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Getting Started with Mailpuff: Set Up Your WordPress Newsletter

Set up Mailpuff step by step: the welcome questions, connecting PostShiba and verifying your domain, your business details, getting subscribers and sending your first campaign.

To start a newsletter with Mailpuff, install the free plugin, answer the short welcome that opens, connect a sending service and verify your domain, add subscribers with a signup form or an import, then write your first campaign and send yourself a test. Most sites are ready in about 15 minutes, plus the time your DNS records take to update.

What do I need to run Mailpuff?

You need Notes
WordPress 7.0 or newer Mailpuff runs inside your WordPress admin
PHP 8.0 or newer Ask your host if you’re not sure
A way to send email PostShiba is built in. Mailyard or your SMTP plugin work too
A domain of your own for the From address Inbox providers trust [email protected] far more than a Gmail address

Mailpuff is free, with no limit on subscribers or campaigns. Your sending service’s plan sets how much you can send.

What happens when I activate Mailpuff?

A short welcome opens and asks a few questions, one at a time. Each answer saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.

  1. Your newsletter’s name.
  2. The sender. The From name and address your readers see, and your postal address for the email footer. Mailpuff warns you about Gmail-style and no-reply addresses.
  3. How email goes out. Connect PostShiba there and then, or send a test through your host to check it works.
  4. Your subscribers. Import the list you have, or start fresh.
  5. Your AI agent. Connect one now, or later.

At the end you get a summary and a Write your first newsletter button. You can run the welcome again any time from the ? menu, under Getting started. After that, Mailpuff → Home shows any setup step still open.

How do I set up sending?

Go to Mailpuff → Settings → Sending. PostShiba is the built-in route: paste your PostShiba API key and Team ID and click Connect. Mailpuff then shows the DNS records your domain needs. Add them at your domain registrar and Mailpuff checks them for you.

While a domain is new, warm-up starts it at 50 emails a day and grows to your plan’s limit over 14 days, so inbox providers learn to trust it. Use Send test email on the same page to check delivery from end to end.

Prefer Amazon SES, Postmark or another provider? Install the free Mailyard plugin. A site that already uses an SMTP plugin keeps working as it is. The sending services guide explains each route, and the PostShiba FAQ answers the common questions.

Where do I add my business details?

In Mailpuff → Settings → Business. Your business name and postal address go in every email’s footer. Anti-spam laws such as the US CAN-SPAM Act ask for a postal address in marketing email, and Mailpuff adds it and an unsubscribe link for you.

How do I get subscribers?

  • A signup form. Go to Mailpuff → Forms and make one: inline on a page, a pop-up, a slide-in, a bar or below each post. Place an inline form with the Newsletter signup block. By default, new signups confirm by email before they get anything.
  • An import. Bring your list from Mailchimp, Kit, beehiiv, Substack or any CSV file, with tags. See how to import subscribers.
  • Another plugin on your site. Move everyone over from MailPoet, The Newsletter Plugin, FluentCRM or Groundhogg in one click, on the same import page.
  • By hand. Add a subscriber on the Subscribers page, for someone who already agreed.

How do I send my first campaign?

  1. Go to Mailpuff → Campaigns and click New campaign.
  2. Write your email in the editor. Pick a theme, add headings, text, images and buttons, and set the subject and preview text at the top.
  3. Click Review and send. Check the From, To and Subject, and fix anything listed under Before you send.
  4. Send yourself a test and read it in your inbox.
  5. Choose Send now, or schedule it for later.

The first emails leave at once and the rest go out in small batches in the background. The campaign’s page then becomes its report, with deliveries, opens, clicks and who did what.

Can an AI agent do this for me?

Yes. Connect Claude, ChatGPT or another AI app in Mailpuff → Settings → MCP & API, then ask in plain words, such as “Write a newsletter about our spring sale and send me a test.” Sending to your list stays off until you allow it. See how to connect an AI agent.

FAQ

Is Mailpuff really free?

Yes. Every feature of the Mailpuff plugin is free, with no limits on subscribers, forms or campaigns.

Where are my subscribers stored?

In your own WordPress database. Mailpuff doesn’t send your list to PlugPress.

Do I need PostShiba?

No. PostShiba is built in and the quickest way to start, but Mailpuff also sends through Mailyard, an SMTP plugin you already use, or your host’s mail as a last resort.

Why can’t I send my campaign yet?

Review lists what is missing under Before you send. The usual reasons: sending isn’t set up, or the domain of your From address isn’t verified with PostShiba yet.