| Doc. Number | Article Title | Effective Date | Version |
| FHC-XX | SMTP Relays for Email | March 14, 2025 | 1.6 |
This article was written to define Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) relays and the use of SMTP in your e-marketing efforts within the CRM. This article is divided into the following topics:
- SMTP relay
- What is an SMTP relay?
- How many emails do I send?
- Can I use my personal email's SMTP settings?
- How to enable SMTP Settings for Clients
- Additional Information / Sources
SMTP Relay
In the last section of this article, you will find some information on the SMTP relay providers we recommend. You are not limited to the providers listed in this article. These are just some recommendations that we have researched for you.
Important: Forth does not support SMTP with O365. We sent out a deprecation notice about this in September 2022. Clients must use another provider for sending emails.
What is an SMTP Relay?
SMTP relay refers to the type of SMTP that can be authenticated using a username, password, and host URL. This is the type of SMTP service that will work with our E-Marketing senders. You can find some more information on setting up senders in our article on setting up an E-Marketing campaign.
How many emails do I send?
You have the capability to export your record of "Past Sent Campaigns". Click on the E-Marketing tab, and then click on the "View All Sent" button on the left side of the page (see the image below).
After clicking on "View All Sent", you will see a table of all past sent e-marketing campaigns. By clicking on "Export to CSV" (see image below), you will download a CSV file to your Downloads folder. From that CSV file, you should be able to determine how many emails you send using your spreadsheet software (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) to help you determine the size of the plan you will need.
Can I use my personal email's SMTP settings?
No, you want an SMTP relay service meant for sending large volumes of emails. Your personal email's SMTP will likely have a sending limit that will stop messages from being delivered and cause your domain to be flagged as sending spam. It is not meant for email marketing. You will need to enter the SMTP credentials for your user under the My Settings page so that individual messages sent by you will go out through your server.
How to enable SMTP Settings for Clients
Regardless of who is your outgoing SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) provider, you may be required to complete a few steps to ensure the functionality operates properly with our CRM.
These steps are spelled out in our Help Center article titled, "How to Enable Client SMTP Settings". Click HERE to access this article.
Additional Information / Sources
Mailjet is a good offering for clients with low to moderate E-Marketing volume. It has accessible features that aren't too advanced for anyone who isn't an expert in email marketing but enough that you should find it adaptable as you grow.
Pricing
Free up to 6,000 a month (200 messages a day). Beyond that, they have plans starting at $13.50 per month (15,000 emails/month). You can find more details here.
Support
Mailjet provides several resources you can access to prevent your SMTP from getting blocked and also implement practices that will lead to successful campaigns. Below are some resources we recommend reading.
Compliance Guide - Guide on running campaigns within compliance of the law and system framework.
Authenticating Domains with SPF and DKIM - You must set up an SPF record for your DNS (Domain Name Servers), which helps prevent your emails from being identified as spam.
Email Statuses - Explanation of the different statuses of messages going through your SMTP. The section about Bounced and Blocked messages is particularly helpful.
The Different Types of Emails - Explanation of the different types of emails you use in E-Marketing. Understanding the difference can help with the success of your campaigns.
Setting up a Sender
You can find some general information about E-Marketing campaigns, including setting up a sender here. You will need the SMTP settings from Mailjet to complete setting up a Sender.
On the SMTP settings page (go to Account settings → SMTP and SEND API settings), you will find your username and password (API Key & Secret Key), along with the Mailjet SMTP Server name, and ports.
Once you click on Retrieve your API credentials, you will be taken to the API Key Management screen (see below). Under the Primary API Key section, the API Key Field will be used as the username, and the secret key will be used as the password.
We recommend using TLS on the Sender in Forth CRM.
SendGrid is the SMTP service used by Forth for all of our transactional emails (email triggers, e-sign requests, etc.). It is good for organizations sending a large volume of emails and offers a lot of controls for managing your server's reputation. Most may find SendGrid too large a tool for their needs, but for those consistently sending a large volume of messages who want to have complete control of the SMTP server's reputation for their campaigns, this may be the best option for you.
Pricing
SendGrid offers two (2) plans: one with a Shared IP and one with a dedicated IP. Having a dedicated IP might be necessary depending on the volume and types of emails you are sending. Using a dedicated IP lets you manage your server's reputation, which means you are not subject to a shared IP's reputation.
The Essentials plan offers up to 40,000 emails a month for $9.95 per month, with pricing increasing every 10,000 emails per month. This plan does not include a dedicated IP.
The Pro plan offers 100,000 emails a month for $79.95 per month and includes a dedicated IP.
The Premier plan requires custom pricing (contact SendGrid for more information) and 2,500,000 emails a month. This plan comes with a dedicated IP and prioritized support. This plan is likely too large for most clients.
You can find details about SendGrid's pricing here.
Support
SendGrid does offer support documentation on their site as well as customized personal support with their upgraded plans. You can find all their support materials here.
Setting up a Sender
Sendgrid requires you to create an API associated with the SMTP Relay and provides a random string you will use for the password. Once created, the username will be "apikey" and the password will be the string of characters provided by SendGrid. You can create an API Key once logged into the user dashboard under "Settings" along the left-hand side. Once entered, the SMTP Setting should look something like the image below.
You can find more instructions on setting up the API Key and using it for SMTP here.
Article Version History:
| Version | Effective Date | Description |
| Basic | 10/03/2017 | Initial Release |
| 0.1 | 09/03/2022 | Minor Updates - Grammar Review only. |
| 1.0 | 12/12/2022 | Formatting Tweaks; Title Update; Added Header and Article Version History Footer; Added Note about non-use of Office 365. |
| 1.1 | 04/14/2023 | Refreshed screenshots to better reflect the current user interface. |
| 1.2 | 05/09/2023 | Added clarifying language to the first section of the article; refreshed one screenshot. |
| 1.3 | 10/23/2023 | Updated three screenshots to reflect updates to the user interface and improve legibility. |
| 1.4 | 11/06/2024 | Grammatical and formatting review completed; no subject matter changes were made. |
| 1.5 | 12/18/2024 | Updated out-of-date hyperlink. |
| 1.6 | 03/14/2025 | Removed section on enabling client SMTP settings since there is already a stand-alone article on that topic. |