Email domains, mailboxes and signatures

Email in Drop Cowboy® goes out from a domain you add, through a mailbox, which is an address on that domain. Add a domain once, give each person or team a mailbox, and set the signature that goes at the bottom of their emails.

Add an email domain

Use this before you send your first email. There are two kinds. A Managed Domain works right away on one of our domains, with no DNS setup. A Custom Domain sends from your own domain, and you add DNS records to prove you own it.

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Email Domains.
2. Pick a kind:
   • Click Create Managed Domain. Under Your domain name, type your company or brand name, such as acme. If you host a website with us, you can pick Your Website Domain under Domain type to match your site's address instead.
   • Or click Add Custom Domain and type Your Domain, such as example.com.
3. Under Separate sending streams (recommended), leave Transactional and Marketing ticked. This makes two subdomains, such as notify and marketing, so complaints about marketing email are kept apart from your receipts and password resets. Untick both to send from the main domain only.
4. Click Create Domain or Add Domain. With both streams unticked, the button reads Create Root Domain or Add Root Domain.
5. A managed domain needs no records, so skip to the last step. For a custom domain, a table of DNS records shows under the domain, with Hostname, Type, Value and Status. Add each record at the company that runs your domain's DNS, using the copy button next to each value.
6. Wait for each record's Status to change from Pending to Verified. The page updates on its own while you wait. The two TXT records under Recommended (optional) help with monitoring but aren't needed to send.
7. While the domain shows Setting Up Delivery, email authentication is still being finished and the domain can't send. When it shows Ready to Send, give each person a mailbox.

Click the arrow on a domain to see its details. Sending Purpose marks it Transactional or Marketing, so every email sent through it gets the right type. Leave Root domain (ambiguous) if the domain sends both. Health Status shows how many emails were sent, opened and bounced, and how many got complaints.

If it doesn't work:

• Custom Domain shows Brand Verification Required. Click Verify My Brand, then verify your business.
• Custom Domain shows Subscribers Only. Click Subscribe to Unlock and choose a plan.
• You see Connect SMTP instead. Your account brings its own carrier and hasn't verified its brand. Click Connect SMTP to add the keys for your own mail server, or verify your brand to use our domains.
• A record stays Pending. Check that the hostname and value match exactly. Many DNS providers add your domain to the hostname for you, so enter only the part before it. DNS changes can take a while to show up.
• You already get email at that domain through another email provider. Keep both sending streams ticked, so the records go on subdomains and your normal mail isn't touched.
• Outbound email paused: shows under the domain. Email authentication is still being approved, which can take up to a day. Sending starts on its own when it's done. If it's still paused after that, contact support.
• Sending Suspended: or High Bounce/Complaint Rate: shows under the domain. Too many emails bounced or were marked as spam. Remove addresses that bounce, and only email people who asked to hear from you. See How consent works.

If you don't see Email Domains, ask your account owner for access.

Give each person a mailbox

Use this so each person sends from, and gets replies at, their own address, such as heather@example.com. You can also give a team a shared address, such as support@example.com.

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Mailboxes.
2. Under Mailboxes, find the person. Type the Address, which is the part before the @, and pick the Domain. This creates: shows the full address.
3. Optional: fill in Display Name, such as Heather from Acme. People see it in their inbox instead of the bare address.
4. Click Add Mailbox. The address shows under the person.
5. For a shared address, find the team under Team Mailboxes and add an address the same way. Every member of the team sees the mail that comes in.

You can also add mailboxes from a person's page under Users, in Email Mailboxes, or from a team's Group Mailboxes. To change a display name, click the pencil next to the address. Replies land in your inbox, where you can reply to an email.

If it doesn't work:

• Add an email domain first. You don't have a domain yet. Click Go to Email Domains and add an email domain.
• Create a team to set up a shared mailbox. Click Go to Teams and organize users into teams.
• Cannot Add Mailbox. The message says why, for example the address is already taken. Pick another address.
• Verify to create mailboxes. Click Verify Now and verify your business.

Set your email signature

Use this to add your name, title and contact details to the bottom of every email. A team signature covers everyone. A personal signature replaces it for that person.

To set the team signature:

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Email Settings.
2. Under Team Email Signature, type the signature. Use the toolbar for bold, links and images.
3. Click Save Settings.

To set one person's signature:

1. Open Settings in the left menu, then click Users, and click the person. For your own, click My Account at the top right, then My Profile.
2. Under Email Signature, click Edit.
3. To start from a layout, click Template, then Professional or Minimal. Edit the text.
4. To add social links, click Add social link, paste the link, then click Insert into signature.
5. Click Done. The signature saves.

Email Settings also holds the defaults for all email:

• Default "From" Name is the sender name people see.
• Default Reply-To Address is optional. Leave it blank so replies come back to the sender's mailbox and show in your inbox.
• Default Mailbox is the address AI agents and AI tools send from when no mailbox is picked.
• Auto-include Unsubscribe Link adds an unsubscribe link to the footer of marketing emails. Unsubscribe Link Text sets its wording.
• Require Email Consent (CAN-SPAM) sends marketing email only to contacts with opt-in consent. Decide with your legal counsel whether to use it. See How consent works.

Click Save Settings after any change. To send an email to a list, see Send an email campaign.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulations vary by jurisdiction and use case. Always consult with qualified legal counsel to ensure your specific practices comply with applicable federal and state laws.