What You'll Need

To send emails from your own domain through Enrollio, you'll need to connect Mailgun (a reliable email delivery service) to your Google Domain. This setup ensures parents receive enrollment updates, reminders, and messages from your childcare center's professional email address.

This guide walks you through every step of connecting Mailgun when your domain is registered with Google Domains.

Before You Start

Important: If you use Google Workspace (Gmail for business) with your main domain, set up a subdomain with Mailgun instead. For example, if your website is brightstart.com, use mg.brightstart.com or mail.brightstart.com for Enrollio emails.

Step 1: Create Your Mailgun Account

  1. Go to Mailgun.com and sign up for an account
  2. Check your email inbox and verify your email address
  3. Log into Mailgun and navigate to Sending → Add New Domain

Step 2: Choose Your Domain Setup

You have two options:

Option A: Subdomain (Recommended)

Use a subdomain like mg.yourchildcare.com or mail.yourchildcare.com. This is the best choice if you use your main domain for Google Workspace or another email provider.

Examples:

  • mg.brightstart.com
  • mail.brightstart.com
  • replies.brightstart.com

Option B: Main Domain

Only use your main domain (yourchildcare.com) if you're not using it with Google Workspace or any other email service.

Important: Select US as your region, not EU.

Click Add Domain when ready.

[SCREENSHOT: Mailgun add domain screen showing subdomain entry field with US region selected]

Step 3: Access Your Google Domains DNS Settings

  1. Open a new browser tab and go to domains.google.com
  2. Click into the domain you're setting up
  3. Click DNS in the left panel
[SCREENSHOT: Google Domains dashboard with DNS option highlighted in left sidebar]

Step 4: Add DNS Records

You'll add five DNS records from Mailgun to Google Domains. Keep both browser tabs open — you'll be copying from Mailgun and pasting into Google Domains.

Add First TXT Record (SPF)

In Mailgun, copy the first TXT record that starts with v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all

In Google Domains, click Create new record:

  • Host name:
    • For subdomain (like mg.brightstart.com): enter mg
    • For subdomain (like mail.brightstart.com): enter mail
    • For main domain (brightstart.com): enter @
  • Type: Select TXT
  • Data: Paste v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all

Don't click Save yet — you're adding all five records first.

Click Create new record again.

[SCREENSHOT: Google Domains DNS record form filled out with first TXT record]

Add Second TXT Record (DKIM)

Back in Mailgun, find the second (longer) TXT record.

In Google Domains:

  • Host name: Copy everything from the Mailgun record up to but not including your main domain
    • Example: If Mailgun shows k1._domainkey.mg.brightstart.com, copy only k1._domainkey.mg
    • If using main domain and it shows k1._domainkey.brightstart.com, copy only k1._domainkey
  • Type: Select TXT
  • Data: Paste the long TXT value from Mailgun

Click Create new record again.

[SCREENSHOT: Example of copying the DKIM hostname from Mailgun, highlighting the portion to copy]

Add MX Records (Email Routing)

In Google Domains:

  • Host name:
    • For subdomain (like mg.brightstart.com): enter mg
    • For subdomain (like mail.brightstart.com): enter mail
    • For main domain: enter @
  • Type: Select MX
  • Data: Enter 10 mxa.mailgun.org
  • Click +Add more to this record
  • Enter 10 mxb.mailgun.org

Click Create new record one more time.

[SCREENSHOT: Google Domains MX record form with both mailgun.org entries]

Add CNAME Record (Tracking)

In Google Domains:

  • Host name:
    • For subdomain (like mg.brightstart.com): enter email.mg
    • For subdomain (like mail.brightstart.com): enter email.mail
    • For main domain: enter email
  • Type: Select CNAME
  • Data: Enter mailgun.org

Now click Save!

[SCREENSHOT: Google Domains showing all 5 DNS records added before saving]

Step 5: Verify Your Setup in Mailgun

DNS changes can take a few minutes to propagate. Back in Mailgun:

  1. Click Verify DNS Settings
  2. Wait 2-3 minutes if some records show yellow or red
  3. Click Verify DNS Settings again
  4. All records should now show green checkmarks
[SCREENSHOT: Mailgun verification screen showing all DNS records verified with green checkmarks]

Step 6: Connect Mailgun to Enrollio

Now grab your Mailgun API key and add it to Enrollio:

  1. In Mailgun, go to Settings → API Keys
  2. Copy your Private API key
  3. In Enrollio, go to Settings → Email Services
  4. Select Mailgun and paste your API key
  5. Enter the domain you just verified
  6. Click Save

Step 7: Send a Test Email

Always test your setup before sending to families:

  1. In Enrollio, go to Conversations
  2. Start a new conversation or open an existing one
  3. Send yourself a test email
  4. Check that it arrives and doesn't land in spam

Pro Tip

Send test emails to different email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) to ensure deliverability across all platforms parents might use.

Troubleshooting

DNS records not verifying? DNS changes can take up to 24 hours, though usually complete within minutes. Wait a bit and try verifying again.

Emails going to spam? Make sure all five DNS records show green checkmarks in Mailgun. These records authenticate your emails and improve deliverability.

Still having issues? Check that you entered the correct hostname for each record type — this is the most common mistake.