Hiring an email marketing agency sounds like a smart move—until you realize the prices are all over the place, the expertise levels vary wildly, and some agencies are so overqualified they’ll drain your budget before you see results.
If your business isn’t hitting seven figures yet, you don’t need a $20K-per-month agency designed for corporate giants. You need high-level strategy, execution, and direct response copy that actually drives revenue—without the agency-sized bill.
Here’s what you should look for when hiring an email marketing agency.
A lot of agencies talk big, but can they actually prove they generate revenue? You’re not paying for fancy presentations—you’re paying for results. Before signing on with an agency, get real numbers or samples of their work.
Here’s what to look for:
✅ Case studies with data – Not just “We helped a company grow,” but actual revenue increases tied to email campaigns.
✅ Before & after performance – What were their clients' email revenue, open rates, and conversions before hiring them? What changed after?
✅ Businesses at your level – Some agencies are great for massive corporations but have no idea how to make email work for smaller businesses. If you’re under the $10M mark, you need a team that understands how to grow from there.
What If They Can’t Share Data?
Sometimes, agencies have NDAs that prevent them from sharing exact numbers. That’s fair—but that doesn’t mean they can’t prove their worth.
If they can’t provide any proof—data, testimonials, samples, or a clear strategy—run.
Email marketing is not the same as social media, SEO, or paid ads. But too many agencies slap “email” onto their list of services without actually knowing what they’re doing.
You need an agency that’s laser-focused on email marketing.
How to tell if they’re legit:
✅ Deep experience in Klaviyo, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, etc. (not just Mailchimp)
✅ They understand automations, segmentation, and email deliverability(<--Important!)
✅ Their past work shows revenue-driven email strategies—not just pretty newsletters (That means content, promos, flows etc)
A generalist agency will never match the power of a specialist.
Most agencies will sell you on design-heavy emails—sleek templates, fancy graphics, and animations. Sounds great, right? Except when all that pretty design kills your deliverability and conversions.
The more images, the higher the chance your email lands in Promotions or Spam. And if your email doesn’t even make it to the inbox, what’s the point?
Common Problems with Over-Designed Emails:
🚩 Lower deliverability – Spam filters love flagging image-heavy emails.
🚩 Slower load times – Customers won’t wait for a bloated email to load.
🚩 Weaker messaging – Design doesn’t sell by itself—words do.
Most agencies don’t get this. But direct response copywriters do.
Direct Response: The Secret Weapon for Ecom, Coaches, and Influencers
E-commerce brands, coaches, and influencers live and die by conversions. You don’t just need emails that “look good.” You need emails that sell.
What Direct Response Email Copy Does Instead:
✅ Prioritizes the offer & message – Your words do the heavy lifting, not just the design.
✅ Focuses on action – Every sentence drives a click, a sale, or a reply.
✅ Uses formatting strategically – Bolded phrases, short paragraphs, strategic imagery, and bullet points guide the reader to the CTA.
The Biggest Secret? The highest-performing emails often look plain. No crazy graphics. No over-designed templates. Just clear, persuasive copy that gets people to buy.
If an agency can’t explain how their copy drives revenue, but they love showing off their email designs—run.
Email marketing isn’t just about sending emails—it’s about building systems that make money on autopilot.
A strong agency should set up:
✅ Welcome Series – To Indoctrinate new subscribers and nurture them into buyers
✅ Abandoned cart emails – To recover lost sales effortlessly
✅ Re-engagement campaigns – To bring inactive subscribers back to buying
✅ Post-purchase sequences – To increase customer lifetime value
They also need to seamlessly integrate with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or your CRM. If they can’t connect email to your sales funnel, they don’t know what they’re doing.
Many agencies will also specialize in a particular email service provider like Klaviyo or Hubspot. This is important to look out for as they know the ins and outs of those powerful systems.
Not every agency is built for your business, and that’s not a bad thing—it just means you need to find the right fit. Some agencies are fantastic at what they do but are designed for companies with different needs and budgets.
If you’re a business doing under $10M/year, working with a high-end agency built for $50M+ brands is like hiring a Michelin-starred chef to make you a PB&J—it’s overkill.
Here’s how pricing typically breaks down:
💰 Low-cost agencies ($500-$2K/month) → Great if you just need basic email marketing, but expect templates, minimal strategy, and little customization.
💰💰 Mid-tier agencies ($3K-$10K/month) → The sweet spot for businesses in the $500k-$10M range. You’ll get strategic automation, solid copywriting, and more personalized support.
