobile number verification message
On the Domains tab, click to Validate Your Domain, Cloudflare is normally a matter of minutes, other DNS providers might be 24 - 48 hours, although Mailgun can often get the change while the DNS shows as pending still (i.e. before full propagation has taken place worldwide).
Go to the Mailgun dashboard (click on the Mailgun logo) > click the subdomain you entered and get the API Key
Enter the keys in REC (see "Setting Up The Email Delivery Service In REC" below)
NB Mailgun provides SPF and DKIM records which you can set up in your DNS to improve email deliverability
Setting Up Email Piping For Prospect Manager To Capture Email Replies
If you are using Prospect Manager to email quotes and capture replies back from recipients, then you need to set up a route on Mailgun so it knows where to send those replies back to you.
- In Mailgun > Routes > Create Routes
- Expression Type: Catch All
- Actions: Forward to yourdomain.com/includes/email_piping.php
- Priority: 0
You also need to enable this to work in REC+
- Admin > Site Settings > Leads & Alerts
- Tick Notify Prospect Owners When Clients Read Emails
- Update Settings
Test it works in Prospect Manager by sending out dummy
Setting Up The Email Delivery Service In REC:
REC Admin > Integrations > SMTP Email Settings
In the Email Driver drop down, select the service to be used:
SMTP (generic SMTP service, typically slower than API-driven services)
Mailgun (faster, paid 3rd party service with the option of timed emails)
Amazon SES (no timed email function)
Set Enable These Email Settings to:
Off - Use REC’s standard email system to send transaction and campaign emails
All Emails - Send transactional and campaign emails through the selected email driver
Email Manager Only - Use the selected email driver for email campaigns, REC will send transactional emails. Recommended in case your 3rd party service is suspended for sending out campaigns classed as being spammy.
SMTP Config - enter your configuration details here (or leave blank if using Mailgun or AWS integration)
Mailgun API Config - enter your Mailgun configuration details here. NB “Subdomain” is the one used when setting up Mailgun e.g. https1-campaign.ecommerce.co.uk
Use Email Piping - tick this to allow replies to emails by customers/prospects to be captured and stored in REC
Pipe Replies For Prospects (via Prospect Manager) / Orders (via Order manager) / Comments (entered in various places in REC) - tick which applies. For Prospect Manager this will be Prospects & Comments.
Check / change the sending email address which will be used for the campaign in Site Settings > Company > Contact Email field.
NB This email address is used as the From address in Email Manager, section 6.
AWS
Contact us if you wish to use the AWS service for a quote.
Testing
Once you have completed your setup make sure to send test emails via your different contact forms, registrations, email manager or prospect manager to validate everything is working correctly. If available, login to your Mailgun / AWS accounts to see the statistics appear in there too.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Please ensure you only send out campaigns to clean email lists or your campaign will probably be suspended by the ESP.
Read how to clean your email list