Description
Australcode Email Marketing is a self-hosted newsletter plugin: it turns your WordPress site into a complete email marketing platform. Grow a subscriber list with a compliant subscribe form, confirm every contact with double opt-in, and send campaigns from your own server — unlimited subscribers, no monthly SaaS fee, no per-subscriber pricing.
Your subscribers, your campaigns, and your consent records live in your own WordPress database.
Why self-hosted email marketing?
- Your data stays on your site. Subscribers, consent logs, and campaign history are stored in custom tables in your WordPress database, exportable to CSV at any time.
- No usage-based pricing. The free plugin sends through your site’s own email transport (wp_mail or your SMTP plugin) — the size of your list never changes what you pay.
- One admin. Forms, subscribers, campaigns, and settings live in wp-admin.
Compliance built in
- Double opt-in — subscribers confirm by email before they can receive campaigns.
- Consent log — date, source, and hashed IP recorded for every subscription.
- One-click unsubscribe with a standard List-Unsubscribe header and a subscriber preference center.
- Physical mailing address added to every email footer, as anti-spam law requires.
The sending engine
A queue built on WP-cron batches, throttles, and retries your sends so shared hosting stays happy. The free version sends through your existing email transport (wp_mail or any SMTP plugin); Pro adds high-deliverability transports for larger lists.
Everything in free
- Unlimited subscribers and unlimited lists.
- Subscribe form as a shortcode, a block, and a widget — theme-agnostic.
- Double opt-in with a full consent log.
- Unsubscribe and preference center, one click, with a List-Unsubscribe header.
- Broadcast campaigns: subject, template, rich-text body, send now or schedule.
- Audience segmentation — target by engagement, purchases (with WooCommerce), and subscriber fields.
- A/B subject line testing — split your list 50/50 across two subject lines.
- Self-hosted sending queue with batching, throttling, and retry.
- CSV import and export.
- WooCommerce checkout subscribe opt-in (when WooCommerce is active).
WooCommerce (optional)
The plugin is standalone and works on any WordPress site. When WooCommerce is active, it adds a consent-first subscribe opt-in at checkout so buyers can join your list in one click.
Pro
Australcode Email Marketing Pro adds scale and automation: high-deliverability transports (Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, Brevo), automations (welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back), a drag-and-drop block composer with unlimited saved templates, open and click tracking, and resend to non-openers.
External services
This plugin uses Freemius (freemius.com) for optional usage tracking, licensing, and Pro upgrades.
- What it is: Freemius provides the licensing, checkout, and update delivery for the Pro version, plus an optional “Contact Us” support channel.
- What data is sent and when: Nothing is sent without your action. If you explicitly opt in on the activation screen (you can skip it), your admin email address and site URL are sent to Freemius. If you activate a Pro license, your license key, site URL, and admin email are sent to validate the license and deliver updates. Opening the in-admin “Contact” page loads an external Freemius form whose URL includes your site URL and plugin identifiers.
- Terms of Service: https://freemius.com/terms/
- Privacy Policy: https://freemius.com/privacy/
The Pro version (sold and delivered by Freemius, not hosted on WordPress.org) can send your campaigns through a third-party email delivery provider that you choose and configure:
- Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, or Brevo — only the provider you select is contacted.
- What data is sent and when: when the sending engine dispatches a campaign (or you press “Send test email”), the recipient’s email address, the email subject and body, and your configured sender identity are sent to your chosen provider’s API using the API credentials you entered. Nothing is sent to any provider until you configure it and pass its deliverability test.
- Amazon SES — Terms: https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/ · Privacy: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/
- Postmark — Terms: https://postmarkapp.com/terms-of-service · Privacy: https://postmarkapp.com/privacy-policy
- Mailgun — Terms: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/terms/ · Privacy: https://www.mailgun.com/legal/privacy-policy/
- Brevo — Terms: https://www.brevo.com/legal/termsofuse/ · Privacy: https://www.brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy/
Screenshots
Blocks
This plugin provides 1 block.
- Subscribe form A newsletter subscribe form (Australcode Email Marketing). Place it anywhere in your theme or page builder.
Installation
- Upload the plugin to
/wp-content/plugins/or install it from the Plugins screen. - Activate it.
- Open Australcode Email Marketing Settings and set your sender name, from address, and the physical mailing address required by anti-spam law.
- Place the subscribe form on any page (shortcode, block, or widget) — activation creates a default “Newsletter” list for you, and you can add more under Lists & forms.
- Send your first campaign from Campaigns.
Documentation and Pro: email-marketing.australcode.io
FAQ
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Does it need WooCommerce?
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No. It works on any WordPress site. WooCommerce is an optional integration that adds a subscribe opt-in at checkout.
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Where do my subscribers live?
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In custom tables in your own WordPress database. You can export everything to CSV at any time.
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How does it send email?
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Through a self-hosted queue that batches, throttles, and retries over your site’s email transport (wp_mail or your SMTP plugin). Pro adds Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, and Brevo for larger lists.
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How is this different from a hosted email service?
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It runs entirely on your WordPress site: your list and consent records stay in your database, sending goes through a transport you control, and there is no monthly or per-subscriber fee for the core plugin.
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Will my emails land in spam?
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Deliverability depends on your sender domain. Use an SMTP plugin or a transactional provider, and set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domain — see the deliverability guide. The plugin covers the list-hygiene side: double opt-in, one-click unsubscribe, a List-Unsubscribe header, and your physical address in every footer.
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Is it GDPR / CAN-SPAM friendly?
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The compliance basics are built in and always on: double opt-in, a consent log (date, source, hashed IP), one-click unsubscribe with a preference center, and a physical mailing address in every footer. Lawful processing for your business remains your responsibility.
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Can I import subscribers from another tool?
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Yes — CSV import (and export) is part of the free version.
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Does it slow my site down?
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Sending runs in the background through a WP-cron queue with batching and throttling tuned for shared hosting. You can lower the batch size in Settings if your host limits outgoing mail.
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What does Pro add, and what does it cost?
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High-deliverability transports (Amazon SES, Postmark, Mailgun, Brevo), automations, a drag-and-drop block composer, open/click tracking, and resend to non-openers. (Audience segmentation and A/B subject testing are free.) Licenses are annual — see email-marketing.australcode.io for pricing.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“Australcode Email Marketing” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.1
- Audience segmentation and A/B subject testing are now part of the free version.
1.0.0
- Initial public release: subscriber lists with double opt-in and a consent log, subscribe form (shortcode, block, widget), broadcast campaigns with scheduling, audience segmentation, A/B subject testing, self-hosted sending queue (batching, throttling, retry), unsubscribe and preference center with List-Unsubscribe, CSV import/export, and an optional WooCommerce checkout opt-in.