I almost built a custom newsletter system with Supabase, Resend, and a React dashboard. Then I signed up for Buttondown in 10 minutes and sent my first issue that weekend.
What I Actually Needed
- Email capture on my blog
- Weekly digest of new posts
- GDPR-friendly unsubscribe
- Under $10/month until 1,000 subscribers
Why I Didn't Build Custom
Deliverability is hard. SPF, DKIM, DMARC, bounce handling, spam complaints - platforms exist because email is a distributed system with 40 years of edge cases.
My Setup Today
Buttondown embed on the footer. New post triggers a manual "send digest" click. Total maintenance: 15 minutes per week.
Your newsletter is content distribution, not a software project.