Free tool
MX record lookup
Enter a domain to see where its email is delivered, in priority order, and which provider runs it. Useful for checking that replies to your outreach domain will arrive, or that an editor's domain accepts mail before you pitch.
What to check on an outreach domain
- MX records exist and point at the same provider that sends your mail, so replies land in the mailbox you read.
- SPF names that provider. Check with the SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker or build a record with the generator.
- Before pitching an editor, a quick MX check tells you the domain accepts mail at all. Pair it with the email permutator when you're guessing an address.
Read the deliverability guide for the full outreach domain setup.
Looking up an editor's domain to guess their address? Pair this with the steps in how to find the editor's email for any blog post.
Questions people ask
What is an MX record?
An MX (mail exchanger) record tells other mail servers where to deliver email for a domain. Each record has a priority number: senders try the lowest number first and fall back to the others if it's unavailable.
Why does my outreach domain need MX records?
Without them, replies to your pitches have nowhere to go and bounce back to the editor. A domain that sends email but can't receive it also looks suspicious to mailbox providers. Set up your provider's MX records before you send anything.
What does it mean if a domain has no MX records?
Mail servers will try the domain's A record as a fallback, which usually fails. In practice, a domain without MX records can't reliably receive email, so any address on it is a poor outreach target and will likely bounce.
What is a null MX record?
A single MX record pointing to "." with priority 0 is a deliberate signal that the domain never accepts email. Don't send to addresses on it.
Does the provider tell me anything about deliverability?
A little. Addresses on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are usually real mailboxes with strict spam filtering, so plain, personal emails do best. Domains behind security gateways like Proofpoint or Mimecast filter harder still.
Related
SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker
Check the same domain's authentication records and get plain-English fixes.
Email deliverability for link outreach
Set up an outreach domain that lands in the inbox and can receive replies.
Email permutator
Enter an editor's name and their site's domain to get every likely address format, ordered by how often each pattern is used.
SPF and DMARC record generator
Build correct SPF and DMARC TXT records for a new outreach domain, with the exact host and value to paste into your DNS.
See where your next links could come from.
Paste your URL. The agent finds lists, comparison pages, resource pages and guides where your product fits, checks each site and finds the editor to contact. Free, no card.
