What is a sending identity? (Sending accounts page)

A sending identity, called a sender in Distro, is a name plus an email address that a campaign can send from. Every sender belongs to a connected Google account: it is either the account's own address or one of its verified Send mail as aliases. You manage them in Outreach → Sending accounts.

Sender vs Google account

The Sending accounts page has two lists for email, and the difference matters:

• Senders (top list): the names and addresses your campaigns send from. This is what recipients see.
• Google accounts (below, once you've connected one): the Google accounts (personal Gmail or Google Workspace) that do the actual sending. Disconnecting one stops all of its senders.

If you use LinkedIn outreach, a LinkedIn card below them shows your LinkedIn account's status, with Manage to open its settings.

One Google account can provide several senders. For example, if you@yourcompany.com has a verified alias sales@yourcompany.com, you can add both as senders, and both send through the same mailbox. The alias shows "Alias of you@yourcompany.com" under its address.

1. Google account: you@yourcompany.com
2. Sender: you@yourcompany.com (the account itself)
3. Sender: sales@yourcompany.com (verified alias)
4. Pick either one in a campaign's From field

Where senders come from

Senders are the addresses you add:

1. Click Add sender, enter a Name and Email address, and click Save. It shows Needs setup.
2. Click Enable next to Google account. Distro looks for the address in your connected Google accounts, or asks you to sign in with Google if none of them has it.

When you sign in to a new Google account this way, Distro adds only the address you entered. The account's other addresses are not added; under Google accounts Distro shows how many there are ("1 more address on this account, not added"). Add the ones you want with Add sender.

Aliases you create in Gmail later, after the account is connected, are added as senders the next time Distro reads the account's Send mail as list (see below).

Distro only reflects what Gmail allows. It never creates, verifies or changes an alias in your Google account. To add a new alias, do it in Gmail first. See How to add a Google Workspace alias and Add another sending address in Gmail.

Sender statuses

Only Active senders can be chosen in a campaign. Distro also checks the sender again right before each email goes out, so an alias you later remove from Gmail stops being used.

Keep the list up to date

Distro reads your Send mail as list when you connect an account and whenever you click Enable on a sender. If you add, verify or remove an alias in Gmail afterwards:

1. Go to Outreach → Sending accounts.
2. Under Google accounts, open the ⋮ menu next to the account.
3. Click Refresh addresses. You'll see "Checked with Google." when it's done.

New aliases appear as senders (Active once Gmail has verified them). Aliases you deleted in Gmail disappear from the list. If an alias still doesn't show up, see Why my alias is not showing in Distro.

Set a default sender

Your default sender is the one Distro picks automatically in a new campaign or a new email in Compose. You can still choose another sender each time.

• Your first working sender becomes the default automatically.
• To change it, open the ⋮ menu on an Active sender and click Set as default.
• There is one default across all your Outreach senders. If you remove the default, Distro picks another working sender.

Edit, test or remove a sender

Click a sender to open its panel:

• Name: the From name recipients see. You can change it any time. See Change your From name and Reply-To address.
• Email address: fixed once saved. To use a different address, add a new sender.
• Send test email (⋮ menu): sends a test from this sender to its own address.
• Remove sender (⋮ menu): removes it from Distro. Your Google account isn't affected. If the sender is used by an active or scheduled campaign, Distro lists those campaigns and asks you to confirm, because they will stop sending.

A removed sender stays hidden even after Refresh addresses. To use it again, add it again with Add sender.

How many senders can I have?

Your plan limits the number of connected Google accounts (sender mailboxes), not the number of senders. The free trial includes 1 mailbox, Growth 5 and Scale unlimited (fair use). Verified aliases of a connected account don't count as extra mailboxes.