How do SPF, DKIM, and DMARC affect email deliverability with Cvent?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 21 May 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
9 min read
Sending emails, especially for events or marketing campaigns, means you want your messages to land directly in the recipient's inbox. But when you're using a third-party platform like Cvent, you might encounter frustrating deliverability challenges, leading to test emails not going through, or messages ending up in the spam folder. It can feel like you're jumping through hoops just to get a single email out.
A common point of confusion and a frequent culprit behind these issues is your email authentication setup, specifically how your Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) records interact with Cvent's sending infrastructure.
These three protocols are the backbone of modern email security, designed to prove your email's legitimacy, prevent spoofing, and build trust with mailbox providers. Without them, or with misconfigurations, your legitimate emails can easily be flagged as suspicious and blocked or sent to spam.
This guide will walk you through how SPF, DKIM, and DMARC specifically affect your email deliverability when sending with Cvent, highlight common problems, and provide actionable steps to ensure your event communications and marketing messages reach their intended audience.
To understand how Cvent fits into the picture, it is essential to first grasp the basics of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These are not just technical acronyms, but fundamental components that determine whether your emails are considered trustworthy by receiving mail servers. Together, they form a robust system for email authentication.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS TXT record that lists all the IP addresses or domains authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. When a mailbox provider receives an email, it checks the SPF record of the sending domain to see if the sending IP address is on the approved list. If it isn't, the email might be flagged as suspicious or spam. For a comprehensive overview, see how email authentication works.
Example SPF record for CventDNS
v=spf1 include:_spf.cvent.com ~all
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your outgoing emails. This signature is verified by the receiving server using a public key published in your domain's DNS records. DKIM ensures that the email content hasn't been tampered with during transit and that the email truly originated from the signed domain. Meanwhile, DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) builds on top of SPF and DKIM. It allows domain owners to tell receiving email servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, and it provides reporting on these authentication failures. DMARC requires that either SPF or DKIM successfully authenticate and be aligned to the visible From: header domain.
Cvent and your email deliverability
When you send emails through Cvent, the platform is acting as an email service provider (ESP) on your behalf. This means Cvent's servers are sending emails that appear to originate from your domain. For these emails to be delivered reliably and not be flagged as spoofed, Cvent's sending infrastructure must be properly authorized by your domain's SPF and DKIM records, and then validated by your DMARC policy. Failing to do so often leads to emails that look spoofed to receiving mail servers.
Cvent supports DKIM authentication for emails sent through their platform. This is a critical feature, as DKIM alignment is often easier to achieve with third-party senders compared to SPF, especially if the Return-Path domain differs from your From: domain. To enable DKIM, you will typically need to contact Cvent support or fill out a DKIM request form. Implementing DKIM can significantly improve the chances of your emails passing DMARC and reaching the inbox. This is also why we've addressed Cvent's support for SPF and DKIM alignment in another article.
Cvent and DKIM support
Cvent provides explicit support for DKIM authentication, which is crucial for modern email deliverability. While Cvent manages the underlying infrastructure, you are responsible for publishing the necessary DKIM DNS records provided by Cvent in your domain's DNS. This step is vital for ensuring that Cvent-sent emails are digitally signed and verifiable, helping them pass DMARC checks. Remember that you may need to explicitly ask Cvent support to enable DKIM for your account.
DMARC plays a pivotal role. If your domain has a DMARC policy set to `p=quarantine` or `p=reject`, any email sent via Cvent that fails to align with either SPF or DKIM will be rejected or placed in the spam folder by receiving mail servers. This is why a test email might not even reach your inbox or spam folder at all. Even if SPF passes, if it doesn't align, it might not satisfy DMARC. This is a common issue, and SPF misalignment can affect deliverability, even if DKIM passes.
Common challenges and solutions
One of the most common frustrating experiences is sending a test email from Cvent and never seeing it appear, not even in the spam folder. This often points directly to an authentication failure, particularly if your domain has a DMARC policy that instructs receivers to reject unauthenticated mail. It's not just about getting past spam filters, but about passing the initial gatekeepers that decide whether to accept your email at all.
Beyond technical configurations, some organizations implement stringent internal email security policies. These policies might instruct their mail servers to "never accept email claiming to be from our domain unless it comes from our corporate MX records." While rarer now, such settings can create a significant barrier for third-party senders like Cvent, even with proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place. In these cases, it is crucial to understand how corporate email filters affect deliverability.
To effectively troubleshoot these issues, you need clear visibility into your email streams and authentication results. Simply whitelisting IP addresses, as Cvent might suggest, is not a sustainable or comprehensive solution for long-term deliverability and security, especially with evolving sender requirements from providers like Google and Yahoo. It is also important to remember that DMARC works with either DKIM or SPF alignment, but not both. For more details on this, you can review Cvent's community DMARC article.
Common problems
Test emails disappear: Cvent-sent emails, particularly test emails, do not arrive in your inbox or spam folder.
Messages marked as spam: Event invitations or marketing emails land in recipients' spam folders.
