Quickstart Guide: Send Your First Campaign

Welcome

This guide will walk you through sending your first email campaign with Laravel Mail Platform. You'll go from zero to sent in about 15 minutes.

Prerequisites:

✅ Laravel Mail Platform installed and configured
✅ Your admin account created and logged in
✅ Basic understanding of email marketing

What you'll do:

Set up an email service provider
Add subscribers
Create an email template (optional)
Create a campaign
Send it out

Let's get started!

Step 1: Set Up an Email Service (5 minutes)

An email service is the provider that actually sends your emails. Laravel Mail Platform integrates with four major providers—choose the one that fits your needs.

Choose Your Email Service

Provider	Best For	Signup	Cost
SendGrid	Marketing campaigns; great UI	sendgrid.com	Free tier (100/day)
Postmark	Transactional emails; best support	postmarkapp.com	Pay-as-you-go ($1.50 per 1k)
Mailgun	Developers; flexible; API-first	mailgun.com	Free tier available
Amazon SES	High volume; cheapest at scale	aws.amazon.com/ses	$0.10 per 1k emails

Quick recommendation: If you're new to email marketing, start with SendGrid—it's beginner-friendly and has a generous free tier.

⚠️ Important: Postmark is for transactional email only (password resets, confirmations). Don't use it for marketing campaigns per their Terms of Service.

Add Email Service to Laravel Mail Platform

Log in to Laravel Mail Platform
Click Settings → Email Services in sidebar
Click + Add Email Service button
Select your chosen provider from dropdown
Enter your credentials:

API key (or username/password)
From email address (must be verified in your email service)
Optional: Friendly name

Click Test Connection

Sends test email to verify it works
Check your inbox for confirmation

Click Save

Need detailed setup for your provider? See Email Services Guide for step-by-step instructions for each provider.

Verify Your Sending Domain (Important!)

Before you can send emails, your email service requires you to verify that you own the domain. This varies by provider:

SendGrid: Add DNS records to verify domain Postmark: Verify sender email address Mailgun: Add DNS records to verify domain Amazon SES: Verify sender email or domain

Typically takes 5-30 minutes. Check your email service's documentation for exact steps.

Step 2: Add Subscribers (5 minutes)

Subscribers are the people who will receive your campaigns. You need at least a few to test with.

Option A: Add One Subscriber Manually (Quickest)

Click Subscribers in sidebar
Click + New Subscriber
Enter:

Email: Their email address
First Name: (optional but recommended for personalization)
Last Name: (optional)
Subscribe: Toggle ON (must be checked)

Click Save

Repeat this 2-3 times to add test subscribers.

Option B: Import CSV (For Larger Lists)

If you already have a list of subscribers:

Click Subscribers in sidebar
Click ⋯ (menu) → Import Subscribers
Prepare your CSV file with columns: email, first_name, last_name

Example CSV:

email,first_name,last_name
john@example.com,John,Smith
sarah@example.com,Sarah,Jones

Click Browse and select your CSV
Click Upload

See Subscribers Guide for detailed CSV instructions.

Option C: Add via API (For Automation)

If you're integrating with your application:

POST /api/subscribers
{
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "first_name": "John",
  "last_name": "Smith"
}

See API Documentation for full details.

Test Subscribers

For initial testing, add your own email and a few test addresses:

Your email (your-email@example.com)
Test account (test@example.com)
This helps you see what emails actually look like

Step 3: Create a Template (Optional, 5 minutes)

Templates provide consistent branding for all campaigns. You don't need one to get started, but they save time.

Why Create a Template?

