Newletterer

Inspiration

I was thinking of something to build with Courier, but I haven't used it before and wanted to test it out with a simple project within my skill level. Recently I got a lot of ads for daily newsletters like MorningBrew, which was my inspiration to make something that could allow anyone to make their own form of newsletter.

What it does

A newsletter creator would design their template with Courier's template designer, and only need to add their auth token and email list to the app. It can be easily reconfigured with no knowledge of coding, adding extra features and providing a solid base to work off of.

How I built it

I chose to use Python because it is my main language and the one I am most comfortable with. I didn't think I would need an interface or application, which is why I chose to use Python as well. I looked through the Courier docs (it was my first time using Courier) and found some resources online to help me learn Courier in the short timeframe.

Challenges I ran into

I've never used Courier, which meant I had to learn it for the first time during this Hackathon. I liked the developer experience with the portal, but the documentation was semi-confusing and I had trouble finding quality online resources to help me learn Courier. In the end, I worked it out and landed with a good base product that I could use to build more complex projects in the future.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm proud of being able to learn Courier in such a short period of time. I'm sure there's still a lot for me to learn, especially with the mobile notification system, which I experimented with but did not end up using. I'm happy that I could make something that others could use, and that could provide a base for someone needing a boost to their development project.

What I learned

I learned how to work with the Courier Send API, Courier's template design system, and Courier Channels. This project taught me how to plan ahead and figure out new things quickly.

What's next for Newletterer

I would like to add extra modules to Newsletterer, such as accounts, user personalization, ads, auto-generated content, and more. These would all be addons to the base version that I have at the moment, and could be swapped in and out according to the newsletter creator's needs. Additionally, I could add support for user-made modules, so users can add the modules that they think would be useful.

Built With

• courier
• python