In this guide · 7 sections
Short answer
Before the first send: authenticate your domain in your newsletter platform (DKIM and SPF records, plus DMARC), collect subscribers with a clear opt-in and keep a record of it, include a one-click unsubscribe, and start with your most engaged contacts in small batches. Never import bought lists.
Choose a sending domain and authenticate it
Send from your business domain, such as news@yourcompany.com.sg. Free addresses like Gmail can't be authenticated for a third-party platform, and Gmail's own rules discourage sending bulk mail that claims to be from gmail.com.
Some businesses use a subdomain, such as news.yourcompany.com.sg, for marketing. It keeps newsletter reputation partly separate from everyday staff email, and it is easier to add platform DNS records without disturbing your main mail set-up. Either works if authentication is done properly.
Add your domain in the newsletter platform
In Mailchimp, Brevo or Klaviyo, find the domain authentication section and enter the domain or subdomain you will send from.
Copy the DNS records it gives you
Usually two or three CNAME or TXT records for DKIM, sometimes an SPF include or a return-path record.
Add them at your DNS host
Log in where your DNS is managed (registrar, Cloudflare or web host) and add the records exactly. Don't create a second SPF record; merge into the existing one if needed.
Verify in the platform
Click verify. DNS changes can take a few hours to show.
Publish DMARC if you haven't
Start with a monitoring policy (p=none) and a reporting address, then tighten later.
Google's email sender guidelines require SPF or DKIM for every sender to Gmail since 1 February 2024. Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail need SPF, DKIM and DMARC, with the From domain aligned. Microsoft has similar rules; our Outlook bulk sender guide covers them.
Build the list with consent you can prove
Under the PDPA, you need consent to collect and use someone's email address for marketing, and you should be able to show how you got it. The simplest proof is a signup form with clear wording and a stored record of each signup.
Good list sources
- Website signup form with a clear "send me updates" checkbox
- Checkout opt-in that is unticked by default
- In-store signup with a written or tablet consent record
- Event registrations where the newsletter is clearly offered
Sources to avoid
- Bought or rented email lists
- Addresses scraped from websites or directories
- Every contact in your mailbox or CRM, without asking
- Business cards collected years ago
Our PDPA consent form wording guide has sample wording. Turn on double opt-in (a confirmation email) if your platform offers it; it removes typos and fake signups and gives you a timestamped record.
Unsubscribe rules: Gmail, RFC 8058 and the Spam Control Act
Every newsletter needs a visible unsubscribe link. Gmail requires bulk senders' marketing messages to support one-click unsubscribe as well, using the List-Unsubscribe-Post header defined in RFC 8058. Mainstream newsletter platforms add these headers automatically once your domain is authenticated.
Singapore's Spam Control Act 2007 sets rules for unsolicited commercial email sent in bulk, including an unsubscribe facility, stopping messages within 10 business days of a request, and the <ADV> label in the subject line. A newsletter sent only to people who opted in isn't unsolicited, which is another reason real consent matters. Our Outlook bulk sender guide quotes the Act's requirements in full.
- Put the unsubscribe link in the footer of every email, in readable text.
- Honour unsubscribes immediately; your platform does this automatically.
- Don't make people log in or confirm several times to leave.
- If you also send SMS or WhatsApp marketing to Singapore numbers, the Do Not Call rules apply to those channels.
Warm up and send the first campaigns
A new sending domain has no reputation. Mailbox providers watch how recipients react to the first few sends, so start with people most likely to open.
Send a test to yourself on Gmail and Outlook
Check it lands in the inbox, images load, links work, and the unsubscribe link works.
First send to your most engaged contacts
Recent customers and people who signed up in the last few months. A few hundred is fine.
Grow the audience over a few sends
Add older subscribers in stages over several weeks rather than all at once.
Watch complaints and bounces
Gmail asks senders to keep spam rates reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Remove hard bounces straight away.
Keep a steady schedule
Monthly or fortnightly at a predictable time beats bursts of daily sends followed by silence.
If emails start landing in spam, our Gmail spam fix guide walks through the checks.
Do it yourself or get help?
Most newsletter platforms walk you through domain authentication, and a careful owner can set it up in an hour. Get help when your DNS already has messy SPF records, you use several platforms that all send email, or your first sends are landing in spam.
Our Emails Land in Spam: Fix service (S$249, with 14 days of monitoring) authenticates your domain for the newsletter platform and your normal mail, sets up DMARC reporting, and checks the first sends land in the inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, in practice. Google requires SPF or DKIM for every sender to Gmail, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC for senders of more than 5,000 messages a day. Newsletter platforms give you DKIM records to add to your DNS. Without them, your emails are more likely to land in spam or be rejected.
Only if they agreed to receive marketing emails. Under the PDPA, you need consent to use personal data for marketing. Customers who bought from you didn't automatically agree to a newsletter. Send a one-off email inviting them to opt in, and add only those who do.
It is a standard, defined in RFC 8058, that lets an email app show an unsubscribe button which removes the person from your list in one step, without visiting a website. Gmail requires it for bulk senders' marketing emails. Most newsletter platforms add the headers automatically once your domain is authenticated.
No. The Do Not Call rules under the PDPA apply to marketing calls, SMS and other messages sent to Singapore telephone numbers, not email addresses. Email marketing is covered by PDPA consent obligations and, for unsolicited bulk email, the Spam Control Act. This is general information, not legal advice.
It is a common choice. Sending from something like news.yourcompany.com.sg keeps marketing reputation partly separate from staff email and makes DNS set-up simpler. It is not required: sending from your main domain works too, as long as SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up correctly for the platform.