diff --git a/.env.local.TEMPLATE b/.env.local.TEMPLATE
index 43cc6c61..5596226e 100644
--- a/.env.local.TEMPLATE
+++ b/.env.local.TEMPLATE
@@ -2,30 +2,31 @@
 # which will be ignored by git to protect private api credentials.
 
 # To use /admin interface
-JWT_SECRET = ReplaceWithYourOwnBigLongRandomStringHere
-ADMIN_EMAIL =
+JWT_SECRET=ReplaceWithYourOwnBigLongRandomStringHere
+ADMIN_EMAIL=
 
 # Firebase - https://firebase.google.com - database
-FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL =
-FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY =
-FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID =
+FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL=
+FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY=
+FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=
 
 # Mailgun — https://mailgun.com - transactional emails
-MAILGUN_API_KEY =
+MAILGUN_API_KEY=
+MAILGUN_DOMAIN=
 
 # Pusher - https://pusher.com - real-time updates via websocket channels
-PUSHER_KEY =
-PUSHER_SECRET =
+PUSHER_KEY=
+PUSHER_SECRET=
 
 # Pushover — https://pushover.net — for admin notifications
-PUSHOVER_APP_TOKEN =
-PUSHOVER_USER_KEY =
+PUSHOVER_APP_TOKEN=
+PUSHOVER_USER_KEY=
 
 # Supabase - https://supabase.com — database for analytics
-SUPABASE_ADMIN_KEY =
-SUPABASE_DB_URL =
-SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET =
+SUPABASE_ADMIN_KEY=
+SUPABASE_DB_URL=
+SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET=
 
 # Other (optional) password-protected admin stats pages
-RECENT_ELECTIONS_PASSWORD =
-NAP_STATS_PASSWORD =
\ No newline at end of file
+RECENT_ELECTIONS_PASSWORD=
+NAP_STATS_PASSWORD=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4c57b4a0..34e5eb3c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,7 +32,41 @@ See the [SIV Public License](/LICENSE) for further details.
 ### Initial set up
 
 1. Duplicate the file `.env.local.TEMPLATE` into `.env.local`
-2. Create (free) accounts with the providers listed in that file, adding your new API keys
+
+2. Create (free) accounts with the providers listed in the `.env.local` file and add your new API keys as described below:
+
+   **Firebase**:
+      1. Visit [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/) and sign in with your Google account
+      2. Click on "Get Started" and create a new project
+      3. Navigate to the project settings (cog icon) and go to "Project setting" -> "Service accounts"
+      4. Generate a new private key for the Firebase Admin SDK and download the JSON file
+      5. Extract the following values from the JSON file and add them to your `.env.local`:
+         * `FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL`: Found in the "client_email" field
+         * `FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY`: Found in the "private_key" field
+           * Note: Ensure this key is enclosed in double quotes
+         * `FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID`: Found in the "project_id" field
+
+   **Supabase**:
+      1. Visit [Supabase](https://supabase.com/) and sign up for an account
+      2. Create a new project and note down the project URL and the public API key
+      3. Go to the project settings and add the following values to your `.env.local`:
+         * `SUPABASE_ADMIN_KEY`: Found in "API" -> "Project API keys" under "anon public"
+         * `SUPABASE_DB_URL`: Found in "Database" -> "Connection parameters" under "Host"
+         * `SUPABASE_JWT_SECRET`: Found in "API" -> "JWT Settings" under "JWT Secret"
+
+   **Mailgun**:
+      1. Visit [Mailgun](https://mailgun.com/) and sign up for a free account
+      2. Use the default sandbox domain provided by Mailgun for testing purposes.
+      3. Click on your account menu (top-right)
+         * Go to "Mailgun API keys" and hit "Add new key"
+         * Give the key a description such as "SIV"
+         * Copy the new API key and add it to `.env.local` under `MAILGUN_API_KEY`
+      4. Go back to the Dashboard and click on the sandbox account under "Sending domains"
+         * Note: the domain will look like `sandbox<XXXX>.mailgun.org`
+         * Copy this domain and add it to `.env.local` under `MAILGUN_DOMAIN`
+      5. Add "Authorized Recipients" email addresses on the right that you will test with
+      6. Now test that everything is set up correctly using the appropriate command provided in the API panel
+
 3. Install local dependencies:
 
 ```bash