Setting up Groupmail with SendGrid

Welcome! This guide will walk you through connecting SendGrid to Groupmail so you can start sending professional email campaigns to your subscribers.

SendGrid is a trusted email delivery service that integrates seamlessly with Groupmail. Once set up, you'll be able to send emails directly through your SendGrid account while managing everything from your Groupmail dashboard.

What you'll need:

• A SendGrid account (free tier includes 100 emails per day)
• About 15-20 minutes for the initial setup
• Access to your domain settings (optional, but recommended for best deliverability)

Don't worry if some steps seem technical – we'll guide you through each one, and you can always reach out to your IT team for assistance.

Before You Start

SendGrid provides a free allowance of 100 emails per day, which is perfect for getting started. If your email needs grow beyond this limit, SendGrid offers flexible paid plans to scale with your business.

A quick note: The setup process involves a few technical steps, but it's a one-time task. Once completed, sending emails will be straightforward and simple. If you're not comfortable with technical configurations, we recommend asking your IT team for help.

Step 1: Create Your SendGrid Channel in Groupmail

Let's start by setting up the connection between Groupmail and SendGrid.

How to add SendGrid as a Channel

1. In Groupmail, click on your profile icon in the top right corner
2. Select Channels from the dropdown menu
3. Click the + New Channel button

This...

Before You Start

• SendGrid provides a free allowance of 100 emails per day.
• If you find that your daily email needs exceed this limit, don’t worry! SendGrid offers flexible packages at competitive rates to meet your requirements.
• The setup process may be a bit technical, but it’s a one-time task. We recommend contacting your IT team for support.

Step 1. Sign up for your SendGrid account

Creating your SendGrid account is simple and quick.

1. In Groupmail, click on your profile in the top right menu and choose "Integrations".

2. Next click on the "+ New Integration" button. This will open the "Add Integration' screen.

3. Choose "SendGrid (Email API)" in the "Integration Type" drop down menu.
4. Click the "Sign-up" button which will open the SendGrid/Twilio sign-up page. Fill in your name, email address and password to complete the sign-up. You will then receive an email to verify your account.

Step 2. SendGrid Account Setup with Groupmail.

After completing the signup process and logging into your SendGrid account dashboard, you'll need to add the following:

1. Add Sender Authentication
2. Create an API Key
3. Add your Groupmail Webhook URL to SendGrid

Note: SendGrid provide a comprehensive guide on their set-up at : Twilio SendGrid Docs

1. Add Sender Authentication

Verifying your sender identity is essential for authorisation to send emails through your SendGrid account.

You have two verification options:

1. Either verify your domain(s) as Sender domains (which is highly recommended for achieving the best email deliverability rates, as it ensures SPF and DKIM alignment with your domain). This differs for each email provider. Contact your email provider or IT team to ensure this is correctly set-up.

or

2. Verify individual email addresses as Single sender emails under the 'Settings > Sender Authentication' section.

For more information, please consult the SendGrid Sender Authentication guide.

Important to note: You must use a professional email address or one associated with your own domain (addresses from services like Gmail.com, Outlook.com, Yahoo.com, etc., are not permitted).

Once you have created your Verified Sender domain or email address you can add to the "From Email" field within Groupmail.

2. Create an API Key

An API Key is required when utilising Groupmail's Integration. This will be used to route your email from Groupmail to SendGrid and on to your customers.

You manage API Keys from your account dashboard's "Settings > API Keys" page:

To create an API Key, click the "Create API Key" button, choose a name and your desired permissions, then click the "Create & View" button. Once created, add your API Key to the SendGrid API section within Groupmail.

Finally, add a "From Name" to the Integration and a "ReplyTo Email" if required and click Save. You can also Test the integration by clicking the "Test" button in the top menu.

3. Add your Groupmail Webhook URL to SendGrid

Next, add your Groupmail Webhook URL. This will send all the "Event" data back to Groupmail for processing. Data such as Sent, Delivered, Opened, Clicked, Bounced etc. Groupmail will display all data within your campaign and automatically remove bounced email addresses etc.

1. Open the Groupmail Integration page and copy the "Webhook Url" at the bottom of the screen.

2. Next, reopen SendGrid and navigate to "Settings > Mail Settings" in the left-hand menu, then select "Event Webhooks."
3. Click on the "Create new webhook" button and paste your webhook into the "Post URL" field.

4. Choose all the events you wish to see within Groupmail.

5. Click "Save" to save your settings.

4. Tracking Settings

Finally within SendGrid, navigate to "Settings > Tracking" in the left menu, and ensure Open Tracking & Click Tracking are both enabled.

And that's it! You're all set to send emails with SendGrid from this new account within Groupmail.

Next Steps

Create your first group
Learn how to create and organise your group.

Import your contacts
Import contacts to a Groupmail group.

Create your first campaign
Create your first email newsletter campaign with Groupmail.

Need help?

If you have any questions or need any help to get started, please reach out to us at hello@groupmail.io.