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If your ActiveCampaign account is experiencing a high volume of bounces for correct email addresses, or, if contacts are not receiving your email messages, it may be due to how your Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance Policy (DMARC) is set up with your Domain Name System provider (DNS).
DKIM and DMARC authentication is required beginning February 2024 following upcoming changes by Gmail and Yahoo regarding authentication requirements. ActiveCampaign highly recommends all senders set up DKIM and DMARC. Learn how to set up DKIM and DMARC authentication.
For more information on these changes see our blog post A Guide to Google and Yahoo authentication Changes in 2024.
What is DMARC?
A DMARC policy is an extra security layer for your outbound email messages that tell the recipient's email server what to do with the message if it fails those security checks. It can also be configured to send you reports about your mailings. The policy has three different configuration options - none, quarantine, and reject.
A policy of none means that email servers should treat email that fails DMARC checks as if it did not have DMARC configured, but you can still take advantage of DMARC's reporting features.
A policy of quarantine means that email servers should put emails in the spam folder that don't pass DMARC checks.
A policy of reject means that email servers should bounce emails that don't pass DMARC checks — the recipient won't even have the opportunity to see the message.
Most companies use DMARC to add extra security to their email communications when they have concerns that hackers might spoof their official email communications — the banking industry commonly uses DMARC to protect their customers from phishing emails pretending to be the bank.
If you are using DMARC with ActiveCampaign, you need to set up DKIM as well in order to pass the DMARC checks. Otherwise, the DMARC policy you have set up can cause your own emails to go to the spam folder, or be rejected entirely.
How to fix the issue
To see if your DMARC policy is causing failed email delivery, we recommend checking it with the DKIM, SPF, and DMARC verification tool.
Once the tool is open, type your domain into the field provided and click the "Enter" button.
Your results for DKIM, SPF, and DMARC will display. In addition, you'll see tips on what you can do to resolve any issues. For example, a failed DMARC check can look like this when using the DKIM, SPF, and DMARC verification tool:
The error message says:
"You have a p=reject or p=quarantine DMARC record, and you have not setup DKIM. This means all your mail from ActiveCampaign will most likely bounce unless you have successfully setup DKIM. Either setup DKIM for this domain, or change the policy in your DMARC record to p=none
Your actual DMARC record is:
v=DMARC1; p=reject"
To fix the issue, you can take any one of the following actions:
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Temporarily change your DMARC record with your DNS to have a p=none policy
The DMARC error message above has a p=reject or p=quarantine. This will prevent emails that fail DMARC from being sent to the Inbox folder. To ensure messages are delivered even if DMARC fails, you will want to change the policy in your DMARC to p=none with your DNS provider. Moving to a more relaxed policy is not recommended so this change should be temporary.
Here is a quick video walkthrough of that process:
If you encounter any other issues with your DMARC implementation, you can refer to this detailed DMARC troubleshooting guide.
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Set up DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) authentication
Setting up a DKIM email authentication record is required for your messages to pass DMARC. What DKIM does is "vouch" for any email you send from ActiveCampaign. This, in turn, helps you pass the DMARC policy check.
In ActiveCampaign, you set up DKIM when you set up your sending domain. Learn how to set up your sending domain. -
Set up a Mailserver Domain
Setting up a Mailserver Domain will align the Return-path domain with your “From” address domain, passing DMARC. Setting up a Mailserver Domain is part of our standard process when setting up a Sending Domain. Learn how to set up your sending domain.
More information
Aside from DMARC, there are other reasons that can explain why your email bounced or was routed to spam. Below are additional resources you can use to help troubleshoot email bounces and the spam folder.
Email Bounces
A message can bounce if the recipient's email address no longer exists (hard bounce) or their inbox is full (soft bounce). Read the "What is a bounce and how can I prevent them" help article to learn more about bounces.
Emails sent to the spam folder
Emails can be routed to or marked as spam if contacts consistently don't open your messages or if the unsubscribe link is hard to find in your email. Read the "Why is my email going to the spam folder?" help article to learn more.