🔌 Connect Your Own SMTP Server

Custom SMTP is the catch all connection. If you already pay for a mail service, run your own mail server, or have been given a host, port, username and password by somebody, this is the option to use.

What you need before you start:

• The host name, for example smtp.yourprovider.com
• The port, normally 587, sometimes 465
• The username and password for that mail account
• Whether it uses TLS or SSL

Step by step:

1. Open ResultsAiX Mailer, then Delivery, then Sending, and add a connection.
2. Name it something you will recognise later, such as the provider's name.
3. Choose Bring-your-own SMTP as the provider.
4. Fill in host, port, username and password.
5. Choose TLS for port 587, or SSL for port 465, unless your provider says otherwise.
6. Set From name and From email, then save and send yourself a test.

The From address decides your delivery:

Your SMTP server can only send convincingly for domains it is authorised for. Before you mail a list, make sure the domain in your From address has an SPF record that includes that server, and DKIM signing switched on at the provider. The Mailer's Deliverability screen checks your domain and tells you what is missing.

Do not send a list from a personal mailbox account:

A Gmail, Outlook or cPanel mailbox will accept a handful of messages and then either throttle you, suspend you or quietly drop the rest. Those accounts are built for conversations, not for mailing a thousand people. If that is all you have, use it for tests and connect a real sending service for the list.

Pace it properly:

• Put the provider's hourly or daily limit into Daily limit on the connection. The Mailer then spreads the send instead of being cut off.
• Plain SMTP is slower than an API connection, because every message is a separate conversation with the server. For very large sends, an API based provider on this screen will finish sooner.
• If you have several SMTP accounts, add them all and switch the Sending screen to rotation, so the volume is shared.

Common problems:

• Connection refused or timed out: wrong port, or your web host blocks outgoing mail. Try 587 with TLS, then 465 with SSL.
• Authentication failed: the username is often the full email address, not the part before the at sign.
• Mail sends but lands in spam: SPF and DKIM are not set up for the From domain.