How to Set Up a DMARC Record for Zoho Mail - Step-by-Step Guide

Without a correctly-configured DMARC, criminals can fake sending emails from your domain.

This can lead to phishing attacks and other cyber threats.

We’ll show you how to set up a DMARC record for Zoho Mail quickly and easily.

With a DMARC record, your emails will be more secure and have a better chance of landing in your audience’s inbox.

Why DMARC Matters ⚠️

DMARC makes emails more secure.

Without it, criminals can fake sending emails from your domain. This can lead to phishing attacks and other cyber threats.

DMARC verifies if an email indeed originates from the claimed sender and if not, it determines what to do with the email.

Setting up a DMARC record used to be optional, but if you’re sending thousands of emails daily it has become a crucial step in ensuring email deliverability and safeguarding your domain’s reputation.

And even if you don’t, it will definitely help you avoid the spam folder.

Before you move on: Make sure to have your SPF and DKIM set up before activating DMARC. It’s essential to have a record of successful SPF and DKIM authentication for a minimum of 48 hours.

Let’s Set up a DMARC Record for Your Zoho Mail Account 🧑‍💻

Step 1: Create your DMARC record

Let’s start with an example of a DMARC record:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:email@example.com

Looks complicated?

It’s actually pretty easy once you understand each component.

The “V” field is the DMARC version. There’s only one valid version at this time, so that’s why every DMARC record starts with “v=DMARC1;”.

The “P” stands for policy. It tells email servers what to do with an email if authentication fails. There are three options:

1. None - tells the email server to do… nothing. It offers no protection against unauthorized emails, but allows you to monitor DMARC reports and make necessary changes to your record. You should use “none” for the first weeks and keep an eye on your reports.

2. Quarantine - Simply sends emails that fail authentication to spam.

3. Reject - With this DMARC setting, emails failing authentication do not get delivered at all. Only use this option when you’re sure your DMARC reports are accurate.

The last field is the RUA tag. This should be the email where you want to receive the DMARC reports.

In summary: if you’re creating a DMARC record for Zoho Mail, all you need is the record above and adjust it to your email.

Step 2: Find your domain provider’s DNS settings page

To set up your DMARC record for Zoho Mail, you must go to your domain provider’s DNS settings.

Your domain provider might be GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Zoho Mail itself.

So log in to your domain provider and look for the DNS settings page. The name of this page may vary. Try “DNS management” or similar. You should find it easily, but if not, you can always ask your domain provider where the page is.

Step 3: Add your DMARC record

Once inside, you probably see a list of DNS records. You can mostly ignore them but do check if there’s already a DMARC record present. Having two DMARC records can lead to conflicts and unexpected behavior in the email authentication process.

Assuming there isn’t a DMARC record yet, let’s add it by clicking “Add new record.” Again, the button may have a different name, but you’ll figure it out.

The next screen will seem similar to the image below.

For “Type” we’re looking to add a TXT(text) record.

For “Host” add ‘_DMARC’. Your domain provider will probably append your domain after this value.

Next up is the Value/Target field. It’s here where you want the actual DMARC record we created earlier.

➡️ v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:exampleemail@exampledomain.com

Update the record with your email and paste it into the Value field.

Save the record and move on to the next step.

Step 4: Validate the DMARC record

It can take up to 48 hours for your DMARC record to activate. Usually, your record is visible way before that.

How do you know your DMARC is working?

You can use a DMARC or DNS checker.

Some services provide one, like the DNS Checks feature inside lemwarm.

lemwarm doesn’t just check your DMARC but also other DNS records like MX, SPF, and DKIM.

Completing the Rest of Your Technical Setup ⬇️

After giving some time for your DMARC record to propagate, you should have a functioning DMARC record to use with your Zoho Mail account.

Congrats! But you’re not done yet with your technical setup.

Other DNS records to set up are:

• SPF records
• DKIM records
• MX records

All these should be set up before enabling DMARC.

Additionally, setting up a Custom Tracking Domain will also help your emails land in the inbox.

And finally, a new email or sending domain does not have a good sender reputation. If you start sending many emails that way, most of them will go to the spam folder. To improve your sender reputation in the eyes of the email service providers, you need to warm your email up.

Warming up your email manually is a daunting task; that’s why email warm-up services exist.

lemwarm is a warm-up service that runs on auto-pilot. It was voted as the best email warm-up service on Reddit.