What is Authentication?

Authentication is sort of like a license plate for your email. It provides a trackable identifier which indicates you're a legit emailer.

There are 4 different types of authentication you have to take into consideration when sending bulk email content:

  • DKIM
  • Domain Keys
  • SenderID
  • SPF

Learn More about Authentication types.


Setting Up Authentication

MailChimp makes it one-click easy to add authentication to your campaigns. Here's some information about this option:

  • Authentication is added by default on all campaigns.
  • There will be no server changes on your end required.
  • If you use MailChimp's built-in authentication, campaigns will pass SenderID, SPF, DomainKeys, and DKIM checks.
  • You'll find the settings on the Setup step of the Campaign Builder under advanced tracking options.
    authentication options

Already have your own SPF Record or prefer to handle your own authentication?

If you already have your own SPF record, you can set up your DNS to include the MailChimp servers in your SPF record. More information on how to do can be found here in this blog post.

When you've modified your SPF text record, using the blog post shown above, your MailChimp campaigns will pass both SPF and SenderID checks. However, you won't be able to establish DomainKeys and DKIM authentication if MailChimp is handling your delivery and you aren't using MailChimp authentication.

Learn more about SenderID Authentication and SPF records here.

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