In today’s email environment, ensuring that messages sent from your organization actually reach recipients — and are seen as legitimate — is more important than ever. With spam filters growing stricter and inbox providers increasingly sensitive to impersonation and spoofing, configuring email authentication protocols properly is not optional. As AutoSPF, I’m here to walk you through configuring Cvent correctly so that your email campaigns consistently land in inboxes — not spam — while preserving your domain’s reputation.
This guide will show you exactly how to configure DKIM for Cvent and why, in the case of Cvent, setting up SPF for your own domain won’t help. If you follow along carefully and work with Cvent support, you’ll set yourself up for reliable deliverability and a stronger email authentication posture for your domain.
Why Email Authentication Matters — A Quick Refresher
Before diving into the Cvent-specific setup, it’s worth revisiting why protocols like SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — often used together with DMARC — are essential:
- SPF lets domain owners specify which mail servers are allowed to send emails “on behalf” of their domain. Essentially, you publish a DNS TXT record listing authorized servers or domains. When a mail is received, the receiving server checks if the sending server is on that list. If not, the message can be rejected.
- DKIM goes a step further: it cryptographically signs outgoing messages. The sending server attaches a signature using a private key, and publishes a public key in your DNS records. The receiving server uses this to verify that the message genuinely came from your domain — and that its content hasn’t been tampered with.
- DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together, allowing domain owners to specify how to treat messages that fail these checks (e.g. deliver, quarantine, or reject) — and to receive reports about failed attempts.
Together, these protocols significantly reduce the risk of spoofing, phishing, and unauthorized use of your domain — and help ensure that legitimate messages reach the inbox rather than spam folders.
That said — when you use third-party platforms like Cvent to send emails, configuration needs careful attention. Otherwise, even legitimate campaigns can get flagged or lost.
Why SPF Setup Does Not Work for Cvent (When Using Your Own Domain)
If you try to treat Cvent like a typical email service provider and simply add its servers to your domain’s SPF record — you’ll be disappointed. The reason is subtle but important:
- When Cvent sends emails on your behalf, those emails often use a Cvent-owned domain in the “Return-Path” (i.e. envelope sender) header — not your own domain. This means that when the recipient’s mail server checks SPF, it checks against Cvent’s SPF record — not your domain’s. In effect, your SPF record is never evaluated.
- Because of this, adding or modifying SPF records for your domain to “include” Cvent’s servers is ineffective. It doesn’t help deliverability or authentication.
For this reason, it’s common (and recommended) to skip SPF configuration when using Cvent, and focus on DKIM instead. As the original guide from EasyDMARC puts it: Cvent does not support SPF alignment, so there’s no need to generate SPF records or modify existing ones.
This may sound odd — after all, SPF is a fundamental part of email authentication. But when using a third-party ESP (email-sending platform) whose infrastructure uses its own domains for sending, SPF alignment for your domain simply doesn’t apply.
The Right Path: Configuring DKIM for Cvent — Step by Step
Because SPF alignment won’t work with Cvent, the secure and effective route is to use DKIM. Here’s how to do it, from start to finish:
- Contact Cvent Support to Request DKIM Keys
Reach out to your contact or support team at Cvent and request DKIM signing for your custom domain. They will generate a DKIM key pair for you:- A DKIM public key, which you’ll publish in your domain’s DNS.
- A DKIM private key, which Cvent will use on their servers to sign outgoing emails.
- Log In to Your DNS Provider
Access the DNS management console for your domain. This may be via your registrar or a hosting/dns-provider interface. - Create the Required DNS Record (TXT or CNAME)
Based on the information from Cvent:- If you are given a TXT-format DKIM record: create a new TXT record under the selector hostname provided.
- If instead a CNAME-style DKIM record is provided: create a CNAME record using the hostname and value given by Cvent.
- Save and Wait for DNS Propagation
After saving the record, DNS changes can take time to propagate worldwide. Usually within 48–72 hours, DNS servers globally will have updated, and the DKIM record will be available for verification. - Verify DKIM Signing Is Working
Once propagation is complete, send a test email using Cvent — ideally to an inbox you control (e.g. a Gmail or Outlook account). Then inspect the email headers (e.g. “Show original / view source”) to check that DKIM signing is present and valid. - Check Existing DMARC Setup (If Any)
If your domain already has a DMARC record published, there’s no need to add another — each domain can have only one DMARC record at a time.
If you don’t yet have DMARC, consider publishing one (even if initially in “monitor” mode) to start gaining visibility into your domain’s email flows and authentication results.
