# Your sending domain

> Where your emails come from. Send from a shared LaunchList domain with zero setup, or connect your own subdomain to put your brand in the From line.

Source: https://getlaunchlist.com/help/docs/email/sending-domain

---

Every email LaunchList sends for you, the [verification](/help/docs/email/verification) mail and your
[broadcasts](/help/docs/email/broadcasts) and [automations](/help/docs/email/automations), goes out
over a **sending domain**. This is where those messages come from, and it is separate from the
[custom domain](/help/docs/page/custom-domain) you point at your launch page.

## The shared domain (default)

Out of the box, your mail sends from a **shared LaunchList sending domain**. There is nothing to set
up and no DNS to touch. For many launches this is exactly right, and it is what you fall back to if
you ever disconnect a domain of your own.

## Send from your own domain

On the **Launch** and **Grow** plans, connect your own domain so your brand sits in the From line
instead of ours. Free and Collect projects send from the shared domain. If a workspace moves to a plan
without it, mail goes back to the shared domain and your verified domain stays connected, ready for
when the plan includes it again.

1. Open **Project settings → Email**, go to the **Delivery** tab and, under **Your own sending domain**,
   enter a **subdomain**: `mails.yourcompany.com`, not your bare `yourcompany.com`. Press **Connect domain**.
2. Add the **three CNAME records** shown, at your DNS provider.
3. Press **Check records**. LaunchList resolves each record and switches your sending over once all three answer.

> [!NOTE] Use a subdomain, not your main domain
> Sending from a subdomain keeps your company email's reputation separate from your marketing sends,
> so a campaign can never affect the deliverability of the mail your team sends by hand.

### The three records

All three are **CNAME** records, generated for your specific domain. The exact hostnames and targets
are shown under **DNS records**, and they stay visible after setup so you can copy them again at any time.

![The sending domain's DNS records in Project settings, Email, Delivery, each with its own status.](https://app.getlaunchlist.com/images/docs/email/sending-domain/02-dns-records.webp "The three CNAME records to add at your DNS provider.")

| Record          | Type  | What it does                                                                                                   |
| --------------- | ----- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Return path** | CNAME | Puts the bounce address on your domain, so bounces come back to a hostname that belongs to you                 |
| **DKIM**        | CNAME | Publishes a signing key, so receiving mail servers can check the mail really came from you and was not altered |
| **DKIM**        | CNAME | The second signing key, so keys can be rotated without a gap in signing                                        |

There is **no TXT record to add or edit**, so your existing SPF and DMARC records are left exactly as
they are. There is no MX record either, so nothing here can affect the inbox your team already uses.

There is also **no certificate** to buy or install. Email authentication is pure DNS, so unlike a
[launch-page custom domain](/help/docs/page/custom-domain), nothing here waits on HTTPS.

> [!TIP] Type the short name, not the full hostname
> Most registrars add your domain to whatever you type in the Name or Host field. Paste the full
> hostname in and you end up with `em1234.mails.acme.com.acme.com`, which looks fine in the
> registrar and never resolves. The DNS records list shows you the short name to type for each record, and if we
> detect the doubled version we tell you exactly what to change.

### The states you will see

| Badge               | Meaning                                                                              |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Waiting for DNS** | None of the records are resolving yet. Add them, or give DNS time                    |
| **Almost there**    | Some records resolve and some do not. Finish the rest                                |
| **Verified**        | All three answer. Your email now sends from your domain                              |
| **Not working**     | Nothing resolved within the verification window, or the domain was rejected outright |

Every record carries its own verdict and its own sentence, so you are never left with one failure
message covering three records. You can re-check on demand rather than waiting on a background poll.
**Disconnect** falls back to the shared domain, which needs no DNS, so you can never be left unable to
send.

## Deliverability is shared work

Whichever domain sends, some of inbox placement is on us and some is on you.

**Ours:** the sending infrastructure, authentication, suppression, bounce and complaint handling, and
one-click unsubscribe.

**Yours:** only mailing people who opted in, and not going silent for months before a launch blast. A
list that has not heard from you in a year will complain, and complaints are what actually damage a
sender, on any domain.

## Next

- [Email verification](/help/docs/email/verification) is the opt-in mail this domain sends
- [Broadcasts](/help/docs/email/broadcasts) covers who a send actually reaches
- [Custom domain](/help/docs/page/custom-domain) is the separate domain for your launch page

## Common questions

### What address do my emails come from by default?

A shared LaunchList sending domain. There is nothing to configure, and your verification emails and campaigns go out over it from day one.

### Can I send from my own domain?

Yes, on the Launch and Grow plans. Connect a subdomain in Project settings, add the three CNAME records we generate for it, and your brand sits in the From line. There is no certificate to buy.

### Which DNS records do I have to add?

Three, and all three are CNAME records. One is your return path, which is where bounces go, and two are DKIM keys, which are what sign your mail. There is no TXT record to edit, so your existing SPF and DMARC records are left alone.

### Why a subdomain and not my main domain?

So your company email keeps its own reputation, separate from your marketing sends. Use something like mails.yourcompany.com rather than yourcompany.com.