This guide assumes that you have at least a basic understanding of what a domain, DNS, SPF, and DKIM are. If you're not sure what they taste best with, please take a moment to read about them, following the links for each. For more information about how to take care of your mailbox before connecting it to Woodpecker, please have a look at our article Deliverability: Introduction »
IN THIS ARTICLE
Connecting your mailbox
1. Click Connect your email.
Once your campaign is created, open it (select Campaigns in the black bar at the top, then choose your campaign), and click "Connect your email", right below the campaign's name.
Alternatively: you can go to Settings (expand the menu in the upper right and click ‘Settings’), Accounts tab, and then click the green Add Email Account button.
2. Select Manual Connection to connect your privatemail.com account.
3. Add your IMAP and SMTP server data and click Continue.
What data should I type in?
Email and login: your email address.
Password: your password for this email account.
IMAP/SMTP servers: mail.privateemail.com / mail.privateemail.com
Port IMAP: you can leave it empty or use 993
Port SMTP: 465
Troubleshooting
Woodpecker may connect your email address conditionally. Check what that means and how to fix it here.
In case of any other issues, have a look at our article I can't connect my mailbox »
4. Set your ‘From name’ and ‘Signature’
You can set the sender's name that will be visible to your recipients. You can also set a signature that will be attached to the emails you send.
You can skip this step for now and edit your From Name and Signature later by clicking ‘set it later in Settings’.
5. Your account has been connected
Now you are able to select your email address as a sender in your campaign.
Finalize the setup by clicking the OK button to continue creating your campaign.
6. Check your inbox for "Testing your email connection" message
Once you connect your email account to Woodpecker, the App will send you the message confirming the successful connection. You will see it in your primary inbox. Its subject is "Testing your email connection with Woodpecker.co" and should look like the one on the image above.
Don't worry, this is an automatic message sent from our internal email address [email protected].
In case you're connecting a mailbox to a company under the Agency panel, we will send the message from the email account connected to your Agency account. The content of that message can be crafted by you in the Agency panel settings. Have a look at the Agency Quickstart Guide »
You can't find the test message in your inbox?
You might have been connected conditionally.
Check your SPAM or junk folder.
If the message is there, move it to the primary inbox.
Try connecting your mailbox again. Remember to remove any labels or forwarding options. Learn why »
Your email address should be connected successfully!
Testing your connection – campaign email
Woodpecker will be testing your email connection and deliverability every day by sending the test email to another of our internal email addresses, [email protected]. Don't worry! While you have active campaigns, we will be sending the email once a day to check if your deliverability settings, such as SPF records or DKIM, have been set up correctly. Although a copy of those emails can be different than the original copy of your campaign, we do it to make sure that you're up-to-date with your domain settings. Here you can read more about our deliverability checks and report »
Deliverability
Deliverability is the number of emails that have reached the recipients' inboxes compared to the number of sent messages overall. The goal is to have as many of your emails land in your prospects' inboxes rather than going to spam folders. To ensure high deliverability rates, make sure you set up SPF and DKIM correctly. Click here to learn more about the importance of deliverability.
Warm-up
Also, don't forget about the domain and email address warm-up.
FAQ
Q: How do I set up SPF and DKIM?
The way you set up your SPF record depends on your domain host. Make sure you include all the applications which send emails to you in your SPF record. Learn more about setting up the records on Namecheap here.
Q: You mentioned that my mailbox and domain should be warmed up before connecting it to Woodpecker. What does it mean?
During the warm-up, you're working on gaining a good sender's reputation for your mailbox and domain. Why is it important? Without a warm-up, anti-spam filters don't see you as a trustworthy sender. Security mechanisms can suspect that you send spammy content and will block your mailbox, putting it on a blacklist.
Q: Is there anything else I should know before starting my campaign?
To make sure you didn't miss anything please have a look at our 14 Deliverability Checks to Carry Out Before Sending Your Cold Email Campaign.