If you follow these steps — and ensure DKIM is properly configured — then emails sent via Cvent will be signed with your domain’s key, thereby passing DKIM verification, and (depending on your DMARC policy) will pass DMARC alignment checks. This dramatically improves deliverability and reduces the risk of your emails being marked as spam, blocked, or rejected.
What This Means for Your Email Deliverability — And Why It Matters
By enabling DKIM for Cvent, you’re taking several critical steps toward a reliable, secure, and trusted email flow. Here’s what you gain:
- Improved Inbox Placement: Because your emails are cryptographically signed and verifiable, mailbox providers are far more likely to trust and accept them — reducing the chance they end up in spam.
- Protection Against Impersonation & Spoofing: DKIM helps ensure that any email claiming to be from your domain actually originates from Cvent (authorized) and hasn’t been tampered with. This protects both you and your recipients from phishing attacks.
- Compliance with DMARC Policies & Industry Best Practices: Many ESPs (Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc.) increasingly expect SPF/DKIM/DMARC alignment, especially for bulk or marketing emails. Configuring DKIM keeps you aligned with modern standards. As one guide explains, DKIM — particularly when combined with DMARC — helps ensure message integrity and sender authenticity.
- Reduced Risk of Delivery Failures & Bounced/Rejected Messages: Especially if your domain’s DMARC policy is set to quarantine or reject — misconfigured or missing authentication will lead to email rejections or silent failures. Correct DKIM configuration avoids that pain.
- Domain Reputation Preservation: Sending unauthenticated or misconfigured emails — especially from third-party platforms — is a fast way to damage your domain’s sender reputation. Proper DKIM helps protect that over time.
In short: if you use Cvent for event invitations, marketing campaigns, or other bulk emails — and you want them to reliably reach recipients — setting up DKIM is non-negotiable.
Common Pitfalls & What to Watch Out For
While the steps above are straightforward — the reality of DNS, third-party services, and email authentication is sometimes messy. Here are common mistakes organizations make (and how you can avoid them):
- Assuming SPF configuration for your domain will “just work.” As we explained, for Cvent it doesn’t — because Cvent sends via its own domains. So modifying your SPF record won’t help and may create confusion.
- Not waiting long enough for DNS propagation. DNS changes can take up to 48–72 hours worldwide. If you test too early, DKIM won’t be visible yet.
- Not verifying DKIM properly. Always send a test email after propagation, then inspect the “Authentication-Results” or “DKIM-Signature” headers. Don’t rely just on “looks like it worked.”
- Neglecting DMARC or using a strict policy prematurely. If you have DMARC set to p=quarantine or p=reject, and some of your senders (or campaigns) are not properly DKIM-aligned, you risk losing entire emails. It’s best to start with p=none mode, monitor results, then ramp up policy once you’re confident.
- Forgetting to re-validate after changes. If you ever change DNS providers, update domain records, or reconfigure services — always re-check DKIM and email authentication as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions (As AutoSPF Sees Them)
Q: Why doesn’t Cvent support SPF alignment with my domain?
A: Because Cvent sends emails using their own mail servers and return-path domains, not yours. Consequently, when SPF is evaluated by the recipient, it checks Cvent’s SPF record — not yours. Therefore, adding your domain to their SPF list is ineffective.
Q: Does that mean my domain is insecure if I don’t set up SPF for Cvent?
A: Not necessarily. The lack of SPF alignment isn’t a vulnerability by itself — what is required is that the outgoing email is authenticated via DKIM (or another method) so that receiving servers can verify that the message is legitimate. With DKIM properly configured, your domain remains protected from spoofing when using Cvent.
Q: Do I still need to publish a DMARC record?
A: If you care about long-term deliverability, domain reputation, and protection from spoofing — yes. Even a basic DMARC record in monitoring mode (p=none) gives you visibility into who’s sending email on your behalf and whether authentication is passing. Once you confirm everything works, you can gradually enforce stricter policies (quarantine, reject) if needed.
Q: Does DKIM guarantee 100% delivery?
A: No. DKIM significantly improves trust and reduces the likelihood of being marked spam — but delivery still depends on many factors: content quality, sending IP reputation, recipient server policies, engagement rates, etc. Authentication is necessary, but not a silver bullet.
Q: What if I change my DNS provider or domain settings later?
A: Always re-validate DKIM and email sending after any DNS change. If DNS records are altered, accidentally removed, or misconfigured — DKIM signing could break, undermining deliverability.
