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# Setting up a dedicated email subdomain

By default, Katalyz sends emails from `no-reply@katalyz.co`. A **dedicated email subdomain** lets emails come from your own domain instead — e.g. `notifications@yourcompany.com` — dramatically improving deliverability and trust.

> ⚠️ Requires org role **Admin** and access to your company's DNS records (or support from IT).

## Why set this up

Email deliverability is a huge win for sales teams. Without a dedicated subdomain:
- Emails come from `@katalyz.co` (a third-party vendor to your buyers)
- Corporate email gateways (Proofpoint, Mimecast, etc.) flag third-party senders more aggressively
- Your open rates and click-through rates suffer

With a dedicated subdomain:
- Emails come from `yourcompany.com` — inheriting your brand's sending reputation
- Buyers recognize the sender and trust it
- Delivery rates improve, often significantly

## How it works

Katalyz uses **AWS Simple Email Service (SES)** for email sending. With a dedicated subdomain:

1. You create a subdomain like `notifications.yourcompany.com`
2. You add DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) that authorize Katalyz to send on its behalf
3. Katalyz sends through AWS SES, authenticated against your DNS
4. Recipients see emails from `@notifications.yourcompany.com`, aligned with your brand

## Requirements

You need:
- **Access to your company's DNS** — GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Route 53, etc.
- **An admin email confirmed** to receive DNS validation
- **A subdomain name** — typically `notifications.yourcompany.com` or `hello.yourcompany.com`

## Setup steps

### 1. Choose a subdomain
Pick something clean and recognizable. Good examples:
- `notifications.yourcompany.com`
- `hello.yourcompany.com`
- `rooms.yourcompany.com`

Avoid:
- `emails.yourcompany.com` (too generic)
- The root domain itself (reserved for your primary mail)

### 2. Request the setup
Setting up a dedicated email subdomain is **not self-serve** — it requires our approval. Contact **contact@katalyz.co** with the subdomain you'd like to use and we'll generate the SPF / DKIM / DMARC records you need to add to your DNS.

### 3. Add DNS records

You'll need three records on your chosen subdomain:

**SPF** — authorizes AWS SES to send on your behalf

**DKIM** — cryptographically signs each outgoing email

**DMARC** — instructs recipients' servers how to handle emails that fail authentication

The exact values are provided by Katalyz during setup. Typical configuration:

```
Record type: TXT
Name: notifications
Value: v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all
```

(Plus DKIM and DMARC records with specific values generated for your account.)

### 4. Verify
Katalyz validates the DNS records are in place. Propagation usually takes 15 minutes to a few hours after you save DNS changes.

Once validated, your subdomain is active.

### 5. Test
Send a test email from Katalyz to a personal account outside your company. Verify:
- It arrives (not in spam)
- The "From" address is your subdomain
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC pass (most email clients show this in message headers)

## Security

- **Katalyz does not access the content of your emails** — we handle sending infrastructure, not email reading
- **Technical logs are retained** (delivery, bounces) — required for debugging
- **We don't forward or redirect emails** — they go directly from AWS SES to recipients

## Ongoing maintenance

Once set up, the subdomain generally runs itself. A few scenarios require attention:

- **DNS provider change** — re-add records if you migrate DNS
- **DKIM key rotation** — we'll notify if our keys rotate; you'd need to update the DNS
- **DMARC policy tightening** — start with `p=none`, move to `p=quarantine` then `p=reject` over time for higher security

## Troubleshooting

- **Verification stuck** — DNS propagation can take time. Wait a few hours and re-check.
- **Records validated but email still goes to spam** — some receiving domains have other rules. See [Email is landing in spam](https://katalyz.crisp.help/en/article/email-is-landing-in-spam-1yea4r1/).

## Related articles
- [Email is landing in spam](https://katalyz.crisp.help/en/article/email-is-landing-in-spam-1yea4r1/)
- [Connecting Google Workspace](https://katalyz.crisp.help/en/article/connecting-google-workspace-7g7rio/)
- [Connecting Microsoft 365](https://katalyz.crisp.help/en/article/connecting-microsoft-365-du15ia/)