# Set up your email sending domain

To start reaching out to the best-fitting investors directly through Hopohopo, you'll first need to set up your startup domain and verify your email. This guide will help you set everything up.

### Why do you need to set up your email domain?

When you're reaching out to investors through Hopohopo, it's crucial that your emails look trustworthy and authentic. We want investors to know that it’s *really you –* a legitimate founder – contacting them on behalf of your startup.

To do that, we require you to send emails from your startup’s own domain – for example, `yourstartup.com`, and not from public domains, like `gmail.com`.&#x20;

This is achieved by adding specific DNS records (which we provide) to your domain’s settings. These records act like a digital signature, confirming that your domain is verified to send emails through Hopohopo.

This setup serves two important purposes:

* **It protects your email reputation.** Without verifying your domain, your emails are more likely to be marked as spam or not delivered at all.
* **It signals credibility.** Emails from `you@yourstartup.com` are far more likely to be taken seriously than those from generic addresses like `yourstartup@gmail.com`.

Summing up, to start emailing investors through Hopohopo, you'll need:

* Your startup's own domain (like `yourstartup.com`)
* Your Hopohopo account, registered under the email address that is associated with that domain (like `joe@yourstartup.com`)
* DNS records, that you will find in Settings

&#x20;

Here's the step-by-step guide for the setup :arrow\_down:

***

### Step 1: Add Your Domain to Hopohopo

1. In your Hopohopo account, go to Settings
2. Enter the domain you want to use in the section "Connect your email sending domain"\
   \&#xNAN;*(your account email address must be associated with the domain you enter)*
3. Click "Add domain"

After that, you will see the DNS records you'll need to add to your domain provider.

***

### Step 2: Add the DNS Records to Your Domain Provider

{% hint style="info" %}
**What are DNS records?**\
DNS records tell email providers that Hopohopo is allowed to send emails on your behalf.
{% endhint %}

1. Log in to your domain provider (GoDaddy, Google Domains, Cloudflare, etc.)
2. Find DNS Settings / DNS Management
3. Click to add a new DNS record
4. Choose the type as CNAME and paste the host and value from the first DNS record shown under your domain in Hopohopo
5. Similarly add the two other DNS records

***

### Step 3: Verify Your Domain

Once you've added the DNS records to your domain provider, it may take some time for the changes to take effect. You'll need to verify your domain in Hopohopo to sync with the updated records.

1. Go back to your domain board in Hopohopo.
2. Click **"Go to domain validation"**
3. The system will check if the DNS records are correctly set up
4. If successful, you can now send emails from your domain
5. If you have updated the records, but the validation fails, most likely the changes haven't been updated yet. Wait for a couple of minutes and try validating again.

***

### Step 4: Verify your email address

The last step before starting your email outreach in Hopohopo is verifying your email address.

1. On your Fundraising page, click on the email icon next to any investor you'd like to contact
2. You'll see an info panel at the top asking you to verify your email. Click on "Verify"
3. Paste the verification code sent to your email in the modal field
4. If the code is correct, you will be all set to start sending emails through Hopohopo

***

### FAQs

<details>

<summary>Can I use a @gmail.com or similar to send my emails in Hopohopo?</summary>

No. The Hopohopo setup requires you to add your startup domain and use the email address associated with that domain to send emails.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I send emails in Hopohopo without adding a domain?</summary>

While you can't send emails directly through Hopohopo without adding your domain, you can forward emails to your Hopohopo inbox using your personal tracking email address. [Learn how to do that](https://hopohopo.gitbook.io/fundraising-with-hopohopo/reach-out-to-investors/forward-emails-to-your-hopohopo-inbox)

</details>

<details>

<summary>I need help with setting up. Who should I contact?</summary>

Contact <support@hopohopo.io> for any help with setting up your domain. We'll be happy to assist!

</details>
