Send FluentCRM newsletters through Postfaro (with FluentSMTP)

This guide shows how to send your FluentCRM campaigns through Postfaro, while your other WordPress email — WooCommerce orders, password resets, contact-form notifications — keeps going through your current mail service without delay.

The trick is FluentSMTP’s routing by From address: each FluentSMTP connection has its own From email, and FluentSMTP sends every message through the connection whose From email matches. Messages from any other address go through your default connection.

Menu names below follow the FluentSMTP documentation (“Multiple SMTP Connections & Auto Routing”) at the time of writing. Plugins change; if a label differs in your version, look for the equivalent setting. [verify UI path]

Why not send everything through Postfaro?

Postfaro is built for bulk email. It spreads large sends over several days (up to 5,000 emails per day per account) and paces delivery. An order confirmation that waits behind a 20,000-email newsletter is a bad customer experience. So:

Before you start

• Your Postfaro setup is Ready in the panel.
• You have created a sender address for newsletters (for example [email protected]) and copied its SMTP username and password.
• FluentSMTP is installed and your existing mail connection is working. If you do not use FluentSMTP yet, install it from Plugins → Add New, add your current mail service as the first connection, and test it before continuing.
• No other SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, Post SMTP, etc.) is active at the same time — two SMTP plugins conflict.

Step 1 — Add Postfaro as a second FluentSMTP connection

1. In WordPress, open Settings → FluentSMTP, then the Settings tab.
2. Click Add Connection.
3. Choose Other SMTP as the provider.
4. Fill in:

5. Click Save Connection Settings.

FluentSMTP allows one connection per From email. If you save a second connection with the same From email, it replaces the first one.

Step 2 — Make sure your existing connection stays the default

In the list of connections, your existing mail service must be marked as Default. If it is not, open the actions menu on its row and choose Set as Default.

Never set the Postfaro connection as Default. Otherwise WooCommerce and all other site mail would go through the campaign queue — and would be rejected, because their From address does not match your Postfaro sender address.

Optional: you may set a Fallback connection for your default connection. Do not use the Postfaro connection as a fallback, for the same reason.

Step 3 — Send a test through the Postfaro connection

In FluentSMTP, open Email Test, choose the From address [email protected] (or the Postfaro connection), enter your own address and send. Then check that:

• the message arrived;
• in “Show original” (Gmail) SPF, DKIM and DMARC show PASS;
• FluentSMTP’s Email Logs show it went through the Postfaro connection.

Also send a test from your normal address to confirm site mail still uses the default connection.

Step 4 — Set FluentCRM’s sender

1. Open FluentCRM → Settings → Email Settings. [verify UI path]
2. Set From Name to your newsletter name and From Email to your Postfaro sender address — exactly the same address as the FluentSMTP connection.
3. Set Reply-to if you want replies to go to a specific mailbox. If you leave it empty, replies go to the sender address and Postfaro forwards them to the mailbox you chose in the panel.
4. Save.

If you set a different From address on individual campaigns, each such address needs its own Postfaro sender address and its own FluentSMTP connection.

Double opt-in and automation emails

FluentCRM’s double opt-in confirmation emails and automation emails use the same sending path. If they use your Postfaro sender address, they can be delayed on days when a large campaign is queued. If you want confirmation emails to go out immediately, send them from an address on your normal domain (which routes through your default connection), where FluentCRM lets you set a separate sender for them. [verify UI path]

Step 5 — Sending speed

FluentCRM has its own sending-speed setting (emails per second) in its email settings. You do not need to slow it down for Postfaro: Postfaro accepts the whole campaign and handles the daily cap and pacing itself. Keep FluentCRM’s default unless your web host limits PHP processes.

For FluentCRM to send campaigns reliably, make sure WordPress cron runs (ideally a real server cron job instead of visitor-triggered cron). See FluentCRM’s documentation.

Step 6 — Send your campaign

Create a campaign in FluentCRM → Email Campaigns as usual and send it. If it is larger than your remaining daily limit, Postfaro spreads it over the following days and emails you a “Batch queued” summary with the expected last send date.

Step 7 — Keep your list clean

Postfaro blocks addresses that bounced, complained or unsubscribed via the one-click header, and lists them in the panel under Cancelled addresses, with the reason. Postfaro does not write back into FluentCRM.

After each campaign (or monthly):

1. Export Cancelled addresses from the Postfaro panel as CSV.
2. In FluentCRM, import or bulk-edit those contacts and set their status to Unsubscribed or Bounced (as appropriate). [verify UI path]

Keep FluentCRM’s own unsubscribe link in your email footer — it is still required by law, and it updates FluentCRM directly.

Troubleshooting