How to handle DMARC failures when using TrustPilot email invitations with a custom domain?

Email marketer from Mail deliverability forums suggest implementing a p=none DMARC policy to monitor sending results before implementing a quarantine or reject policy. Note that some bad actors can spoof your domain.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that they discovered most Trustpilot users don't use the 'Custom Domain' setting, resulting in emails being sent from Trustpilot's domain. The company is using their own domain, which is causing issues because TrustPilot only supports SPF records. They will revert to sending invitation emails from Trustpilot's domain until they support DMARC setup.

Email marketer from Reddit shares to review Trustpilot's email headers to identify the exact cause of the DMARC failure (SPF or DKIM). If it's an SPF issue, ensure Trustpilot's sending IP addresses are included in your SPF record. If it's DKIM, confirm that Trustpilot supports DKIM signing with your domain.

Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests setting up feedback loops (FBLs) to monitor complaints from recipients about Trustpilot emails sent from your domain. This information can help identify issues with deliverability and reputation, informing adjustments to your DMARC policy or Trustpilot configuration.

Email marketer from GMass suggests whitelisting Trustpilot's sending domains or IP addresses in your DMARC policy to instruct receiving mail servers to accept emails from Trustpilot, even if they fail DMARC checks. However, they caution that this approach reduces the effectiveness of DMARC overall.

Email marketer from StackExchange suggests using a dedicated IP address for sending Trustpilot emails. This allows more control over the sending reputation and simplifies SPF/DKIM configuration, potentially resolving DMARC issues.

Email marketer from Email Geeks asks if the return path is aligned for Trustpilot emails, implying that SPF would be pointless otherwise, and suggests that moving to a dedicated subdomain will be the best bet if Trustpilot doesn't support anything and has no plans to.

Email marketer from Mailhardener Blog suggests sending Trustpilot invitations from a subdomain of your main domain. This way, DMARC failures will only affect the subdomain, and your main domain's reputation remains intact. They also advise monitoring the subdomain's reputation.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Blog suggests creating a specific DMARC record for the Trustpilot subdomain with a relaxed policy (p=none) to monitor the email flow and identify any potential issues without impacting your main domain's deliverability. Then adjust the policy if confident.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests contacting Trustpilot support to inquire about their DMARC compliance options, as they may offer custom solutions or workarounds for Enterprise clients.

Expert from Email Geeks questions whether Trustpilot uses their own domain for sending emails like PayPal, making it impossible for users to set up SPF, DKIM, or DMARC. She also shares her own email headers which show that Trustpilot uses dkim and dmarc.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that when using third-party senders like Trustpilot, DMARC failures often stem from SPF alignment issues because the 'envelope from' domain doesn't match the 'header from' domain. They recommend carefully reviewing SPF records and considering DKIM signing options if available from Trustpilot.

Expert from Email Geeks says Trustpilot's advice is bad and that Trustpilot uses Twilio/Sendgrid so could support DKIM/DMARC, but are making a business choice not to.

Documentation from DMARC Analyzer explains that DMARC failures typically occur due to SPF or DKIM alignment issues. If SPF passes but doesn't align (the 'header from' domain doesn't match the 'envelope from' domain), or if DKIM fails, DMARC will fail. They recommend checking SPF and DKIM records and alignment.

Documentation from EasyDMARC explains that DMARC alignment is crucial. For SPF to align, the `header from` address must match the `envelope from` address. For DKIM to align, the domain in the `d=domain.com` tag of the DKIM signature must match the `header from` address. They suggest ensuring these alignments for Trustpilot emails.

Documentation from AuthSMTP explains the importance of analyzing the email headers of Trustpilot invitations that are failing DMARC. Specifically, check the `Authentication-Results` header to see which part of the DMARC check is failing (SPF or DKIM) and why. This helps pinpoint the misconfiguration.

Documentation from Trustpilot Help Center explains that DMARC configuration requires setting up both SPF and DKIM records correctly for the custom domain. They recommend checking your DMARC record using a DMARC record checker to ensure it's valid.