5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing an Email Marketing Platform
Email isn’t dead. It’s just evolving.
With privacy policies tightening, algorithms shifting, and audience trust harder to earn than ever, email is one of the last channels you truly own. But while more founders and marketers are waking up to its value, too many still treat their email stack as an afterthought—using personal inboxes or clunky tools that weren’t built to scale.
If you’re serious about email as a growth channel, choosing the right platform is a decision that deserves strategy, not guesswork.
Below are five key questions to help you make that decision with clarity and confidence.
1. How Big Is Your List And How Fast Will It Grow?
Some tools offer free plans up to a certain number of subscribers, but pricing can scale aggressively once you cross that threshold. If you’re just starting out (sub-1,000 subscribers), it makes sense to keep costs lean.
But growth changes the equation fast. If you’re running lead gen ads, hosting webinars, or doing cold outreach, you’ll want a platform that scales with you—not one that surprises you with hidden fees once growth kicks in.
Pro tip: If you're importing contacts, always run them through an email validation tool first (like CampaignKit) to protect your deliverability score and avoid getting flagged by your provider.
2. What Kind of Content Will You Be Sending?
Every platform has terms of service—and not all content types are welcome. Think beyond newsletters. Are you sending educational sequences? Cold outreach? Affiliate promotions? Promotions tied to sensitive industries (e.g., crypto, supplements)?
The more regulated your niche, the more carefully you need to review your platform's spam policies and deliverability features.
If you’re planning to send content that skirts close to promotional boundaries, you’ll need a provider that allows for segmentation, warm-up flows, and domain protection—so you don’t risk being blacklisted on day one.
3. Do You Need Automation or Just a Broadcast Tool?
There’s a big difference between a one-off newsletter tool and a full email automation platform.
If you're just sending a weekly update to a small list, simple tools like Buttondown or ConvertKit might be enough. But if you're planning complex funnels, product launches, or onboarding sequences, you’ll need multi-step automation, A/B testing, and tagging capabilities.
Get clear on what you actually need then match that against the tool’s feature set. Don’t pay for bells and whistles you’ll never use.
4. How Important Is Design and UX?
Some platforms prioritize simplicity (great for solo founders). Others focus on advanced functionality (ideal for teams or agencies).
Do you need drag-and-drop design tools? Do you care about how beautiful the templates are? Or are you more concerned with list hygiene, backend data, and segmentation power?
The best choice isn’t always the flashiest - it’s the one that fits your workflow and reduces friction.
5. How Does the Platform Handle Deliverability?
This is the silent killer of most email strategies.
You can have the best content and targeting in the world but if your emails land in spam, you’ve lost before you’ve started.
Look for a platform that offers:
- Built-in deliverability monitoring
- DKIM/SPF support
- Dedicated sending domains
- Integration with list-cleaning tools like CampaignKit
Email marketing is only as effective as your ability to actually reach inboxes.
Final Thought
Your email marketing platform is the foundation of your list-building strategy. Choosing the wrong one can lead to high costs, poor engagement, or worse—being flagged as spam.
Make your choice based on your goals, not just pricing. And whatever platform you choose, make sure your email hygiene is dialed in from day one. The smartest marketers know: a clean, responsive list beats a big, bloated one every time.