How to use sendinblue nodejs for email marketing

By /
How to use sendinblue nodejs for email marketing

Introduction to Sendinblue and NodeJS for Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a crucial tool for businesses to connect with their audience, promote their products or services, and build relationships. Sendinblue offers a comprehensive email marketing platform with a robust API that allows developers to integrate email functionality into their applications. Using NodeJS, a popular JavaScript runtime environment, you can leverage the Sendinblue API to automate and personalize your email marketing campaigns.

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the Sendinblue NodeJS library for email marketing, covering everything from setting up your Sendinblue account to sending personalized transactional emails.

Setting Up Your Sendinblue Account

Before you start using the Sendinblue NodeJS library, you need to create a Sendinblue account and obtain your API key. Follow these steps:

  1. Visit the Sendinblue website and sign up for a free account.
  2. Once you have created your account, log in to your dashboard.
  3. Navigate to the “SMTP & API” section under your account settings.
  4. Generate a new API key or use an existing one. Keep this key safe and secure, as it is required for authenticating your requests to the Sendinblue API.

Note that free accounts have certain limitations, such as sending limits and Sendinblue branding in your emails. You may need to upgrade to a paid plan for higher sending limits and to remove the Sendinblue branding.

Installing the Sendinblue NodeJS Library

To use the Sendinblue API in your NodeJS application, you need to install the official Sendinblue NodeJS library. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to your project directory. Then, run the following command:

npm install @sendinblue/client

This command will install the Sendinblue NodeJS library and its dependencies in your project.

Configuring the Sendinblue API Client

After installing the library, you need to configure the Sendinblue API client with your API key. Create a new NodeJS file (e.g., sendEmail.js) and add the following code:

const SibApiV3Sdk = require('@sendinblue/client');

let apiInstance = new SibApiV3Sdk.TransactionalEmailsApi();

let apiKey = apiInstance.authentications['api-key'];
apiKey.apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY'; // Replace with your actual API key

Replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' with your actual Sendinblue API key.

Sending a Simple Transactional Email

Now that you have configured the API client, you can start sending emails. The following code demonstrates how to send a simple transactional email:

const SibApiV3Sdk = require('@sendinblue/client');

let apiInstance = new SibApiV3Sdk.TransactionalEmailsApi();

let apiKey = apiInstance.authentications['api-key'];
apiKey.apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

let sendSmtpEmail = new SibApiV3Sdk.SendSmtpEmail();

sendSmtpEmail.sender = {email: 'sender@example.com', name: 'Sender Name'};
sendSmtpEmail.to = [{email: 'recipient@example.com'}];
sendSmtpEmail.subject = 'My first transactional email';
sendSmtpEmail.htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is my first transactional email sent using Sendinblue and NodeJS.</p></body></html>';

apiInstance.sendTransacEmail(sendSmtpEmail).then(function(data) {
  console.log('API called successfully. Returned data: ' + JSON.stringify(data));
}, function(error) {
  console.error(error);
});

Replace 'sender@example.com', 'Sender Name', and 'recipient@example.com' with your desired sender and recipient information. You can also customize the email subject and HTML content.

Run the script using the command node sendEmail.js. If the email is sent successfully, you should see a success message in the console.

Customizing Email Content

Sendinblue provides various options for customizing your email content, including:

  • HTML content: You can use HTML to create rich and visually appealing email templates.
  • Text content: You can also provide a plain text version of your email for recipients who prefer text-based emails or whose email clients do not support HTML.
  • Attachments: You can attach files to your emails, such as PDFs, images, or documents.

Here’s an example of sending an email with both HTML and text content:

const SibApiV3Sdk = require('@sendinblue/client');

let apiInstance = new SibApiV3Sdk.TransactionalEmailsApi();

let apiKey = apiInstance.authentications['api-key'];
apiKey.apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

let sendSmtpEmail = new SibApiV3Sdk.SendSmtpEmail();

sendSmtpEmail.sender = {email: 'sender@example.com', name: 'Sender Name'};
sendSmtpEmail.to = [{email: 'recipient@example.com'}];
sendSmtpEmail.subject = 'My email with HTML and text content';
sendSmtpEmail.htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is an email with HTML content.</p></body></html>';
sendSmtpEmail.textContent = 'Hello! This is an email with text content.';

apiInstance.sendTransacEmail(sendSmtpEmail).then(function(data) {
  console.log('API called successfully. Returned data: ' + JSON.stringify(data));
}, function(error) {
  console.error(error);
});

Using Templates for Email Campaigns

Sendinblue allows you to create email templates that you can reuse for your email campaigns. This can save you time and ensure consistency in your email design. To use a template, you need to:

  1. Create a template in your Sendinblue account.
  2. Get the ID of the template.
  3. Use the template ID in your NodeJS code.

