Back to 'Guides'Want to send newsletters using Mailcoach with Lettermint as your email provider? Mailcoach is a European email marketing platform for newsletters, automations and transactional emails. Unlike a self-hosted tool like Listmonk you don't need to install anything yourself and can get started right away.
Lettermint is available as a mailer in Mailcoach. Select Lettermint in the Mailcoach settings, fill in your API token and your emails go through our European infrastructure. This guide shows you how to set up the connection and send your first newsletter.
What is Mailcoach?
Mailcoach is a European email marketing platform built by the Belgian software company Spatie. In Mailcoach you can manage mailing lists, send newsletters and set up automations. Besides broadcast emails you can also send and track transactional emails.
Mailcoach comes with many features you would expect from paid services like Mailchimp or Brevo. Think of a visual editor, subscriber management, campaign analytics and templates. The difference is that Mailcoach lets you pick your own email provider and decide how your data is processed.
Lettermint is available as a mailer in Mailcoach. You only need to fill in your API token and you're ready to send. Bounces and complaints are automatically fed back to Mailcoach through webhooks, keeping your subscriber lists clean.
What do you need?
This guide assumes you have a Mailcoach account. We focus on connecting Lettermint as a mailer.
- A Mailcoach account
- A Lettermint account
- A verified domain in Lettermint
- A project with at least a broadcast email route
- An API token from your Lettermint project
Step 1: Set up Lettermint as a mailer in Mailcoach
Log in to your Mailcoach account and go to Configuration → Settings → Mailers. Click Create mailer and select Lettermint as your email provider.
Mailcoach walks you through the setup. You need the following details from your Lettermint dashboard:
API token
Go to your project settings in the Lettermint dashboard and open the API token tab. Copy the token and paste it into the Lettermint configuration in Mailcoach.
Route ID
You can optionally specify a route ID. Are you going to send newsletters through Mailcoach? Then fill in the ID of your broadcast email route. You can find it in your Lettermint dashboard under your route settings.
Newsletters are broadcast emails and should not be sent through the transactional route. Make sure to fill in the ID of your broadcast email route if you are going to send newsletters.
Create a webhook
So that bounces and complaints automatically reach Mailcoach, create a webhook in Lettermint. Go to your project, open the route you will use to send emails and click the Webhooks tab. Create a new webhook with the endpoint URL set to your Mailcoach workspace address followed by /lettermint/webhook. For example:
https://your-workspace.mailcoach.app/lettermint/webhook
Select the following events:
- Message Hard Bounces
- Message Soft Bounces
- Spam Complaint
After creating the webhook, you'll receive a webhook secret. This is a long code starting with whsec_. Copy it and enter it in the Lettermint configuration in Mailcoach.
Use the Test Webhook button in the Lettermint dashboard to verify the connection with Mailcoach works before you start sending.
Everything filled in? Click Save in Mailcoach and send a test email using Send test to check that everything works.
Step 2: Send your first newsletter
Everything is ready. Mailcoach now sends emails through Lettermint and bounces are handled automatically. Let's put together your first newsletter.
Create a list
In Mailcoach, go to Lists and create a new list. Give it a name, like "Newsletter". When creating the list, enter the email address you want to send from. Use the same domain you verified in Lettermint.
Add subscribers
In Mailcoach you can add subscribers manually, import them via CSV or let people sign up through a form on your website. Moving from another service? Export your list as CSV and import it into Mailcoach.
Only add people who gave you permission to email them. Under GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act, sending unsolicited commercial emails is not allowed. Recipients must have actively signed up and you need to be able to prove it. Check our Acceptable Use Policy for the rules that apply when sending through Lettermint.
Create and send a campaign
Go to Campaigns and create a new campaign. Enter a subject line and select the list you just created.
Mailcoach offers several ways to compose your email. The most common are:
- Markdown: write your newsletter in Markdown
- HTML: for those who want to write the code themselves
Want to reuse the same design? Create a template. That saves you from starting over every time and keeps your newsletters looking consistent.
Always send a test email using Send test before starting your campaign. That way you can check if everything looks right and if the email gets delivered properly through Lettermint.
Happy with your newsletter? Click Send campaign. Mailcoach sends your newsletter through Lettermint to all your subscribers.
Conclusion
Mailcoach is easy to use and quick to set up. Combined with Lettermint you have a great alternative to expensive newsletter tools. Mailcoach handles subscriber management and campaigns, while Lettermint takes care of email delivery through European infrastructure.
Want to learn more about email delivery and how to keep your newsletters out of the spam folder? Read our article on why emails end up in spam and how to prevent it.