How to Create a Custom Domain for an E-list

What is it?

A custom domain allows an e-list address to possess your external website address, such as @gail.com, rather than the default e-list address, which in this example would be @gail.memberclicks.net. This means your users will see and send e-list messages to an address that uses your custom address, rather than the MemberClicks address. This guide does assume you know the basics of how to create an e-list, so if you do not, it is best to first read our primary e-list guide, which you can access by clicking here.

To Note: A custom address can only be added for clients that host their webmail through MemberClicks.

How to Access

You can access the custom address field by choosing to edit an existing e-list. To do this, go to Community->E-lists->Click the edit button out to the right of an existing e-list. If you have no e-lists, click the green Add an E-list button at the top of the page. Once you do, you'll see the below page, which possesses the custom domain field.

In the custom domain text box, you want to add your custom domain's address, so in our example, this would be @gail.com, which is the address we'll be using for this guide. This would make our e-list, which is named 'test,' possess an address of test@gail.com, rather than test@gail.memberclicks.net.

Is that it?

Not quite. The e-list address and the custom address must be pointed at one another before the e-list recognizes that messages sent to our @gail.com address are actually intended for the default e-list address. Adding a custom domain doesn't do that. To complete this process, we'll want to create an alias, which we will do though your email administration link.

To navigate to this link, go to Settings->Account Settings->Click the green link named 'Email Administration' on the page. Log in with your email administration credentials here. If you're unaware of what these are, reach out to the help team, and they will assist you in resetting the credentials.

Once you log in and proceed past any security measures, you will arrive on the page in the below screenshot. Click the 'Aliases' link displayed in the screenshot.

On the following page, click the 'Add Alias' button. Once you do, you'll see the below.

1. This is where you enter the beginning portion of your e-list address. For example, if your default e-list address is board@gail.memberclicks.net, you only want to enter the word 'board' into this box, as you'll see out to the right it already has your custom address listed, which in this case is gail.com.
2. This is where we want to enter your original MemberClicks e-list address. When you create your e-list, the default e-list address will always be the name of your e-list, followed by your MemberClicks organization id, then memberclicks.net. In this example, the name of our e-list is simply 'test,' and our organization id is 'gail.' As a result, our initial e-list address is test@gail.memberclicks.net. Whatever it is for you, enter it into this text area.
3. Completely ignore this Add Members section, as it isn't relevant to this process.

Once you've completed the above, click the Create Alias button at the bottom of the page to complete the process. At this point, your custom e-list address will now be functional and ready to use.