What to expect from an email marketing agency (and what to demand)
Email is the highest-margin channel most businesses own, and the most commonly under-built. A good email marketing agency doesn't just send more campaigns — it builds the automated flows that keep producing revenue after the send is over. Here's what the engagement should actually look like.
The flows that produce most of the revenue
- Welcome series: 3–5 emails, typically the highest-converting sequence you'll own.
- Abandoned cart and abandoned browse: for ecommerce, routinely 10–25% of total email revenue.
- Post-purchase and replenishment: drives repeat rate, the cheapest growth you have.
- Win-back for lapsed customers, segmented by past value.
- Lead nurture for longer sales cycles, triggered by behaviour rather than time alone.
Realistic benchmarks
- Open rate: 25–45% for a clean, permission-based list. Below 15% signals a deliverability problem, not a copy problem.
- Click rate: 2–5% on campaigns, considerably higher on triggered flows.
- Email as a share of total revenue: 15–30% is a healthy target for ecommerce.
- List growth: 3–8% net per month with an active capture strategy.
What a proper engagement includes
- Deliverability setup first: authentication records, domain warm-up, list hygiene. Skipping this wastes everything else.
- Segmentation based on behaviour and value, not just on signup date.
- A campaign calendar you approve in advance.
- Reporting tied to revenue per recipient, not just opens.
- Ownership of the ESP account in your name.
Realistic pricing
- Flow build only (one-off): $2,500–8,000 depending on how many sequences.
- Ongoing management: $1,500–5,000/month, usually 4–8 campaigns plus continuous flow optimisation.
- Platform cost (Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp): $50–500/month depending on list size.
Red flags
- Buying or importing lists you didn't collect. This destroys your sending reputation permanently.
- Reporting that never mentions revenue per email.
- No mention of deliverability or authentication in the first month.
- The agency holding the ESP account under their own name.
Judge an email agency on revenue per recipient and on whether the automated flows are built first. Deliverability setup in month one is non-negotiable — everything else depends on it.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly does email marketing produce results?
Automated flows usually start producing within 2–4 weeks of going live, because they trigger on existing traffic rather than needing new audience.
How big does my list need to be?
Flows are worth building from around 500 engaged contacts. Below that, focus on capture first.
How often should I email?
For most businesses, weekly is the sustainable baseline. Frequency matters far less than relevance and segmentation.
Want us to apply this to your business?
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