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Join the Postmark Challenge: Inbox Innovators - $3,000 in Prizes!

We are thrilled to partner with Postmark to bring the community a brand new DEV challenge. Running...

Updated 4 min read
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We are thrilled to partner with Postmark to bring the community a brand new DEV challenge.

Running through June 8, the Postmark Challenge: Inbox Innovators invites you to play with data by leveraging Postmark's inbound email parsing capabilities.

Email remains one of the most universal and powerful communication tools, and Postmark's developer-focused API makes it easier than ever to incorporate sophisticated email functionality into your applications. This challenge is your opportunity to demonstrate how creative you can get with email-based features while adding an impressive project to your portfolio!

Read on for our prompt.

Our Prompt

For this challenge, your mission is to build an application using Postmark's inbound email parsing feature.

Postmark's inbound email parsing allows you to receive and process emails programmatically, opening up countless possibilities for all sorts of applications -- from practical tooling that solves real-world problems to creative and impactful art pieces.

Judging Criteria and Prizes

Submissions will be judged using the following criteria:

  • Utilization of Postmark features
  • Use Case (creativity, originality, impact)
  • Accessibility
  • Writing Quality (originality, clarity)

We will select three winners who will each receive:

All Participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge on their DEV profile.

How To Participate

In order to participate, you will need to publish a post using the submission template provided. All submissions must use Postmark's inbound email parsing feature.

  • No credit card required! You can process up to 100 emails/month with Postmark's free trial. Inbound email parsing is included with the free plan.
  • For spam/deliverability concerns, emails from public domains (i.e. google, yahoo, etc) cannot create an account with Postmark. If you don't have access to a work email or custom domain, please get in touch with us at yo@dev.to with the subject line "Postmark Challenge Help".
  • If you need a higher limit, use the code DEVCHALLENGE25 to get a $60.50 credit for the Pro tier plan which includes expanded inbound processing.

Please make testing the app as straightforward as possible by providing testing instructions and/or test credentials for all necessary user personas.

Postmark Challenge Submission Template

Please review our judging criteria, rules, guidelines, and FAQ page before submitting so you understand our participation guidelines and official contest rules such as eligibility requirements.

Helpful Resources

To help you get started with Postmark, here are some useful links:

Ideas for Inspiration

Need some inspiration? Here are a few project ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

  • Email AI Assistant: Create an intelligent assistant that users can interact with entirely through email. You can use Postmark's inbound email parsing to understand user requests, process them using AI capabilities, and respond appropriately.

  • Email-Based CMS: Build a content management system that allows users to create, edit, and publish content entirely through email.

  • Email-to-Task Automation System: Create a task management system that converts emails into actionable tasks with priorities, deadlines, and assignments.

  • Email Data Collection & Visualization Dashboard: Build a system that collects structured data via email and generates real-time visualizations and reports.

  • Email-Driven E-commerce Order Management: Develop a system that allows small businesses to process orders, manage inventory, and handle customer inquiries via email.

  • Email-Based Survey & Feedback System: Create a survey tool that collects and analyzes responses submitted via email, with support for different question types and reporting.

  • Email-to-Social Media Bridge: Build a tool that allows users to post to multiple social media platforms by sending a single email, with support for scheduling and analytics.

Important Dates

  • May 21: Postmark Challenge: Inbox Innovators begins!
  • June 8: Submissions due at 11:59 PM PDT
  • June 19: Winners Announced

We're excited to see how you innovate with email using Postmark's powerful features! Questions about the challenge? Ask them below.

Good luck and happy coding!