⚡ Connect SparkPost

SparkPost is built for high volume senders who like detailed analytics. Setup is straightforward, with one thing to know before you start: SparkPost runs a US service and a separate EU service, and the connection form has an EU endpoint box for that.

What you need before you start:

• A SparkPost account (sign up at sparkpost.com, or on the EU service if your data must stay in Europe).
• Access to the DNS for your sending domain.
• About fifteen minutes.

Where to find it:

In ResultsAiX Mailer open Delivery, then Sending, click + Add Sender and choose SparkPost in the Provider dropdown. Its checklist, the API Key box and the EU endpoint box appear.

Step 1. Verify your domain at SparkPost:

1. In your SparkPost dashboard, add your sending domain, for example yoursite.com.
2. Add the DKIM record it gives you at your DNS host.
3. Wait for the domain to show as verified.

Step 2. Create an API key:

In SparkPost, create an API key with the Transmissions permission (read and write), and copy it.

Step 3. Fill in the form:

The SparkPost part of the form has two settings.

• API Key: the key from step 2, shown as dots.
• EU endpoint: tick this if your account is on SparkPost's EU service. Leave it unticked for the US service.

Then fill in the rest of the form:

• Display name: for example SparkPost.
• From name and From email: an address on the verified domain, for example Anna at Leafwise and anna@yoursite.com.
• Reply-To: for example hello@yoursite.com.
• Daily limit (0 = unlimited): your plan's allowance for a day.
• Priority (lower = preferred): 10 for your main service, or 20 for a backup.
• Active: leave it ticked.

Click Save Sender, then click Test on the new row.

US or EU:

A key from the EU service only works with the EU endpoint, and a US key only works without it. If you signed up through SparkPost's EU site, or your dashboard address mentions EU, tick EU endpoint. The Mailer then sends to SparkPost's EU API instead of the US one.

Step 4. Set up the webhook:

1. On the Sending screen, click Copy URL next to SparkPost in the Bounce & complaint webhook box.
2. In SparkPost, create a webhook with the URL as its target.
3. Choose the bounce and spam complaint events.

SparkPost labels each bounce with a bounce class, and the Mailer uses it: permanent classes are suppressed, temporary ones are logged. Spam complaints are suppressed straight away.

How SparkPost and the Mailer work together:

• The Mailer switches off SparkPost's own open and click tracking on every email, because it tracks opens and clicks itself.
• SparkPost's own reports show what receiving servers said about each bounce, which is useful alongside the Mailer's bounce record.

A real example:

Leafwise Gardening's European readers are sent through SparkPost's EU service. Anna creates a key with Transmissions permission, adds a connection called SparkPost EU, ticks EU endpoint, sets From email anna@yoursite.com, Daily limit 20,000 and Priority 20, and the test passes.

Tips:

• Put "EU" in the Display name of an EU connection, so the table shows which is which.
• Switch on Warm up for a new account. See Warmup: Drip A Big Send Through A Cold Server.
• Feed SparkPost's bounce data back into your list with the webhook, and clean old lists with Verify Leads.
• Check your records with Deliverability: SPF, DKIM And DMARC.

If something does not look right:

• If the test fails with an authentication message on a key you just created, check the EU endpoint box. An EU key needs it ticked, a US key needs it unticked.
• If the test fails and mentions the sending domain, use a From email on the verified domain and check SparkPost shows it as verified.
• If the test fails with a permission message, create a key with the Transmissions permission and paste it again.