How to Add Audienceful's Email DNS Records in AWS Route 53
This guide shows how to add the DNS records Audienceful gives you in Amazon Route 53. First, add your domain in Audienceful (Settings → Domains → New) so you have your exact records — the DKIM values are unique to your domain. For what each record does, see the main custom domain guide.
Find your DNS settings in Route 53
- Open the Route 53 console → Hosted zones.
- Click the hosted zone for your domain.
- Use Create record for each record below.
Route 53 quirks to know
@is taken literally — leave the record name blank for the root domain. This is the big one. Where Audienceful shows a host of@(the SPF record on a root domain), leave Route 53's Record name field empty. Typing@would create a broken@.yourdomain.comrecord.- For everything else, enter just the subdomain part (e.g.
pdk1._domainkey,email) — Route 53 appends your hosted zone's domain. - Wrap TXT values in quotes. In the Value box, enter SPF and DMARC values with surrounding quotes, e.g.
"v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all". - CNAME values can be entered as
mailgun.org(Route 53 handles it as a fully-qualified target).
Add each record
Use Create record, choose the Record type, and copy the value exactly from your Audienceful Domains screen.
DKIM — two CNAME records
| Field | Record 1 | Record 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Record name | pdk1._domainkey |
pdk2._domainkey |
| Type | CNAME | CNAME |
| Value | (the target shown in Audienceful) | (the target shown in Audienceful) |
(On a subdomain like mail.yourdomain.com, the Record name becomes pdk1._domainkey.mail.)
SPF — one TXT record
- Record name: (leave blank for root) or your subdomain label
- Type: TXT
- Value:
"v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all"
Already have a v=spf1 record? Edit it and add include:mailgun.org — only one SPF record is allowed.
Tracking — one CNAME record
- Record name:
email - Type: CNAME
- Value:
mailgun.org
DMARC — one TXT record (recommended)
- Record name:
_dmarc - Type: TXT
- Value:
"v=DMARC1; p=none;"
MX — optional, only if this domain doesn't already receive email
Create an MX record (blank name for root) with the mxa.mailgun.org / mxb.mailgun.org values shown in Audienceful, each prefixed with priority 10 (e.g. 10 mxa.mailgun.org). Skip if you already receive mail here.
Common mistakes in Route 53
- Typing
@for the root record — leave the name blank instead. - Forgetting quotes around TXT values.
- Two SPF records — merge into one.
Verify
Back in Audienceful, click Verify domain. Route 53 usually propagates within minutes. Full troubleshooting is in the main guide.