SMTP

SMTP works with any mail server or provider that gives you SMTP details. It’s the simplest to set up, but it reports less than the API providers: Rowsend can’t see deliveries, and bounces only come back with Rowsend Cloud or the companion on your own server.

Set it up in Rowsend

1. Open Project settings → Sending and choose SMTP.
2. Fill in the from name, from email, Host, Port, Username and Password. Turn on Use TLS for port 465.
3. Click Save, then Verify. Rowsend connects and logs in to check the details.

Bounces

SMTP servers report a bounce by emailing it back. To catch those, Rowsend sends each message with its own signed return address on a bounce domain, and the companion receives the bounce mail there.

On Rowsend Cloud this works with no setup: Cloud uses its own bounce domain, so there’s nothing to set in Rowsend.

With the companion on your own server, set a Bounce domain, such as bounces.example.com, in Project settings → Sending, and send its mail to the companion in one of two ways:

• through Cloudflare Email Routing and Rowsend’s Worker, with no port 25 needed
• straight to your server, with BOUNCE_SMTP_PORT set and port 25 open

Self-hosting has the steps for both.

With the companion on this computer, or on your own server with no bounce domain, bounces aren’t tracked: an address that bounces stays on your list and keeps getting your campaigns. Rowsend warns about this on the Sending page, in the send dialog and on the campaign page. If you can, use Amazon SES, Postmark or Mailgun instead, which report bounces without a server.

Deliveries

SMTP has no delivery reports, so the campaign page shows sends and bounces but not deliveries.