💰💰💰 High-end agencies ($10K-$50K/month) → Designed for companies doing $50M+ per year. These agencies specialize in hyper-personalization, advanced segmentation, custom programming, and complex multi-channel integration.
Why This Matters
Many business owners struggle to find the right agency because they expect top-tier service at a budget price or hire an agency that’s way too advanced for their needs. A great agency will be honest about whether they can help you—or if you’d be better off with a different solution.
Signs an Agency is the Wrong Fit for a Retainer:
Signs an Agency is a Great Fit for a Retainer:
What About One-Time Projects?
If you’re not ready for a retainer, investing in a high-quality initial setup can be one of the smartest moves for long-term success.
A well-executed automation buildout, email templates, and strategy setup might cost more upfront, but it pays off over time by:
✅ Automating revenue streams (abandoned carts, welcome flows, re-engagement campaigns)
✅ Creating a solid foundation that you or a smaller team can manage
✅ Avoiding ongoing high agency fees while still benefiting from expert-level strategy
In many cases, businesses see a better return from a strong one-time setup than committing to a pricey monthly retainer too early.
The best agencies know their lane and will tell you upfront if they’re not the right fit. If an agency isn’t upfront about their ideal client, charges a premium without justifying it, or sells you services that don’t align with your needs—run.
One of the biggest red flags when hiring an email marketing agency is unclear pricing. Some agencies will hit you with hidden fees for things like:
Before signing, get everything in writing.
✅ A detailed proposal before payment – A great agency won’t ask for money upfront without first providing a clear breakdown of services, costs, and expectations. This usually happens after a consult call where they evaluate what’s working (and what’s not) in your email program.
✅ What’s included in the pricing – Strategy, automation setup, email design, copywriting—everything should be listed so you’re not left guessing.
✅ How often they optimize your emails – Are they setting up campaigns and disappearing? Or are they regularly tweaking and improving based on data?
✅ Whether they charge per project or per month – Some agencies work on retainers, others on a project basis. Make sure the pricing structure matches your business needs.
A Great Agency Will Provide a Clear Proposal
What a Good Proposal Should Cover:
A consult call is a common first step to understanding your needs. Many agencies will offer a free or low-cost email audit to assess your current email strategy before creating a proposal. This ensures they’re pitching the right services, not just selling you on a generic package.
⚠️ Caution: If an agency asks for full payment upfront without a clear proposal or consult—run. They should be willing to prove their expertise before locking you into a contract. You should know exactly what you are getting and in expected timeline. Results can vary for a huge number of factors. In retainer situations there should be expected results that have an actual return on investment.
Here’s the hard truth: Most businesses don’t actually need an agency.
Agencies are built for massive companies that need huge teams managing high-volume email marketing. But if your business is doing $5M or less per year, you can get better, more personalized service from a freelancer—without the extra overhead.
Why Hire a Freelancer Instead?
✅ Lower costs – No agency overhead, no bloated fees—just direct expertise.
✅ More flexibility – No locked-in retainers or long-term contracts eating up your budget.
✅ Same high-level strategy – Advanced automation, direct response copy, and A/B testing—without the agency price tag.
✅ Direct communication – No account managers acting as middlemen. You work directly with the expert.
I’ve worked in numerous industries, including e-commerce, coaching, SaaS, influencers, and high-ticket services. I know what works (and what doesn’t) for different business models, and I don’t waste time on fluff—just strategies that actually drive revenue.
The Smarter Alternative: Work With Someone Who Gets It
I’ve worked at an agency. I know the systems, the strategies, and what actually makes emails convert. But I also know most businesses don’t need a bloated team draining their marketing budget.
That’s where I come in.
🚀 Custom-built email automations (abandoned cart, win-back, post-purchase)
📝 Direct response copy that actually sells
📊 A/B testing & optimization (so every email improves over time)
🎯 Done-for-you strategy & execution without the agency price tag
Click Here To See My Services and Reach Out For Help With Your Email Marketing Here
Need Full Agency Services? I Can Refer You
If your business truly needs an agency, I won’t try to sell you on something else. I’ve worked with agencies across multiple industries, and I know which ones deliver real results without wasting your budget.
Need a full-service team? I can connect you with agencies I’ve worked with in the past—teams that specialize in scaling larger businesses with multi-channel strategies, advanced segmentation, and enterprise-level automation.
If you’re unsure what level of service you need, let’s talk. I’ll point you in the right direction—whether that’s working with me or finding an agency that suits your business.
📩 Click Here To Reach Out and let’s figure out what works best for you.