Case study: an email campaign to 33,100 contacts
How a custom email tool helped prepare, test and run a campaign to 33,100 contacts over 18 days, with precise acceptance and rejection tracking.
Read the articleCustom email campaign
Prepare, test and manage, without sending blindly.
Do you have a large contact list, a standard tool that does not fit your process, or a sensitive campaign to prepare safely? We prepare the list, adapt the tool, test the entire sending process and increase the volume gradually.
The signs
A campaign needs active management if…
- 01
Your base has tens of thousands of addresses, and no one really knows where the oldest ones come from.
- 02
The list comes from business software and must be cleaned before each mailing.
- 03
The message exists in several languages or variants, and the right one must go to the right contact.
- 04
You want to know exactly what was accepted, rejected or unsubscribed, rather than just reading an open rate.
What we handle
A documented process, from the list to the report.
Each step leaves a trace: you know what has been tested, what has gone, what has failed and where to resume.
Preparing the contact list
Deduplication, address checks, exclusions, segmentation and languages. Issues are recorded, not silently deleted.
Choice or adaptation of the tool
We set up your platform if it's enough. When the process comes out of its scope, we develop a targeted tool, limited to what the campaign needs.
Testing the full sending process
Send to a small internal list to check the sender, response address, links, rendering, unsubscribe and what the system records in case of error.
Gradual sending
A cautious start, daily limits, pauses, monitoring of server responses and automatic stops for critical errors.
Unsubscribes and bounces
A working unsubscribe link, rejected addresses excluded from later mailings, and unsubscribe requests respected across campaigns.
An honest report
A summary distinguishing messages accepted by the server, rejections, bounces and unsubscribes, with clear limits on what those figures prove.
Making the right choice
Standard platform or custom tool?
Brevo, Mailchimp, Sarbacane and other platforms cover most of the newsletters. They provide the editor, lists, statistics and sending infrastructure. If your need remains standard, that's where you have to start, and we can help you set them up.
When a custom approach helps
Adaptation is justified when you need to take over a list from another system, follow specific business rules, manage multiple languages or variants, or keep a detailed record of each stage. Consider the time spent exporting, correcting and reimporting data for each campaign. We explain this comparison in the article email platform or custom tool.
A campaign managed across 33,100 contacts
For a client whose name remains confidential, we developed a dedicated mailing tool: list import and deduplication, language-based content selection, 7 subject line variants, a reply-to address separate from the sending address, daily limits, detailed logs and the ability to resume after a stop. Five test messages preceded the first live batch.
The main campaign covered 33,100 addresses over 18 days. The sending server accepted 31,040 messages, or 93.8%. These figures reflect what the logs establish, not delivery to the inbox: we do not publish an unverified open rate. Volumes have been slightly adjusted to protect client confidentiality; the method and proportions remain faithful to the project. The details are in the full case study.
The projects we refuse
Purchased lists, unjustifiable sources, missing unsubscribe options or bulk sending without domain protection: in these cases, we explain the problem immediately rather than damaging your sender reputation.
How it works
A prepared campaign in controlled stages.
- 01
Diagnostic review
Objective, volume, list source, available tools, timing constraints and validation criteria.
- 02
Preparation
Cleaning the list, exclusions, segmentation, languages and collecting everything the message needs.
- 03
Technical adaptation
Configuration of the existing platform, or targeted development when the process does not fit within its framework.
- 04
Tests
A small internal list to check links, replies, unsubscribes, rendering, subject lines and logs.
- 05
Management and report
Gradually increasing volume, adjusting the sending rate, then reporting on mailings, incidents and recommended next steps.
Frequently asked questions
What people often ask us.
Can we send 30,000 emails at once?
Some platforms allow it technically. In practice, the pace must take into account the reputation of the domain, the server, the quality of the list, the limitations of the supplier and the reactions observed on the first batches.
Do you guarantee that the emails arrive in the inbox?
No. We can prepare the list, configure authentication, test the content and manage the sending rate, but no responsible sender can guarantee delivery to the inbox. Our reports therefore distinguish server acceptance, rejections, bounces and other available signals.
Do we have to develop specific software?
No. A standard platform remains preferable when it adequately covers the need. Targeted development is justified when business rules, integrations, monitoring or sending constraints do not fit properly into its framework.
Can you use a purchased list?
No. A list with an unjustifiable source or contact permissions is not a sound starting point. Its origin, unsubscribes and exclusions must be clarified before technical preparation.
Do you work with Brevo?
Yes. 2Cafés is a Brevo partner agency at Pioneer level. We can configure and manage your account through dedicated partner access, without asking you to share your credentials.
Explore further
Related services.
On the blog
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Email campaign platform or custom-built tool?
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