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Protect your sender reputation
Why sending from your own authenticated domain - not a free address - protects trust and deliverability.
The part of an email address after the @ is the domain. Personal mail tends to use Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo; businesses use their own domain - and for email marketing, using your own domain is one of the most important things you can do for both trust and deliverability.
Why a free address hurts you
Sending a newsletter from an @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address works against you in two ways. First, it's unconvincing - anyone can create a free address, so it does nothing to prove you're really you, which makes it harder to build trust. Second, it actively breaks delivery: providers like Yahoo and AOL treat marketing mail "from" their domain but sent through another service as impersonation, so those emails bounce or land in spam.
Use your own domain
- Register a domain. Choose one that matches your brand and website, for a consistent identity.
- Pick a good registrar. Look for helpful support, WHOIS privacy to protect your details, and full control over the domain in case you move services.
- Authenticate it. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC so providers can verify it's really you - see Authenticate your sending domain.
- Switch your sender. With an authenticated domain you own, you can safely use it as your campaign "from" address.
Troubleshooting
Can't verify domain ownership - add the DNS records exactly as given (no extra spaces), allow 24-48 hours for DNS to propagate, and use a DNS lookup tool to confirm they're visible.
Emails bounce after switching from Gmail to your domain - make sure SPF, DKIM and DMARC are all set, warm the new domain up with small volumes first, and check the domain isn't brand new (under 30 days).
Authentication keeps failing - confirm you're editing the correct DNS zone, watch for typos, and remove any conflicting or duplicate SPF or authentication records.
Your domain provider doesn't do email hosting - use a separate email host (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365), set up forwarding, or use a dedicated subdomain for marketing, with MX records configured for your host.
If your reputation problems continue despite all this, open a support ticket.