Basic Concepts
Service Mechanism
SendCloud offers SMTP and API interfaces for users to access. Users can select their preferred option or choose one that fits their business scenario to integrate SendCloud.
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Develop programs, utilize the SendCloud interface, and transmit email data.
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SendCloud will process the data upon receiving the request.
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When processing is finished, emails will be scheduled for delivery via either shared or dedicated IP addresses.
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Next, the outbound service will transmit the emails to the chosen email service provider.
Email Type
Transactional emails: emails automatically triggered by specific events such as registration activation, password retrieval, confirmation of information, and billing statements.
Marketing emails: emails sent by merchants exclusively to customers who have registered their email addresses and subscribed to receive content, such as new feature announcements and discounts.
Note: spam content is not allowed in marketing emails.
Integrate via SMTP
Transmit data to SendCloud mail server with SMTP protocol ( smtp.sendcloud.net:25 )
- Users can write programs to connect to mail server and send emails
- Users can configure the client to connect to mail server just by modifying username, password and SMTP configuration
Integrate via API
Users can call services with HTTP interface provided by SendCloud.
Email delivery, domain search, personal information, address list(CRUD), statistic query, tag(CRUD), bounce list, unsubscribe list(CRUD)
Users can easily communicate with SendCloud by using their familiar development languages.
API_USER
API_USER is the account calling interface
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When you create API_USER, you need to specify its「type」(triggered/bulk),「mail domain」and「tracking option」
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Type:「triggered」API_USER can only be used to send transactional emails; 「bulk」API_USER can only be used to send marketing emails
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Mail Domain: When creating API_USER, you need to bind a domain name to send emails
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Tracing Option: With this option, SendCloud will collect recipients’ tracking information when you send emails with this API_USER
New users are provided a「testing API_USER」to send emails. It is limited to 50 emails a day by using testing API_USER (premium users included).
API_KEY
API_KEY is the password when you call interface
- After registration, you need to log in to generate an API _KEY manually
- One API_KEY displays only once on the interface
- Each API_USER has a corresponding API_KEY, which can be same or different
- API_KEY can be reset individually or in bulk. API_USERs reset in bulk share the same API_KEY
- API_KEY takes effect immediately after reset, and the old one remains effective within 15 minutes
Mail Domain
Mail domain indicates where an email is from, and displays as the suffix of “mail from”
mail from: test@liubida.cn
250 sender test@liubida.cn OK
As shown above, liubida.cn is the mail domain of this email, which is an important indicator of mail frequency and volume.
New users are provided「test domain」to send testing emails. Naming rule: 'random train.sendcloud.org'. Both registered and premium users are eligible for 50 emails a day with test domain.
Users need to configure mail domain to integrate SendCloud
After integrating SendCloud, you can send emails with your domain (for example, liubida.cn) or subdomain of liubida.cn (for example, push.liubida.cn) You can create mail domain in [settings] – [domain] – [new mail domain]
You can create mail domain in 【settings】-【domain】-【new mail domain】
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Note: you are not suggested to configure domains with MX value configured as mail domain, but you can use its subdomain.
Following are the samples sent with different mail domain:
Email sent with test domain W0YoeJHepAzA7v1JDuG6e8reehqEuPoP.sendcloud.org
* Prefix: beb31150-bef0-11e4-9dbb-00163e15002f
* Mail Domain: W0YoeJHepAzA7v1JDuG6e8reehqEuPoP.sendcloud.org
* Mail From: prefix @mail domain (beb31150-bef0-11e4-9dbb-00163e15002f@W0YoeJHepAzA7v1JDuG6e8reehqEuPoP.sendcloud.org)
Email sent with newly-created domain push.liubida.cn
* Prefix: 98a47302-beee-11e4-a3b9-00163e12fa99
* Mail Domain: push.liubida.cn
* Mail From: prefix @mail domain (98a47302-beee-11e4-a3b9-00163e12fa99@push.liubida.cn)
Why it is displayed as “sent for somebody else” in email?
Mail Domain Configuration
Before you send emails with newly-created domain, you must make sure it’s well configured. These configurations ensure high deliverability and inbox rate.
- SPF ( required ) see wiki
SPF is a kind of DNS record against spam, and used to record all IP addresses of outbound emails in a domain
- MX ( required )
MX is a record of email exchange and points to a mail sever. When sending emails, it can be used to locate mail sever on the basis of the suffix of recipient address
- CNAME
CNAME is the record of link redirects. SendCloud can collect click data with configured CNAME.
CNAME is an optional configuration item. If you don’t configure CNAME, SendCloud collects data of opens and unsubscribes. You can acquire click data with CNAME configured.
