Step by Step Guide to Building a Sendy API Integration in JS

Aug 17, 2024 • 7 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your email marketing game with Sendy? Let's dive into building a slick API integration that'll have you managing subscribers and campaigns like a pro. Buckle up!

Prerequisites

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

A Sendy account with an API key (if you don't have one, what are you waiting for?)
Node.js installed on your machine (you're a dev, so I'm sure you've got this covered)
Your favorite HTTP client library (we'll be using Axios in this guide, but feel free to swap it out)

Setting Up the Project

Let's get our project off the ground:

mkdir sendy-api-integration
cd sendy-api-integration
npm init -y
npm install axios dotenv

Create a .env file in your project root and add your Sendy API details:

SENDY_API_URL=https://your-sendy-installation-url
SENDY_API_KEY=your-api-key

Creating the Sendy API Client

Time to create our Sendy client. Create a file named sendyClient.js:

const axios = require('axios');
require('dotenv').config();

class SendyClient {
  constructor() {
    this.apiUrl = process.env.SENDY_API_URL;
    this.apiKey = process.env.SENDY_API_KEY;
  }

  async makeRequest(endpoint, data) {
    const url = `${this.apiUrl}/${endpoint}`;
    const params = new URLSearchParams({ api_key: this.apiKey, ...data });
    
    try {
      const response = await axios.post(url, params);
      return response.data;
    } catch (error) {
      throw new Error(`Sendy API Error: ${error.message}`);
    }
  }

  // We'll add more methods here soon!
}

module.exports = SendyClient;

Implementing Core API Functions

Let's add some meat to our client. Add these methods to the SendyClient class:

async subscribe(listId, email, name) {
  return this.makeRequest('subscribe', { list: listId, email, name });
}

async unsubscribe(listId, email) {
  return this.makeRequest('unsubscribe', { list: listId, email });
}

async createCampaign(data) {
  return this.makeRequest('create-campaign', data);
}

async sendCampaign(data) {
  return this.makeRequest('send-campaign', data);
}

Error Handling and Response Parsing

Sendy's API responses can be a bit quirky. Let's add some parsing logic to our makeRequest method:

async makeRequest(endpoint, data) {
  // ... existing code ...

  try {
    const response = await axios.post(url, params);
    const result = response.data;

    if (typeof result === 'string' && result.toLowerCase().includes('error')) {
      throw new Error(result);
    }

    return result;
  } catch (error) {
    throw new Error(`Sendy API Error: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

Usage Examples

Let's put our shiny new client to work! Create an index.js file:

const SendyClient = require('./sendyClient');

const client = new SendyClient();

async function runExample() {
  try {
    // Subscribe a user
    await client.subscribe('your-list-id', '[email protected]', 'John Doe');
    console.log('User subscribed successfully!');

    // Create and send a campaign
    const campaignId = await client.createCampaign({
      from_name: 'Your Name',
      from_email: '[email protected]',
      reply_to: '[email protected]',
      title: 'Awesome Campaign',
      subject: 'Check out our latest news!',
      plain_text: 'Hello, this is a test campaign.',
      html_text: '<h1>Hello</h1><p>This is a test campaign.</p>',
      list_ids: 'your-list-id',
      brand_id: 1
    });

    await client.sendCampaign({ campaign_id: campaignId });
    console.log('Campaign created and sent successfully!');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error.message);
  }
}

runExample();

Best Practices and Optimization

To keep your integration running smoothly:

Implement rate limiting to avoid hitting Sendy's API too hard.
Cache frequently accessed data to reduce API calls.
Use async/await for cleaner, more readable code.

Testing the Integration

Don't forget to test your integration! Here's a quick example using Jest:

const SendyClient = require('./sendyClient');

jest.mock('axios');

describe('SendyClient', () => {
  it('should subscribe a user successfully', async () => {
    const client = new SendyClient();
    axios.post.mockResolvedValue({ data: '1' });

    const result = await client.subscribe('list-id', '[email protected]', 'Test User');
    expect(result).toBe('1');
  });

  // Add more tests for other methods
});

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a robust Sendy API integration in JavaScript. With this foundation, you can easily extend the functionality to suit your specific needs. Remember, the sky's the limit when it comes to automating your email marketing workflows.

Resources

Now go forth and conquer those email campaigns! Happy coding! 🚀