How to Set Up a Custom SMTP

We try really hard to make sure all of the emails that go through our server avoid spam filters, but with email, there's no guarantee. Fortunately, there is one thing you can do to try and minimize the chance of email going to spam.

Setting your email up with a custom SMTP (or, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) not only helps with the occasional potential server snafu, but also helps with branding because your proposals will come from your own email address.

Setting Up Your Custom SMTP

To set up your custom SMTP, go into your account settings, under the General tab. Click on the “edit" link next to “General Info."

Under “Email Settings" you'll see that the default setting is to have the reply address set as a Bidsketch email address. You'll want to change this, so you'll check the “use custom SMTP" option, and click on the “update settings" link.

This will take you to a form where you'll enter the information for your email server. Once you have each of the fields completed, click the “save" button.

Now all of your emails will go through your custom SMTP server.

Gmail Users

Having some problems setting up a custom SMTP with Gmail? Using Port 587 and PLAIN authentication can help. You can also take a look at the following helpful links if you're getting a specific error when you try to verify your settings:

1. Double check your Gmail settings, and make sure you've enabled SSL, IMAP, and authentication:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/78775?hl=en

2. Create a sign in App Password for Bidsketch. This gives Bidsketch special permission to your account:

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/185833?hl=en

3. If you're getting a "Password Incorrect" error, sometimes changing your "Allow Secure Apps" setting can make a difference:

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255

4. If you're getting an error that says something like " Net::SMTPAuthenticationError: 534-5.7.14 <https://accounts.google.com/ContinueSignIn?" make sure you're logged into your Gmail account, and that you've enabled IMAP access.