Here’s an example of sending an email using a template:

const SibApiV3Sdk = require('@sendinblue/client');

let apiInstance = new SibApiV3Sdk.TransactionalEmailsApi();

let apiKey = apiInstance.authentications['api-key'];
apiKey.apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

let sendSmtpEmail = new SibApiV3Sdk.SendSmtpEmail();

sendSmtpEmail.sender = {email: 'sender@example.com', name: 'Sender Name'};
sendSmtpEmail.to = [{email: 'recipient@example.com'}];
sendSmtpEmail.templateId = 123; // Replace with your template ID
sendSmtpEmail.params = {name: 'John Doe', product: 'Awesome Product'}; // Replace with your template parameters

apiInstance.sendTransacEmail(sendSmtpEmail).then(function(data) {
  console.log('API called successfully. Returned data: ' + JSON.stringify(data));
}, function(error) {
  console.error(error);
});

Replace 123 with the actual ID of your Sendinblue template. The params object allows you to pass dynamic data to your template, which can be used to personalize the email content.

Sending Email with Attachments

Sendinblue supports sending email with attachments. The attachment needs to be encoded in base64 format.

const SibApiV3Sdk = require('@sendinblue/client');
const fs = require('fs');

let apiInstance = new SibApiV3Sdk.TransactionalEmailsApi();

let apiKey = apiInstance.authentications['api-key'];
apiKey.apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

let sendSmtpEmail = new SibApiV3Sdk.SendSmtpEmail();

sendSmtpEmail.sender = {email: 'sender@example.com', name: 'Sender Name'};
sendSmtpEmail.to = [{email: 'recipient@example.com'}];
sendSmtpEmail.subject = 'Email with attachment';
sendSmtpEmail.htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is an email with an attachment.</p></body></html>';

// Read the file and convert it to base64
const filePath = 'path/to/your/file.pdf';
const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath);
const base64File = fileContent.toString('base64');

sendSmtpEmail.attachment = [{
  content: base64File,
  name: 'file.pdf'
}];


apiInstance.sendTransacEmail(sendSmtpEmail).then(function(data) {
  console.log('API called successfully. Returned data: ' + JSON.stringify(data));
}, function(error) {
  console.error(error);
});

Handling Errors and API Limits

When working with the Sendinblue API, it’s important to handle errors and be aware of the API limits. The Sendinblue API may return errors for various reasons, such as invalid API key, invalid email address, or exceeding the sending limits. You should implement error handling in your code to gracefully handle these errors.

Here’s an example of error handling:

apiInstance.sendTransacEmail(sendSmtpEmail).then(function(data) {
  console.log('API called successfully. Returned data: ' + JSON.stringify(data));
}, function(error) {
  console.error('Error sending email:', error.message);
  console.error('Error details:', error.response.body);
});

The error.response.body property contains more detailed information about the error, which can help you debug the issue.

Sendinblue also imposes API limits to prevent abuse and ensure fair usage. These limits may include the number of API requests you can make per minute or the number of emails you can send per day. Be sure to check the Sendinblue documentation for the latest API limits and adjust your code accordingly.

Advanced Features

The Sendinblue API offers a wide range of advanced features, including:

  • Contact management: You can use the API to create, update, and manage your contacts in Sendinblue.
  • List management: You can create and manage lists of contacts.
  • Campaign management: You can create and schedule email campaigns.
  • SMS marketing: Send transactional or marketing SMS messages.
  • Webhooks: Receive real-time notifications about events such as email deliveries, opens, and clicks.
  • Transactional SMS: You can also use the Sendinblue API to send transactional SMS messages.

These advanced features allow you to build more sophisticated email marketing applications that can automate and personalize your communication with your audience.

Conclusion

This article provided a comprehensive guide on how to use the Sendinblue NodeJS library for email marketing. By following these steps, you can integrate email functionality into your NodeJS applications and automate your email marketing campaigns. Remember to always handle errors and be aware of the API limits to ensure a smooth and reliable integration. With Sendinblue and NodeJS, you can create powerful and personalized email experiences for your audience.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top