Step by Step Guide to Building a Campaign Monitor API Integration in Go

Introduction

Hey there, fellow Go enthusiast! Ready to supercharge your email marketing game? Let's dive into building a killer Campaign Monitor API integration using Go. This guide will walk you through the process, helping you harness the power of Campaign Monitor's robust API to automate your email campaigns like a pro.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• Go installed on your machine (you're a Gopher, right?)
• A Campaign Monitor API key (if you don't have one, grab it from your account settings)
• Your favorite code editor at the ready

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off by creating a new Go project:

mkdir campaign-monitor-integration
cd campaign-monitor-integration
go mod init github.com/yourusername/campaign-monitor-integration

Now, let's install the Campaign Monitor Go SDK:

go get github.com/campaignmonitor/createsend-go

Authentication

Time to get cozy with the API. Create a new file called main.go and add this:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    cm "github.com/campaignmonitor/createsend-go"
)

func main() {
    client := cm.NewClient("YOUR-API-KEY", "YOUR-CLIENT-ID", "json")
    // We'll use this client for all our API calls
}

Replace YOUR-API-KEY and YOUR-CLIENT-ID with your actual credentials. You're now ready to rock!

Basic API Operations

Let's start with some basic operations. Here's how to list your campaigns:

campaigns, err := client.Campaigns()
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error:", err)
    return
}

for _, campaign := range campaigns.Items {
    fmt.Printf("Campaign: %s\n", campaign.Name)
}

Creating a new campaign is just as easy:

newCampaign := &cm.Campaign{
    Name: "My Awesome Campaign",
    Subject: "You won't believe this!",
    FromName: "Your Name",
    FromEmail: "[email protected]",
    ReplyTo: "[email protected]",
    HtmlUrl: "https://example.com/email.html",
    ListIDs: []string{"your-list-id"},
}

campaignID, err := client.CreateCampaign(newCampaign)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error:", err)
    return
}

fmt.Printf("New campaign created with ID: %s\n", campaignID)

Working with Subscribers

Adding subscribers to a list is a breeze:

subscriber := &cm.Subscriber{
    EmailAddress: "[email protected]",
    Name: "New Subscriber",
    CustomFields: []cm.CustomField{
        {Key: "Favorite Color", Value: "Blue"},
    },
}

err := client.AddSubscriber("your-list-id", subscriber)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error:", err)
    return
}

fmt.Println("Subscriber added successfully!")

Handling Lists

Creating a new list? No sweat:

newList := &cm.List{
    Title: "My Awesome List",
    UnsubscribePage: "http://example.com/unsubscribe",
    ConfirmedOptIn: false,
}

listID, err := client.CreateList(newList)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error:", err)
    return
}

fmt.Printf("New list created with ID: %s\n", listID)

Error Handling and Rate Limiting

Always check for errors after API calls, and respect rate limits:

import "time"

// ... in your API calling function
if err != nil {
    if rateLimitErr, ok := err.(*cm.RateLimitError); ok {
        fmt.Printf("Rate limit exceeded. Retry after %v\n", rateLimitErr.RetryAfter)
        time.Sleep(rateLimitErr.RetryAfter)
        // Retry the API call
    } else {
        fmt.Println("Error:", err)
        return
    }
}

Testing the Integration

Don't forget to test your integration! Here's a simple example:

func TestAddSubscriber(t *testing.T) {
    client := cm.NewClient("test-api-key", "test-client-id", "json")
    
    subscriber := &cm.Subscriber{
        EmailAddress: "[email protected]",
        Name: "Test User",
    }

    err := client.AddSubscriber("test-list-id", subscriber)
    if err != nil {
        t.Errorf("AddSubscriber failed: %v", err)
    }
}

Best Practices

1. Keep your API key secure - never commit it to version control!
2. Use environment variables for sensitive information.
3. Implement proper error handling and logging.
4. Respect rate limits to avoid getting your requests blocked.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build a robust Campaign Monitor API integration in Go. Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg - there's so much more you can do with the API. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun!

Happy coding, Gophers! 🚀