Consistent branding — Same header/footer on all emails
Faster campaigns — Just write content, template handles design
Professional look — Built-in layouts work in all email clients
Reusable — Use same template for multiple campaigns

Create Your First Template

Click Templates in sidebar
Click + New Template
Enter Template Name: (e.g., "Newsletter Template")
In the HTML editor, paste this simple template:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0; }
        .container { max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px; }
        .header { background: #007bff; color: white; padding: 20px; text-align: center; }
        .footer { background: #f8f9fa; border-top: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 15px; margin-top: 30px; font-size: 12px; color: #666; text-align: center; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        <div class="header">
            <h1>Welcome, {{first_name}}!</h1>
        </div>

        <!-- Campaign content goes here -->
        {{content}}

        <div class="footer">
            <p>© 2024 My Company. All rights reserved.</p>
            <p><a href="{{unsubscribe_url}}">Unsubscribe</a> | <a href="{{webview_url}}">View in Browser</a></p>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Click Save

What does this do?

{{first_name}} — Automatically inserts subscriber's first name
{{content}} — Placeholder for your campaign message (required)
{{unsubscribe_url}} — Unsubscribe link (required by law)
{{webview_url}} — View in browser link

Or: Import Pre-Built Templates

Laravel Mail Platform includes professional templates you can use immediately:

php artisan app:import-templates

This downloads free templates you can use as-is or customize.

Want to learn more about templates? See Templates Guide.

Step 4: Create Your Campaign (5 minutes)

Now you'll create and prepare your first campaign.

Create Campaign

Click Campaigns in sidebar
Click + New Campaign
Fill in the form:

Campaign Name: (internal name, e.g., "Welcome to our Newsletter")

Subject Line: (what subscribers see, e.g., "Welcome, {{first_name}}!")

From Name: (e.g., "John from Acme Co.")

From Email: (verified email from Step 1)

Email Service: (select the one you configured in Step 1)

Template: (optional; select template from Step 3, or skip)

In Content section, write your message:

Hi {{first_name}},

Welcome to our newsletter! Here's what's new this month:

- Feature 1: Something exciting
- Feature 2: Another great thing
- Feature 3: One more thing

Check out our blog for more updates!

Best regards,
The Team

Click Save and Continue

Your campaign is now in Draft status.

Preview Your Campaign

Before sending, preview exactly what subscribers will see:

On campaign page, look for Preview section
Select a subscriber from dropdown
Click Preview
See how personalization looks (names should appear correctly)
Verify links work
Check formatting

Step 5: Send Your Campaign (2 minutes)

Time to send it out!

Review Your Campaign

On the campaign preview page, verify:

✅ Subject line looks good
✅ Content is correct
✅ Links work
✅ Personalization shows correctly (names appear)

Send Test Email First (Recommended)

Before sending to everyone, send to yourself:

Find Test Email section
Enter your email address
Click Send Test Email
Check your email (including spam folder)
Verify it looks perfect

Choose Recipients

In Recipients section, choose:

All Subscribers — Send to everyone
Specific Tags — Send only to certain groups (if you've set up tags)

Verify the number shown (e.g., "Will be sent to 5 subscribers")

Choose Send Timing

In Schedule section:

Send immediately — Goes out now (recommended for first campaign)
Schedule for later — Choose date/time to send

For first campaign, choose Send immediately

Choose Sending Behavior

In Sending Behaviour section, choose:

Option A: Send Automatically (Recommended)

Messages sent immediately when you confirm
Best for: Most campaigns
Good for: Large subscriber lists

Option B: Queue Draft

Creates draft for each subscriber
You must manually send each one
Best for: Small lists where you want to review each email
Not recommended for: Lists over 1,000 subscribers

For first campaign, choose Send Automatically

Send!

Review all settings one more time
Click Send Campaign button
Confirm when prompted
Campaign is sent! 🎉

Verify It Worked

After sending, verify your campaign went out:

Check Your Email

Go to your email inbox (including spam folder)
Look for your campaign email
Verify:

Subject line correct
Names personalized correctly
Links work
Footer with unsubscribe link present

Check Campaign Status

Go to Campaigns in sidebar
Find your campaign in list
Should show status: Sent
Click on campaign to see:

Number sent
Delivery status
Opens/clicks (if tracking enabled)
Any bounces or failures

Check Messages

Go to Messages in sidebar
Should see your campaign emails listed
Click on one to see delivery details
Verify status is Sent or Delivered

Congratulations! 🎉

You've successfully sent your first campaign with Laravel Mail Platform!

