Other email providers (IMAP and SMTP)
Connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP when your email is not on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. This is common when your web host also hosts your email, for example SiteGround, One.com, Loopia or another host with a cPanel control panel. Vaam then sends sequence emails from your own address and checks your inbox for replies.
If your email runs on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, use the Gmail integration or the Outlook integration instead. Those connections detect replies, bounces and out-of-office messages more reliably.
Do I need this connection?
Section titled “Do I need this connection?”Check who handles your email before you connect. Look at the place where you log in to read your email on the web:
- You log in at Gmail or Google Workspace: use the Gmail integration.
- You log in at outlook.office.com or Microsoft 365: use the Outlook integration.
- You log in at your web host: use IMAP and SMTP.
A desktop program such as Outlook or Apple Mail does not tell you who hosts your email. If you only read email in a desktop program and are not sure, ask the person who set up your domain or your website.
I use the Outlook desktop program. Why can I not pick my work address?
Section titled “I use the Outlook desktop program. Why can I not pick my work address?”Connect Microsoft Outlook in Vaam signs in to a Microsoft account. It does not connect to the Outlook program on your computer. The Outlook program can show several addresses, but only the addresses that Microsoft hosts can sign in.
If your work address is hosted by your web host, the Microsoft sign-in only shows your other Microsoft addresses. Changing the default account in Outlook does not change this. Use IMAP and SMTP for the work address.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”Find these details in your web host’s control panel, usually under Email or Email accounts. Many hosts call the page Mail configuration or Configure mail client.
| Detail | Example |
|---|---|
| Email address | you@yourcompany.com |
| Username | Usually your full email address |
| Password | Your email password, or an app password |
| IMAP server and port | mail.yourcompany.com, port 993 with SSL/TLS |
| SMTP server and port | mail.yourcompany.com, port 465 with SSL/TLS, or port 587 with STARTTLS |
If your host lets you create an app password, use one. You can then remove Vaam’s access without changing the password that you use for your other email programs.
Connect your mailbox
Section titled “Connect your mailbox”- Go to your email settings page.
- Click Connect other email (IMAP/SMTP).
- Enter your email address, username and password.
- Enter the IMAP server and port, and the SMTP server and port.
- Click Test and connect.
Vaam logs in to both servers before it saves the connection. If a test fails, Vaam shows which server failed. Check the server name, the port and the password, and try again.
How Vaam uses your mailbox
Section titled “How Vaam uses your mailbox”- Vaam sends each sequence email through your SMTP server, from your own address.
- Vaam saves a copy of each sent email in your Sent folder, so you see it in your email program.
- Vaam checks the new messages that arrive in your Inbox after you connect. It reads only the message details it needs, such as sender, subject and which email a message replies to. Vaam does not read older email.
- When a prospect replies, or writes to you in a new email, Vaam stops the sequence for that prospect.
- Vaam reads the delivery failure messages that your host puts in your Inbox. When an email bounces, Vaam stops sending to that address, the same as with Gmail and Outlook.
- Vaam sends the next email to a prospect only after it has checked for replies. If your mail server is slow or does not answer, Vaam holds the send and tries again later. After three failed checks, Vaam stops the sequence for that prospect and adds a Reply check failed task.
See What happens when someone replies to your emails for what happens after Vaam finds a reply.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Check your host’s sending rules
Section titled “Check your host’s sending rules”Your web host sets how many emails you can send. Ask your host these questions before you start a sequence, and keep your sequences inside the limit:
- How many emails can I send per hour and per day?
- What happens when I go over the limit?
Keep replies in your Inbox
Section titled “Keep replies in your Inbox”Vaam checks only your Inbox for replies. A reply in another folder does not stop the sequence, and the prospect gets the next step. To keep replies where Vaam can find them:
- Turn off rules and filters that move email from prospects out of your Inbox.
- Check your spam folder every day while a sequence runs. Move replies from prospects to your Inbox. Vaam finds them at its next check.
Delivery to the prospect’s inbox
Section titled “Delivery to the prospect’s inbox”On a shared web host, other senders on the same server can affect where your email lands. Before you start a large sequence, check that your domain has SPF and DKIM records. Your web host can set these up for you.
Security
Section titled “Security”Vaam stores your password encrypted and uses it only to send emails and to check for replies. With IMAP, the password gives access to your full mailbox. Vaam reads only the details of new Inbox messages that arrive after you connect. It uses them to find replies, new emails from prospects and delivery failures.
To remove Vaam’s access, click Disconnect on your email settings page. If you used an app password, delete it at your host as well.
Get help
Section titled “Get help”Email support@vaam.io to get beta access, or if you cannot connect your mailbox.