Connecting a Custom Email Domain

Learn to connect your Custom Email Domain to Kajabi to brand your sender information when sending marketing emails to your list.

Want a simpler email setup?

To setup your custom email in just one click, you'll first need to set up a website domain. Go to Domain Settings to get started. Otherwise, you can continue the email setup found in this guide. Follow these instructions for connecting your custom email domain after setting up your website domain.

Email Domains

Custom email domains are a great way to add credibility to your brand when sending marketing emails to your list.

When you join Kajabi, you are set up with Kajabi's shared marketing email domain to benefit from the excellent sender reputation Kajabi has spent years building. Using Kajabi's shared marketing email domain gives you the opportunity to build your own sender reputation as you scale your business.

Kajabi Email Domain Example:

However, if you are sending a significant number of marketing emails per week, creating and connecting a custom email domain can help solidify your brand!

Custom Email Domain Example:

Customizing your email domain is used to brand your sender information when sending email marketing content to your list. Transactional emails will continue to be sent with Kajabi's email domain.

Learn about marketing and transactional emails for more details

Why customize your email domain?

Building trust and credibility takes time and consistency. A custom email domain can help build trust and credibility with your recipients by creating a consistent, professional brand.

Building trust and credibility is HUGE for any business.

As more and more people become familiar with your brand and the value you offer, a custom email domain may lead to an increase in engagement with your marketing emails and improve your conversion rates.

Note:

We do not recommend this feature if you are sending a few hundred emails per month so that you can continue benefiting from Kajabi's sending reputation as you grow your list.

How to connect your custom email domain

Before connecting, prepare to setup your custom email domain on Kajabi

Note:

Connecting a custom email domain on Kajabi requires that you are no longer in a trial-period with Kajabi.

Adding your custom email domain:

Open the Settings tab from the Dashboard.
Then, select Marketing Settings.
Locate the Custom Email Domain section.
Enter a From Name, From Custom Email Domain address, and a Reply-To email address.
Then, click Setup Custom Email Domain:

Step 1. Update your DNS records outside Kajabi

After entering your custom email domain into Kajabi, it is now time to add and verify your DNS records into your third-party DNS Provider.

Let's be honest, the world of custom domains can be a complicated place.

But take a deep breath and let's dive in together.

First, it is important to note that this step will involve your DNS Provider outside Kajabi. This means you will need to be able to access your DNS records to connect your custom email domain to Kajabi.

Tip:

Open two tabs in your browser window to easily access your Kajabi account and DNS Provider to add the DNS records provided by Kajabi.

Depending on your DNS Provider, this step will vary.

Who is my DNS Provider?

Your DNS Provider manages your domain.

Typically this is the domain registrar from where you purchased your domain (think GoDaddy or Google Domains).

But, if you have added your domain to services like Cloudflare you will need to go through Cloudflare to manage your domain instead of your domain registrar. Learn to add your DNS records to Cloudflare

Adding DNS records to your domain registrar

If you don't use Cloudflare, log into your domain registrar to add your unique DNS Records.

Learn to edit your DNS records for a few popular domain registrars:

Adding DNS records to Cloudflare

If you use Cloudflare, log into your Cloudflare account to add your unique DNS Records.

Follow this video to add your unique DNS Records provided by Kajabi to your Cloudflare account:

To connect your custom email domain to Kajabi, you will need to add the following DNS Records provided by Kajabi to your DNS Provider:

Two TXT records
Two MX records
One CNAME record

Note:

Do not delete or replace existing records. Instead, be sure to add the new DNS Records provided by Kajabi.

How to add your unique DNS records to Cloudflare

Create a new DNS record in your DNS Provider.
Then, change the Type (e.g., TXT, MX, or CNAME).
Copy the Host data and paste it into the Name field in Cloudflare.
Copy the Value data and paste it into the Content field in Cloudflare:

Repeat for every DNS record (i.e., two unique TXT records, two unique MX records, and one CNAME record) provided by Kajabi.

While some DNS records may look almost identical, it is important to ensure that you add all DNS records provided by Kajabi.

Cloudflare note:

For the CNAME, change proxy status in Cloudflare by clicking on the orange cloud with "Proxied". The orange cloud should turn grey with the words "DNS ONLY":

Unsure of where to paste your Host and Value data?

Not seeing Host and Value fields in your DNS Provider? Because each DNS Provider varies, you may see different terms used when adding your DNS Records:

If you see "Name": Paste your "Host" data into the "Name" field.
If you see "Content", "Text", "Target" or "Data": Paste your "Value" data.

Be sure to include every DNS Record provided by Kajabi and do not omit any records.

Need more help? Learn to manage your DNS Records in Cloudflare.

Additional DNS information

If you are required to enter a Time to Live (TTL) enter 14,400 or 4 hours in the field.

If “Auto” is provided as an option, select “Auto” for the TTL. If there is a default value provided, you can ignore this field.
For the MX priority, enter 10 in the field.

If your DNS provider does not accept multiple MX records with the same priority, the first MX record should be priority 10 and the second MX record should be priority 20.

Step 2. What happens next?

Next, we wait! After completing Step 3, wait up to 48 hours for the DNS changes to propagate.

What does this mean?

To create a successful connection:

A custom subdomain has been added to ensure your records do not interfere with existing domains;
Your DNS changes must propagate, meaning Internet Service Provider (ISP) nodes across the world must update their caches with your new DNS information.

Can I send emails during this time?

Yes! As your custom email domain propagates, your marketing emails will continue to send under Kajabi's shared marketing email domain.

Can I make changes to my from information during this time?

After updating your DNS records, you can continue to make changes to your "from name", "username used for the from email", and the "reply-to email address". These changes will not impact your custom email domain set up.

Regardless of your connection status (i.e., connection pending, error, or successful connection) you can continue to make changes to your from information.

How will I know when it's done?

After the verification process has completed, the Custom Email Domain setting will change and you will receive an email notification from Kajabi Support:

Your custom email domain is verified and ready to use
Or there is a problem verifying your domain

If you have received an email notification that your custom email domain is ready for use, your marketing emails will now be sent to your list with your newly branded email domain!

Tip:

Test your newly connected custom email domain by sending a test marketing email.

What if there is a problem?

If there is a problem verifying your domain, Kajabi will notify you in the Custom Email Domain Setting:

Removing your custom email domain

Warning:

Removing your custom email domain cannot be undone and you will be required to repeat the setup process to use a custom email domain when sending marketing emails.

If you wish to remove your custom email domain to continue with Kajabi's shared marketing email domain:

Open the Settings tab from the Dashboard.
Then, select Marketing Settings.
Locate the Custom Email Domain section.
Click Remove Custom Email Domain.
Then confirm by clicking Remove Custom Email Domain again:

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