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Jaskaran Deogan
Jaskaran Deogan

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Self-Hosting Listmonk with Coolify: Your Own Newsletter Platform in Minutes

#newsletter #selfhosting #opensource #marketing

Dashboard ScreenshotAre you tired of paying monthly fees for newsletter services like Mailchimp or ConvertKit? Looking for complete control over your subscriber data and email campaigns? Listmonk might be exactly what you need.

Listmonk is a powerful, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager that gives you all the features of premium services without the recurring costs or subscriber limits. Combined with Coolify for easy deployment, you can have your own email marketing platform running in under 30 minutes.

Why Choose Listmonk?

Before diving into the setup, let's look at why Listmonk stands out:

✅ Cost-effective: No monthly fees or subscriber limits
✅ Privacy-focused: Complete control over your data
✅ Feature-rich: Campaign analytics, segmentation, templates, and more
✅ Modern UI: Clean, intuitive interface that rivals paid services
✅ API-first: Integrate with your existing applications
✅ Open source: Actively maintained with a growing community

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have:

  • A server or VPS with Docker support
  • Coolify installed and configured
  • A domain name pointed to your server
  • SMTP credentials (Gmail, SendGrid, AWS SES, etc.)

The Setup Process

Step 1: Create Your Listmonk Service in Coolify

  1. Log into your Coolify dashboard
  2. Create a new project or use an existing one
  3. Add a new resource and choose "Docker Compose"
  4. Name your service (e.g., "listmonk-newsletter")

Step 2: Configure Your Docker Compose

Here's the complete docker-compose.yml configuration that works perfectly with Coolify:

x-db-credentials: POSTGRES_USER: listmonk POSTGRES_PASSWORD: listmonk POSTGRES_DB: listmonk services: app: image: 'listmonk/listmonk:latest' container_name: listmonk_app restart: unless-stopped ports: - '9000:9000' networks: - listmonk hostname: '${SERVICE_FQDN_APP:-listmonk.example.com}' depends_on: db: condition: service_healthy command: - sh - '-c' - "./listmonk --install --idempotent --yes --config '' && ./listmonk --upgrade --yes --config '' && ./listmonk --config ''" environment: LISTMONK_app__address: '0.0.0.0:9000' LISTMONK_app__root_url: '${LISTMONK_app__root_url}' LISTMONK_db__user: listmonk LISTMONK_db__password: listmonk LISTMONK_db__database: listmonk LISTMONK_db__host: db LISTMONK_db__port: 5432 LISTMONK_db__ssl_mode: disable LISTMONK_db__max_open: 25 LISTMONK_db__max_idle: 25 LISTMONK_db__max_lifetime: 300s TZ: Etc/UTC LISTMONK_ADMIN_USER: '${LISTMONK_ADMIN_USER}' LISTMONK_ADMIN_PASSWORD: '${LISTMONK_ADMIN_PASSWORD}' volumes: - './uploads:/listmonk/uploads:rw' healthcheck: test: - CMD - wget - '--no-verbose' - '--tries=1' - '--spider' - 'http://localhost:9000/' interval: 30s timeout: 10s retries: 3 start_period: 40s db: image: 'postgres:17-alpine' container_name: listmonk_db restart: unless-stopped networks: - listmonk environment: POSTGRES_USER: listmonk POSTGRES_PASSWORD: listmonk POSTGRES_DB: listmonk healthcheck: test: - CMD-SHELL - 'pg_isready -U listmonk' interval: 10s timeout: 5s retries: 6 volumes: - type: volume source: listmonk-data target: /var/lib/postgresql/data networks: listmonk: null volumes: listmonk-data: null
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Step 3: Set Environment Variables

In your Coolify service settings, add these environment variables:

# Required - Set your admin credentials LISTMONK_ADMIN_USER=your-admin-username LISTMONK_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secure-password # Required - Your domain configuration SERVICE_FQDN_APP=newsletter.yourdomain.com LISTMONK_app__root_url=https://newsletter.yourdomain.com
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Security Note: Make sure to use a strong password for your admin account!

Step 4: Deploy and Access

  1. Save your configuration in Coolify
  2. Deploy the service
  3. Wait for both containers to become healthy (usually 2-3 minutes)
  4. Access your Listmonk instance at https://newsletter.yourdomain.com

Initial Configuration

Once Listmonk is running, you'll need to configure it:

1. First Login

  • Navigate to your domain
  • Login with the credentials you set in environment variables
  • You'll be greeted with the clean Listmonk dashboard

2. Configure SMTP Settings

Go to Settings > SMTP and add your email provider:

{ "host": "smtp.gmail.com", "port": 587, "auth_protocol": "plain", "username": "your-email@gmail.com", "password": "your-app-password", "hello_hostname": "", "tls_enabled": true, "tls_skip_verify": false, "max_conns": 10, "idle_timeout": "15s", "wait_timeout": "5s", "max_msg_retries": 2, "email_headers": [] }
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3. Create Your First List

  • Go to Lists and create your first mailing list
  • Set up subscription preferences
  • Configure double opt-in if needed

create-campaigns

4. Design Your Templates

  • Navigate to Campaigns > Templates
  • Customize the default template or create your own
  • Use Listmonk's template variables for personalization

Key Features to Explore

Once you're set up, here are the powerful features you can leverage:

Campaign Management

  • Rich text editor with template support
  • A/B testing capabilities
  • Scheduled sending
  • Campaign analytics and tracking

Subscriber Management

  • Import/export subscribers
  • Custom attributes and segmentation
  • Subscription preferences
  • Bounce and complaint handling

API Integration

  • RESTful API for all operations
  • Webhook support
  • Easy integration with your applications

Production Considerations

For a production deployment, consider these improvements:

Database Security 

# Change default credentials POSTGRES_USER: your-custom-user POSTGRES_PASSWORD: your-secure-db-password
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Backup Strategy

Set up automated backups for your PostgreSQL data:

# Example backup script docker exec listmonk_db pg_dump -U listmonk listmonk > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
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Resource Limits

Add resource constraints to your containers:

deploy: resources: limits: memory: 512M cpus: '0.5'
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Cost Comparison

Let's look at the numbers:

Mailchimp (10,000 subscribers): $99/month = $1,188/year
ConvertKit (10,000 subscribers): $119/month = $1,428/year
Listmonk Self-hosted: VPS ($20/month) = $240/year

Annual savings: $948-$1,188 with complete data ownership!

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Container won't start: Check your environment variables and ensure the database is healthy first.

Can't send emails: Verify your SMTP settings and check if your provider requires app passwords (Gmail) or API keys.

Performance issues: Monitor your database resources and consider upgrading your server if you have a large subscriber base.

Conclusion

Self-hosting Listmonk with Coolify gives you enterprise-grade email marketing capabilities without the recurring costs. You maintain complete control over your data while enjoying a modern, feature-rich platform that scales with your needs.

The initial setup might take 30 minutes, but the long-term benefits in cost savings, privacy, and control make it worthwhile for any serious content creator or business.

Ready to take control of your email marketing? Give Listmonk a try – your subscribers (and your wallet) will thank you!

Have you set up Listmonk with Coolify? Share your experience in the comments below! And if you found this guide helpful, don't forget to ❤️ and follow for more self-hosting tutorials.

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