Mail Coach
Precision at scale. A custom email marketing tool built for control and deliverability
Project Brief
The client needed a fully controlled email marketing solution that supported multiple projects, each with separate users, lists, and campaign workflows. Our solution: self-host and configure Mailcoach on DigitalOcean and integrate it with SendGrid for transactional and bulk email delivery.
Developing Systems
We built a lightweight, scalable platform that allows complete control over email campaigns, list segmentation, and template design:
Deployed and configured the Mailcoach Laravel-based app on a secure DigitalOcean server. The client purchased the license and provided the domain, which we fully configured for production.
Used SendGrid’s API to connect the system for bulk and transactional email delivery, ensuring high deliverability and tracking.
Configured the platform to support multiple users—each corresponding to a different project or client, with isolated access and campaign management.
Users can create segmented customer lists, import contacts via CSV, and manage subscribers with ease.
Designed custom email templates directly within Mailcoach’s interface and provided the ability to send bulk emails to any selected list with scheduled or instant sending.
Human Experience
We focused on simplicity and clarity in every part of the system—from CSV imports to campaign reporting. The interface is intuitive for non-technical users, while still offering robust features for marketers and admins. This makes onboarding new users quick and hassle-free.
The Solution
We delivered a self-hosted, cost-efficient, and privacy-friendly email marketing platform that gives the client total control over their campaigns—no vendor lock-in, no data-sharing with external platforms.
Key Results:
- Self-hosted Laravel app setup for long-term flexibility
- Seamless SendGrid email delivery integration
- CSV-based list importing and segmentation
- Custom template creation and campaign scheduling
- Multi-user environment for project-based access control
Our Approach
We aimed for performance, independence, and reliability. By self-hosting Mailcoach, we gave the client full control over data, branding, and functionality. The combination of Laravel's clean architecture and SendGrid's deliverability ensured enterprise-grade performance without monthly SaaS costs.
Our role extended beyond setup—we supported DNS configuration, DKIM/SPF setup for email authentication, and helped onboard users from different internal teams and client projects.
Prototyping
The system was tested with internal campaigns first, allowing us to fine-tune performance, validate deliverability, and optimize for ease of use. Features like email preview, unsubscribe handling, and bounce reporting were validated before onboarding external users.