Maildown

Web and SaaS

email marketing

SHOW HN2019

92points
53comments
#528of 2,195 in 2019
Top 25%of 2019 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

1 positive, 6 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 11 critical, out of 25 comments about the project. Thread score -0.29.

Execution: 0 for, 7 againstIdea: 0 for, 2 againstPricing: 0 for, 2 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Markdown approach and CLI/API appeal to developers

    From 2 comments
    • Thank you for making your CLI a first class citizen. I have been growing tired of typical web app interfaces and am glad to see something that just gets straight to the point…
      veryworried on HN
    • I would use this. I'm so fed up with rendering HTML (even with MJML) or dealing with WYSIWYG editors in web UI's. However, the concerns would be: 1. Deliverability and everything…
      tnolet on HN

Objections

  • Mailchimp-style market is crowded and hard to compete in

    From 2 comments
    • So the value prop is markdown. Besides that, you have to compete equally with Mailchimp, etc which is impossible. Why not offer your markdown parsing as a service layer on top of…
      dplgk on HN
    • Reliable mail deliverability is no small problem, however, and one that by and large has already been solved by other providers. If a new competitor enters this market that…
      BjoernKW on HN
  • Signup and email validation reject plus signs

    From 2 comments
    • It looks like your email validation doesn't allow "+" signs. I was able to circumvent (the validation is client side only), but it would be nice if it were allowed. Edit: I am…
      si1entstill on HN
    • Signup doesn't allow '+' in the email address, which is sometimes used in Gmail email addresses. Edit: Plus `## Creating contact lists` in the docs doesn't seem to have rendered…
      mbanerjeepalmer on HN
  • Onboarding and email verification flow is confusing

    From 2 comments
    • I got the link. It just took me to the marketing site. The "Check status" thing worked, just clunky. Including some of the docs inline in the editor would be very useful...…
      tln on HN
    • I had the same issue. I clicked the verification link, but it redirected me to the main site and I still have "You cannot create any emails yet because you have not verified any…
      bemmu on HN

Requests

  • Allow plus signs in email addresses

    From 2 comments
    • It looks like your email validation doesn't allow "+" signs. I was able to circumvent (the validation is client side only), but it would be nice if it were allowed. Edit: I am…
      si1entstill on HN
    • Signup doesn't allow '+' in the email address, which is sometimes used in Gmail email addresses. Edit: Plus `## Creating contact lists` in the docs doesn't seem to have rendered…
      mbanerjeepalmer on HN
  • Support HTML and responsive layouts

    From 2 comments
    • It really looks like a nice backend! I have substantial experience in creating email campains for clients.i must admit that an important features for mailings is a possibility to…
      la_fayette on HN
    • Thanks. Its theoretically possible to insert HTML into mails in Maildown, opening all sorts of possibilities in terms of layouts, but this is not something I've actively explored…
      chris140957 on HN
  • Pricing page and starter templates

    From 2 comments
    • Looks like you're using undraw svgs with the default color. You can change the color by clicking the color button in the upper right corner of the undraw site. I'd add some…
      ccleve on HN
    • Thanks, have been meaning to add a pricing page, as well as a tutorial video, to the landing page. Your feedback on monthly vs daily is also interesting. Will consider that -…
      chris140957 on HN

Questions

  • How does deliverability and spam avoidance work

    From 3 comments
    • https://docs.maildown.app describes your model, 7 pound for 1000 emails. However, it's hard to find. I also miss a lot of information. How do you prevent ending up in spam boxes?…
      MrQuincle on HN
    • I would use this. I'm so fed up with rendering HTML (even with MJML) or dealing with WYSIWYG editors in web UI's. However, the concerns would be: 1. Deliverability and everything…
      tnolet on HN
    • Neat! I like Markdown. Out of curiosity, have you tackled email deliverability yet? If so, may I ask if you have any recommended reading sources. I recently found myself…
      PopeDotNinja on HN
  • Does it support SPF, DKIM and DMARC

    From 2 comments
    • My first question for e-mail service providers is always, do you support SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for mail delivery?
      dguido on HN
    • Sorry for the slow response. Yes we support all of those. We can send you the appropriate records to set this up on request
      chris140957 on HN

Alternatives named

  • Buttondown

    From 3 comments
    • I like that this exists, as someone who writes everything in Markdown. (I should note that there is a platform that offers something similar to this already:…
      shortformblog on HN
    • Seems eerily similar to Buttondown(https://buttondown.email)
      josep2 on HN
    • For anyone who's interested in this but wants to check out various services: https://buttondown.email/ uses Markdown. I've had a great experience with it so far.
      exolymph on HN
  • Mailchimp

    From 2 comments
    • So the value prop is markdown. Besides that, you have to compete equally with Mailchimp, etc which is impossible. Why not offer your markdown parsing as a service layer on top of…
      dplgk on HN
    • MailChimp is crazy expensive for mailing lists of size.
      bhouston on HN
  • EmailOctopus

    From 2 comments
    • If this is a problem you're having, I recommend checking out a service that integrates with Amazon SES. This is what we do (EmailOctopus.com) but there are plenty others out…
      jonathanbull on HN
    • Speaking as a direct competitor of Mailchimp (CEO of EmailOctopus.com), I strongly disagree. It's an enormous market and there are plenty of ways to differentiate yourself.
      jonathanbull on HN
  • MJML

    From 2 comments
    • It really looks like a nice backend! I have substantial experience in creating email campains for clients.i must admit that an important features for mailings is a possibility to…
      la_fayette on HN
    • I would use this. I'm so fed up with rendering HTML (even with MJML) or dealing with WYSIWYG editors in web UI's. However, the concerns would be: 1. Deliverability and everything…
      tnolet on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

Add a badge to your READMEShown on HackerShow
[![Shown on HackerShow](https://hackershow.org/badge.svg)](https://hackershow.org/show/19590646)