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How to connect a custom email account to Woodpecker
How to connect a custom email account to Woodpecker

If you're connecting a custom email account this guide will take you through the advanced setup process.

Weronika Wróblewska avatar
Written by Weronika Wróblewska
Updated over a week ago

IN THIS ARTICLE

Connecting your mailbox

1. Click Connect your email.

Once your campaign is created, open it (click ‘Campaigns’ in the black bar at the top, then click your campaign), and click ‘Connect your email’, right below the campaign's name.

Image with arrow poiting to 'Connect email' button in the campaign edit mode

Alternatively: you can go to ‘Settings’ (expand the menu in the upper right and click ‘Settings’), then click the green button ‘Add Email Account’.

Image with arrow pointing to "Add Email Account" in the Accounts tab

2. Choose Manual Connection

Image with arrow pointing to "Manual connection" button

3. Add your IMAP and SMTP server data

Type in your email address or login, password, and the IMAP and SMTP server address for this account. Trouble finding it? Look for it in the settings of your mailbox, or check your server's help page.

Default ports:

SMTP Server (Outgoing Messages)

  • Server: TLS, Authentication: StartTLS, Port: 587.

  • Server: SLS, Authentication: SSL, Port: 465 (recommended).

IMAP Server (Incoming Messages)

  • Server: TLS, Authentication: StartTLS, Port: 143.

  • Server: SLS, Authentication: SSL, Port: 993 (recommended).

    Entering SMTP and IMAP Server data for the custom email account connection

Troubleshooting

Woodpecker may connect your email address conditionally. Check what that means and how to fix it here.

Image with pop-up explaining what is conditional email connection

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 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.’

Image of the From Name and Siganture settings

6. Click 'Save'.

… and give Woodpecker a few moments to complete the setup. Afterward, you will be able to select this email as a sender in your campaign.

7. Your account has been connected

Now, you can select your email address as a sender in your campaign.

Image of the successfull connection panel

Finalize the setup by clicking the OK button to continue creating your campaign.

8. Check your inbox for "Testing your email connection" message

Image of email sent from Woodpecker to test email connection

Once you connect your email account to Woodpecker, the App will send you a message confirming the successful connection. You will see it in your primary inbox. Its subject is "Testing your email connection with Woodpecker.co" and it should look like the one in 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. You can craft the content of that message in the Agency panel settings. Have a look at the Agency First Setup Guide »

You can't find the test message in your inbox?

  1. You might have been connected conditionally.

  2. Check your SPAM or junk folder.

  3. If the message is there, move it to the primary inbox.

  4. Try connecting your mailbox again. Remember to remove any labels or forwarding options. Learn why »

  5. Your email address should be connected successfully!


Testing your connection – campaign email

Woodpecker will test your email connection and deliverability daily 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 from the original copy of your campaign, we do it to ensure 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: Why do I need to 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 that send emails for you in your SPF record. Consult the help page of your email provider. Learn about SPF and DKIM.

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? Domain age is one of the first factors checked by anti-spam filters. Without a warm-up, anti-spam filters don't see you and your newly created domain as a trustworthy sender. Security mechanisms can suspect that you send spammy content and will block your mailbox, putting it on a blacklist.

Any new email address should be warmed up for at least 1 month, while domain for at least 3 months.

Learn more:

Q: What do you mean by domain age?

The term "domain age" shows how old your domain is. In other words, how long your domain has existed. The general rule is that the older the domain, the more trustworthy it gets, provided it has been used with care and follows good email delivery practices. Read more.

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.

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