- DKIM see wiki
(required)
DKIM is an important technical means to prevent fraudulent emails. Senders tend to insert DKIM-Signature or digital signature in the header of e-mails, and recipients will verify it with public key from DNS. DKIM is suggested for users, especially who contain multiple external domains.
Note: mail domain is essential for users to integrate SendCloud.
- DMARC
"DMARC" protocol aims to identify and intercept fraudulent emails. After configuration, current domain will be used as the suffix of “from” domain to reduce email intercept by service providers, and improve email credibility and inbox rate.
- Marked with red star: it’s required to be configured
- Status: successfully configured or not, verified by SendCloud
- Type: TXT, MX or CNAME etc.
- Record value to be configured: required values that SendCloud leads user to configure
- Current record value: record value available to SendCloud. (users need to configure it in domain management system to make
current record value
matchrecord values to be configured
)
Email Template (template)
Process of creating template is as below:
- Users create template on the basis of email subject, email content and template type
- Users can send emails by templates
With email template, users don’t need to add content after editing and uploading email template, but to designate 「calling name」of the template.
Users can create 【email template】 in 【deliveries】-【email template】
Variable Replacement
「variable」is allowed in emails.
format of variable: %
at head and tail, between which is the customized variable. Example:
亲爱的%name%: # name是变量
欢迎注册爱发信, 这是您的验证码: %active_code%. # active_code是变量
Usages of variable:
- Used as placeholder in regular delivery and template delivery
- Set variable value in address list, X-SMTPAPI
- SendCloud will replace corresponding variable value in emails according to different recipients
Note: email subject can contain multiple variables.
Daily Request Quota
Daily Request Quota is the maximum amount of messages that can be sent to SendCloud every day.
When requests exceed the quota, users will receive an error message 'Request quota exceeded'
**Note: emails that have been submitted to SendCloud are not necessarily can be sent out in one day. Some emails can be in send-pause-send-paused queue for several days.
Reputation
Reputation score of users in SendCloud platform.「Reputation」is positively correlated with「Day Request Quota」. When reputation is less than 0, [day request quota] is 0.
SendCloud calculates the score on the basis of the real-time delivery data.
- ++ high「deliverability」,「opening rate」,「clicking rate」help increase your score
- -- bulk「invalid address」,「spam reporting」,「unsubscribe」lead to decrease your score
Note: bulk「invalid address」,「spam reporting」in a short period will result to a negative score; and you cannot submit request anymore.
User Authentication
Users are required to complete information authentication before integrating SendCloud, which includes individual user authentication and enterprise user authentication.
Individual user
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Complete your information: fill in personal information.
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Business authentication: 「ID card」,「half-length photo with ID card in hand」are needed.
Enterprise user
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Complete information: fill in company information.
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Email verification: verify enterprise mailbox
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Business verification: 「business license」, ICP license information and company information are needed (ICP license information must match company information)
It is suggested that you apply for commercial site domain and apply for recording before integrating SendCloud platform.
If you don’t have a domain, you can’t turn to premium user.
Initial request quota for individual users is 1,000 emails/day, and enterprise users with 3,000 emails/day
Blacklist
1.Blacklist mechanism
Global blacklist
- Address does not exist: before sending emails to a recipient, user will check whether the address is in SendCloud blacklist; if not, emails will be sent out; if the address does not exist, it will be added to bounce list. This works for all users.
Local blacklist
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-User customization: customized blacklist will be synchronized to SendCloud blacklist and only applicable to the user.
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Spam reporting: if a recipient reports the email as spam email, his (or her) email address will be added to the spam-reporting list and the user’s SendCoud blacklist as well, which is only applicable to the user.
2.Expiration time
Each address in SendCloud blacklist will be specified an expiration time, and before it expires, if you send emails to the address, you will be prompted “the address is in SendCloud blacklist”.
Type | Expiration time | Description |
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Address not exist | Expiration time of Tencent email is 2 n-1 power days, and the maximum expiration time is 30 days; The expiration time of non Tencent email is 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours, 1 day, the N-1 power of 2 days, and the maximum expiration time is 180 days | N is the times of sending email to the address |
User customization | Permanent | none |
Spam reporting | 180 days | none |
3.What users can do
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If you are sure of the existence of an address, you can remove the “invalid” address from bounce list. And you can send emails to the address next time.
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To avoid that recipients complain about the emails and have a bad impression, you are not suggested to remove the addresses in “spam reporting”.
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If you are sure of the existence of an address but can’t find it in bounce list, you can contact customer service to remove the address.