Setting Up Your Sending Email Inbox

For every transactional email (order confirmation, winner alert, password reset) and every marketing email to land in inboxes (not spam), you need to verify your sending domain with Resend. Takes ~10 minutes and a few DNS records.

The four DNS records Resend asks for

1. SPF: a TXT record on your root domain that authorises Resend’s mail servers to send on your behalf.
2. DKIM is a TXT record on a Resend-specific subdomain (e.g. resend._domainkey.yoursite.co.uk) that signs outgoing emails cryptographically.
3. Return-Path acts as a CNAME on a sub-subdomain that handles bounce notifications. Optional but recommended.
4. DMARC, a TXT record at _dmarc.yoursite.co.uk, tells receiving servers what to do with unauthenticated mail. Start with p=none, tighten to p=quarantine after 2 weeks of clean monitoring.

Step-by-step

1. Sign up at resend.com. Free tier (3,000 emails/mo) is enough to start.
2. In Resend dashboard: Domains → Add domain. Enter your sending domain (e.g. yoursite.co.uk).
3. Resend gives you 3–4 DNS records. Open your DNS provider (likely Cloudflare if you bought your domain there) and add each one.
4. Back in Resend, click Verify. Propagation usually under 5 minutes; can take up to 24h. The dashboard shows green ticks when each record validates.
5. Generate an API key from API Keys. Copy it once; you won’t see it again. Treat as a secret.
6. In your raffle admin /admin/integrations: paste the API key, set From email to support@yoursite.co.uk or similar, From name to your brand name. Save.

Test it

From /admin/integrations, click Send test emailto fire off a test to your own admin email. It lands in inbox within seconds. If it lands in spam, your DNS records aren’t fully propagated; wait 30 min and retry.

Common gotchas

• From address mismatch.The From email’s domain MUST match the verified domain. If you verified yoursite.co.uk but try to send from news@notyoursite.co.uk, Resend rejects with 401.
• SPF conflicts.If you already have an SPF record (e.g. from Google Workspace), append Resend to it; never create two SPF records. Resend’s docs explain the merge syntax.
• DMARC too strict too early. Don’t set p=reject on day one. Run p=none for 2 weeks, watch the aggregate reports, then tighten.

Branded from-name

Set the From name to your brand, not noreply. Customer inboxes group senders by the From name: “Stardust Raffles” builds brand recognition across receipts, marketing emails, and winner alerts. noreply@ feels institutional and lowers open rates by 5–10% in practice.

Customising the winner-alert email

When a customer wins, they get an automated email. The default template is functional but generic. Edit it under Admin → Marketing → Email templates → Winner alert:

• Add a celebratory subject line, such as “You won! 🎉 Your {{prize_name}}from Stardust Raffles”, which converts dramatically better than the default.
• Personalise the body. The template supports {{customer_first_name}}, {{prize_name}}, {{competition_name}}, {{ticket_number}}.
• Set clear next steps: what should the winner do? (Reply with delivery address / bank details, etc.) Without a clear ask, many winners go silent for days.

Admin notification routing

Three notification types you can route independently in Admin → Settings → Notifications:

• Order received: fires on every paid order. High volume; route to a dedicated orders@ inbox or a Slack channel, not your main email.
• Winner drawn fires when a draw completes. Low volume; route to your main admin email.
• Withdrawal requested triggers when a customer asks to withdraw wallet credit. Medium volume; route to whoever runs your payouts.

You can add multiple recipients per notification type (useful if you and a co-admin both want sight of incoming withdrawals).

Related: Integrations Overview · Business Email Inbox.