Send and receive from hello@yourbrand.com inside your normal Gmail, show your logo, and stay out of spam. Simple steps, no monthly fee

I run my business email from my normal Gmail. Clients see hello@mybrand.com and my logo, not a random Gmail address with a grey circle. I don't pay a monthly fee for it.

Here's the exact setup, in plain steps.

What you'll end up with

  • Emails sent to hello@yourbrand.com arrive in your Gmail
  • You can reply and send as hello@yourbrand.com from Gmail
  • Your logo shows next to your emails for people using Gmail
  • Your emails land in the inbox, not spam

What you need

  • A domain you own (for example yourbrand.com)
  • A free Cloudflare account
  • Your Gmail account, with 2-Step Verification turned on
  • About 30 minutes

Step 1: Put your domain on Cloudflare

  1. Create a free account at cloudflare.com.
  2. Click Add a domain, type your domain, and pick the Free plan.
  3. Cloudflare shows you 2 nameservers. Copy them.
  4. Go to the website where you bought your domain. Open the domain's Nameservers setting, choose Custom, and paste Cloudflare's two nameservers.
  5. Wait until Cloudflare shows your domain as Active (usually minutes, sometimes a few hours).

If your domain already runs a website, check that Cloudflare imported your existing DNS records before you switch nameservers.

Step 2: Forward your business email to Gmail

  1. In Cloudflare, open your domain → Email → Email Routing → Get started.
  2. Create an address, for example hello@yourbrand.com.
  3. Set the destination to your Gmail address.
  4. Open Gmail and click Verify in the email Cloudflare sends you.
  5. Back in Cloudflare, click Add records automatically.

Quick test: send an email to hello@yourbrand.com from any other account. It should appear in your Gmail.

Step 3: The setting that keeps you out of spam

Don't skip this one. When you send from your domain through Gmail, the email goes out from Google's servers. Your domain needs to allow that, or other inboxes may treat it as suspicious.

In Cloudflare, go to DNS → Records.

A. Edit your SPF record. Find the TXT record that starts with v=spf1. Make it look like this:

v=spf1 include:_spf.mx.cloudflare.net include:_spf.google.com ~all

Only one SPF record is allowed, so edit the existing one; don't add a second.

B. Add a DMARC record. If there's no TXT record named _dmarc, add one:

  • Type: TXT
  • Name: _dmarc
  • Content: v=DMARC1; p=none;

If a _dmarc record already exists with p=quarantine or p=reject, change it to p=none. A strict policy is the most common reason this setup ends up in spam.

Step 4: Send emails as your business address

First, get an App Password

  1. Go to myaccount.google.com → Security and make sure 2-Step Verification is on.
  2. Search your Google Account for App passwords, create one, and copy the 16-character code.

Then add your address to Gmail (do this on a computer; the app doesn't have this setting)

  1. Gmail → ⚙️ Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
  2. Next to Send mail as, click Add another email address.
  3. Enter your business name and hello@yourbrand.com, keep Treat as an alias ticked, click Next.
  4. Fill in:
    • SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
    • Port: 587
    • Username: your Gmail address
    • Password: the App Password
    • Choose TLS
  5. Click Add account, then confirm with the code Gmail sends (it arrives in your Gmail through step 2).

Make replies automatic: in the same section, select Reply from the same address the message was sent to.

Now, when you write an email, tap the From field and choose hello@yourbrand.com. This works in the Gmail app too.

Step 5: Add your logo

Gmail shows the profile photo of the Google Account behind an email address. So give your business address its own Google Account with your logo.

  1. Open a private browser window and go to Google's Create account page.
  2. When it asks for an email, choose Use your existing email and enter hello@yourbrand.com.
  3. Enter the code Google sends (it lands in your Gmail).
  4. Finish signing up, then go to myaccount.google.com → Personal info → Profile picture and upload your logo. Use a square image.

It can take a little while to start showing.

This logo shows for people reading your email in Gmail. It's not the paid "verified logo" system some big brands use, which works in more email apps and costs a few hundred dollars a year or more.

Step 6: Test it before emailing clients

  1. Send a test email from hello@yourbrand.com to a Gmail, an Outlook and a Yahoo address.
  2. Check each one: did it land in Inbox or Spam?
  3. Optional: in Gmail, open the test email → ⋮ → Show original to see the SPF and DKIM results. Both should say PASS. DMARC may not show a pass with this method; that's normal, and with p=none it won't send you to spam.

All in the inbox? You're done.

If something goes wrong

  • Verification email didn't arrive: check Gmail's Spam and Updates tabs, and the destination address in Cloudflare.
  • "Authentication failed" in Gmail: use the App Password, not your normal password, and your full Gmail address as the username.
  • Can't find App passwords: turn on 2-Step Verification first.
  • Emails going to spam: recheck step 3. One SPF record including _spf.google.com, DMARC set to p=none. New domains can also need a few days of normal emailing before they're fully trusted.
  • Logo not showing: give it time, and remember it only shows in Gmail.

Good to know

  • Cost: you only pay for your domain. Cloudflare's routing and Gmail are free today; free plans can change in future.
  • Best for: everyday business email with clients and leads.
  • Not for: sending thousands of marketing emails a day. Use an email marketing service for that.
  • When your team grows, a paid business email plan gives you shared inboxes and admin tools. Until then, this keeps you looking professional for the price of a domain.

Questions? Drop them in the comments and I'll help. Follow for more practical setups like this.