DMARC rejection: Emails are rejected by recipient servers due to strict DMARC policies.
Domain reputation damage: Consistent authentication failures can harm your domain's sending reputation.
Verify SPF records: Ensure Cvent's sending IP ranges or include mechanisms are in your domain's SPF record. Also, consider the impact of bad SPF alignment.
Monitor DMARC reports: Use a DMARC monitoring tool to track authentication results for emails sent via Cvent. This allows you to identify where failures occur and troubleshoot and fix settings.
For optimal deliverability with Cvent, your primary goal should be to ensure that emails sent through their platform pass both SPF and DKIM authentication and achieve DMARC alignment. This is crucial for avoiding spam folders and rejections, especially with the new sender requirements from Google and Yahoo.
Start by confirming that your domain's SPF record correctly includes Cvent's sending mechanisms. If you have multiple sending services, ensure your SPF record doesn't exceed the 10 DNS lookup limit. Next, prioritize setting up DKIM for your domain through Cvent. This provides a digital signature that receiving servers can use to verify the email's authenticity, even if SPF alignment is challenging.
Once SPF and DKIM are configured, implementing DMARC is the final step for robust email authentication. Begin with a DMARC policy of p=none. This allows you to receive DMARC reports, which provide invaluable insights into how your emails (including those from Cvent) are authenticating across the internet. These reports will show you if your Cvent emails are passing SPF and DKIM checks and whether they are aligning correctly with your DMARC policy. Then, you can slowly transition your policy to quarantine or reject.
Regularly review your DMARC reports and adjust your DNS records as needed. Consistent monitoring helps you catch any issues quickly and ensures your Cvent emails maintain excellent deliverability. For general guidance on the topic, see what SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are.
Authentication type
Purpose
Cvent requirement
Your action
SPF
Authorizes sending IP addresses.
Cvent's IP addresses or include mechanism must be in your SPF record.
Add include:_spf.cvent.com to your SPF record.
DKIM
Digitally signs emails for integrity and authenticity.
Cvent can sign your emails with your domain's DKIM key.
Contact Cvent support to enable DKIM and publish the provided CNAME records.
DMARC
Policy for unauthenticated emails and reporting.
Requires SPF or DKIM alignment for Cvent emails to pass.
Publish a DMARC record, start with p=none, and monitor reports. Consider using a DMARC monitoring tool.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Ensure Cvent's SPF include is correctly added to your domain's SPF record to authorize their sending.
Always set up DKIM authentication through Cvent, as it is often the most reliable path to DMARC alignment for third-party senders.
Start your DMARC journey with a 'p=none' policy to gather reports and identify authentication failures without impacting delivery.
Regularly review your DMARC reports to spot any issues with Cvent emails and ensure consistent authentication success.
Common pitfalls
Relying solely on IP whitelisting for deliverability, which does not address email authentication or domain reputation.
Ignoring DMARC reports, missing critical insights into why emails are failing to reach the inbox.
Setting a strict DMARC policy (quarantine/reject) before confirming SPF/DKIM alignment for all sending sources, including Cvent.
Failing to update DNS records after Cvent provides new DKIM keys or SPF includes, leading to authentication breaks.
Expert tips
For Cvent customers, ensure explicit DKIM setup with support.
Check for internal IT policies blocking third-party senders from your domain.
A DMARC monitoring tool is crucial for visibility into sending performance.
Test thoroughly to personal accounts (like Gmail) for initial deliverability checks.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they had difficulty getting test emails out from Cvent and wondered if it was related to SPF, DKIM, or DMARC authentication.
2022-06-09 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that if DMARC is set to quarantine or reject and Cvent tries to send from your domain, it could cause issues.
2022-06-09 - Email Geeks
Boosting your Cvent email deliverability
Navigating email deliverability with third-party platforms like Cvent requires a solid understanding of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These authentication protocols are more than just technical requirements; they are essential for ensuring your emails bypass spam filters, maintain your domain's reputation, and ultimately reach your audience.
By proactively configuring and monitoring your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, especially with Cvent's specific requirements, you can significantly improve the success rate of your event invitations and marketing campaigns. Remember to work closely with Cvent support for DKIM setup and leverage DMARC reports to identify and resolve any authentication issues. This proactive approach will help you overcome deliverability challenges and keep your communications flowing smoothly.
Achieve high deliverability
By correctly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domain when sending with Cvent, you will boost your email deliverability rates. This reduces the chances of your emails ending up in spam folders or being rejected outright, ensuring your crucial event communications and marketing messages reach their intended recipients effectively and reliably.
Cvent provides explicit support for DKIM authentication, which is crucial for modern email deliverability. While Cvent manages the underlying infrastructure, you are responsible for publishing the necessary DKIM DNS records provided by Cvent in your domain's DNS. This step is vital for ensuring that Cvent-sent emails are digitally signed and verifiable, helping them pass DMARC checks. Remember that you may need to explicitly ask Cvent support to enable DKIM for your account.
