How to Configure “From” Address and Name for Emails
At Customer Reviews, security is the top priority. The plugin sends emails with invitations to write reviews (review reminders) but it will never ask you for a password from your mailbox. All emails sent to your customers will be sent via Amazon Simple Email Service, a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Using DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) authentication, emails are guaranteed to be delivered as reliably and securely as possible and this added layer of security protects both you and your customers.
While all emails are sent from AWS, the possibility to customize name and email address that appears on the email received by your customers will depend on which version of the plugin you’ve opted for, as we will see in the upcoming paragraphs. Although many users of our plugin will consider this is a trivial matter, those who take marketing and branding seriously will find this tutorial useful.
Free Version
The free version of our plugin will use a preset name and email address in your emails. The Name of the sender will always be the name of your WooCommerce shop followed by “via CR” (translated into the language of your shop). For instance, if your shop’s name is Sky Shop, the sender will appear as “Sky Shop via CR”. In addition, the email will be sent from our email address on your behalf and the sender’s email address will appear as “feedback@cusrev.com”. These two options cannot be changed with the free version of Customer Reviews.
Although some of your customers may not recognize our email address, if they understand that reviews are processed by an independent and trustworthy party like us, their trust in you will grow and this will encourage them to leave reviews for your products. So, we recommend that you explain what Customer Reviews is in the body of your email. A simple line like “Customer Reviews is an independent company that processes customer reviews in an ethical and unbiased manner” will do the trick.
Pro Version
With a professional license, our plugin lets you customize both the name and the email address that appear in the email without any restrictions. Although most people will find the preset email address sufficient for their needs, the option to customize the name of the sender can help with marketing and branding. For instance, many small business owners prefer their real names to appear in their emails as they want to engage their customers as an individual. The option to have their real name in their emails will help build a better personal relationship with their customers compared to using the name of their shop (for example, John Smith instead of Sky Shop).
Get a Pro License
To get started with the professional version, first create an account on cusrev.com and on the left side panel, choose License Keys. To request a professional license, click on Pro License Key. In the next pages, enter the required information and you will have a professional license key that will unlock all the premium features of our plugin.
When your premium key is ready, copy it and go to your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to Reviews, Settings and choose the License Key tab. Paste the license key in the input box and Save your changes. If everything is in order, you will see Active: Professional Version as the License Status.
Change “From” Address and Name settings in WordPress
To change the name that appears in your email as well as the email address it’s sent from, first, navigate to Reviews, then to Settings and scroll down until you see From Address. To be able to have your own email address appear in your emails, you must first verify it. So, type in your email address and hit Verify.
Check your inbox and you should receive an email from “Amazon Web Services”. Click on the confirmation link to confirm that you really are the owner of the email address.
You should see a Verified message if you did everything correctly.
The email sender’s name can also be changed by using the option From Name, just below the From address option. Simply type the name that you want in the box, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes to confirm.
Email Authentication for Custom “From” Email Address
To improve deliverability of your emails with a custom “from” address, it is highly recommended to configure an SPF record for your domain. SPF is an email authentication method designed to detect forged sender addresses in emails. Since the plugin sends emails via Amazon SES, you should configure an SPF record according to this guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/DeveloperGuide/spf.html. If you are using the preset email address, then you do not need to do anything because we have already configured SPF for you.
DKIM for Custom “From” Email Address
It is possible to additionally improve deliverability of emails sent from a custom “From” email address by configuring DKIM. Please reach out to us by creating a ticket to enable DKIM for your custom email address.
In short, whether you are using the default settings of our plugin or opted for our pro features, configuring email addresses and the sender’s name in your emails is very easy with Customer Reviews. If you are having any trouble with these options, feel free to post your issues on our support forum. If you have a professional license, you can simply open a ticket and our technical staff will assist you as soon as possible.