How to Set Up a DKIM Record for Zoho Mail

DKIM is a security protocol that can prevent criminals from using your domain to send fraudulent emails.

Having a DKIM record in place also improves your open rates.

In short: if you’re doing email outreach, you need DKIM.

Without it, you’ll have a hard time avoiding the dreaded spam folder.

Here’s how to set up DKIM for Zoho Mail. ⬇️

About DKIM ⬇️

DKIM is an email authentication method. It helps servers verify an email’s origin to ensure the claimed sender really is the authorized domain.

Apart from cyber crimes, it also prevents spam.

The authentication is done using a public key and a private one.

When you add a DKIM to your DNS records, the public key is added to your DNS records.

Now, whenever you send an email, the public key is shared with email servers for authentication.

The private key works differently. It is used to sign outgoing emails.

The private key must be kept confidential to maintain DKIM's security.

The email server checks the public key against the private key for authentication.

If an email fails authentication, it’s up to the DMARC record what to do with the emails.

They can either be sent to spam, rejected, or delivered normally.

Steps to Setting Up Your DKIM for Zoho Mail 🚶‍♂️

The three main steps to setting up your DKIM on Zoho Mail are as follows:

1. Generate a unique public DKIM Key-value using the default selector provided by Zoho Mail
2. Create a TXT record in your Domain provider’s DNS Settings
3. Validate the selector and Enable DKIM in Zoho Mail

Step 1: ➡️ Generate a unique public DKIM Key-value in Zoho Mail

1. Log in to Zoho Mail’s Control Panel as administrator or super administrator
2. In the left menu, go to Domains and select the domain you want to configure DKIM for
3. Select DKIM from the Email Configuration tab
4. Click on Add to add a new selector
5. For the selector name, enter zoho
6. Click Add. This adds the selector and generates a TXT record.
7. Copy the text in the TXT value field
8. Do not click verify yet. You must first create a TXT with this value in your domain provider’s DNS records.

Step 2: ➡️ Create a TXT Record in your domain provider’s DNS Settings

1. Log in to your domain provider’s account. If your domain’s name servers are pointed elsewhere, for example, to your hosting provider, then this is where to find the right DNS settings.
2. Once inside, you should see a list of DNS records. Create a new record, usually by clicking “add” or similar.
3. The name of your text record should be: zoho._domainkey.yourdomainhere.com. Adjust accordingly to your domain. Important: Many domain providers automatically append the domain name. In those cases, zoho._domainkey should be the name of your TXT file.
4. Now paste the content of the TXT value field you copied earlier into the TXT value box
5. Save the record
6. Use a DKIM checker to validate your record. An easy way to verify your record is to return to the Add selector page in the Zoho Mail control panel. Click verify there.

The process above varies based on the domain provider you use, but you should be able to use this general outline to set up a DKIM record on any domain provider.

Note: it can take up to 48 hours for DNS changes to take effect.

Step 3: ➡️ Enable DKIM for your domain in Zoho Mail

Once your DKIM is active, it’s time to enable DKIM in Zoho mail.

1. Log in to Zoho Mail Control Panel
2. Click on the verify button for your domain
3. You will be asked if you want to enable DKIM now or later. Enable it immediately.
4. Now with DKIM enabled, all email you send will have DKIM signatures added to them

Next Steps ⏭️

Congrats on setting up your DKIM record for Zoho Mail.

As you probably know, there are more parts to completing a technical setup.

The technical setup is important because it makes your emails more secure and more likely to land in the inbox.

Here are the other components you have to take care of:

• SPF records
• DMARC records
• MX records
• Custom Domain Tracking

Once you have your technical setup complete, it’s time to warm up your email.

Warming up your email means increasing sending volume and frequency in a gradual way. If you start sending hundreds of emails out of the blue, you might get marked as a spammer.

Warm-up services like lemwarm can help you warm up your email.

Using lemwarm can get you open rates of 65% or more.

‍