What's Next?

Now that you've completed the basics, here are some next steps:

Expand your subscriber list:

Import more subscribers from CSV
Set up web form to capture signups
Use API to sync with your application

Organize with tags:

Create tags for different audience segments
Target campaigns to specific tags
Example: "Newsletter" tag, "Premium Users" tag

Build more templates:

Create templates for different email types
Promotional template, newsletter template, etc.
Use templates for consistent branding

Create more campaigns:

Monthly newsletter
Product announcements
Customer updates
Promotional campaigns

Track performance:

Monitor open rates
Track click-through rates
Monitor bounce rates
A/B test subject lines

Set up automation:

Send campaigns on schedule (e.g., every Monday)
Segment campaigns by engagement
Re-engagement campaigns for inactive users

Detailed Documentation

For detailed information on each feature:

Email Services — Email Services Guide
Subscribers — Subscribers Guide
Tags — Tags Guide
Templates — Templates Guide
Campaigns — Campaigns Guide
Messages — Messages Guide

Troubleshooting

"Campaign won't send"

Check:

[ ] Email service is configured and tested
[ ] Subscribers exist and are subscribed
[ ] Campaign content is filled in
[ ] Email service account is active (not suspended)

Fix:

Verify email service credentials in Settings
Check queue workers are running (if using queues)
Review logs for error messages

"Emails going to spam"

Why this happens:

New domain reputation
Missing SPF/DKIM records
Content triggers spam filters
Unsubscribe link missing

How to fix:

Check email service's spam monitoring
Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC records
Include unsubscribe link in template
Monitor bounce rates

"Personalization not working"

Problem: {{first_name}} showing as text in email

Causes:

Tag used in campaign content instead of template
Subscriber doesn't have first name set
Template not selected

Fix:

Put tags in template (inside {{content}} area works too)
Add first names to subscribers
Make sure template is selected when creating campaign

"Test email never arrived"

Check:

[ ] Email address is correct (no typos)
[ ] Check spam/junk folder
[ ] Email service account is active
[ ] From email address is verified

Try:

Use different test email address
Verify from address in email service
Check email service account status

Tips for Success

Email Best Practices

Always include unsubscribe link — Required by law (CAN-SPAM, GDPR)
Use clear subject lines — Be specific, avoid spam trigger words
Test before sending — Send test email to yourself
Personalize when possible — Use first names to increase engagement
Keep emails short — Most emails read on mobile
Single call-to-action — One main thing you want reader to do

Frequency Guidelines

Too often: Daily emails to inactive users (leads to unsubscribes)
About right: Weekly newsletter, monthly promotions
Balance: Regular enough to stay relevant, not so often to annoy

Compliance

Always include unsubscribe link — CAN-SPAM law requires it
Honor unsubscribe requests — Remove within 10 business days
Don't buy email lists — Get permission first (double opt-in preferred)
Keep records — Document how you got each subscriber's consent

Performance

Monitor open rate — Below 15% may indicate list quality issues
Monitor bounce rate — Should be below 3%
Monitor unsubscribe rate — A few percent is normal
Clean list regularly — Remove bounces and long-inactive users

Getting Help

Need more information?

Check full documentation
Review FAQ
Check email service provider's docs for API key help

Still stuck?

Review logs for error messages
Try the troubleshooting section above
Contact support

Recap: The 5 Steps

Step	Time	What You Do
1. Email Service	5 min	Choose provider, add credentials, verify domain
2. Subscribers	5 min	Add test subscribers manually or via CSV
3. Template	5 min	Create template or import pre-built ones (optional)
4. Campaign	5 min	Create campaign, write content, preview
5. Send	2 min	Send test email, then send to all subscribers

Total time: ~25 minutes from start to first campaign sent ✅

Now go send something awesome! 🚀