Email Marketing Isn't Easy - It Is Complex!

Updated on 12/2/2025 / Originally published for Webbula on 7/12/22 

I understand why people falsely believe that email marketing is easy —and even worse when they say it doesn't work. When I started in email in 2002, there were only a few sending platforms. Strategy and segmentation weren't really a thing, and lists, for the most part, were small and manageable. I'm not even sure the term deliverability was discussed. It was mostly the prominent brands that did email.

Today, we have a wide variety of platforms at varying costs. Some have cross-channel capabilities, and some are built into website builders or POS systems. We even have template builders built into the platforms. Some even have pre-made templates that can be adjusted for a specific brand. This means that all businesses, regardless of size, can easily send. But this also leads people to think email is easy. 

When brands think email marketing is easy or doesn't work, they are not only incorrect but also leaving money on the table. Email is complex, not impossible or complicated, just complex. Doing it right vs. just sending will make the difference in how well your email marketing is perceived and how well it positively impacts your business. Let's talk about the essential things that make email complex and are necessary for a program's success.

Understanding your data

This is key! It starts with your email collection process and ensuring that you validate and verify those who enter your list, but you need to think beyond that. Email data gets stale over time. Subscribers might become unengaged with your brand or even abandon that specific email address. This means having data hygiene practices in place and understanding the basics of deliverability is essential.

Understanding your data means knowing the difference between zero-party, first-party, and third-party data and how and when to use it. It also means having a strategy that acknowledges email from engaged to highly engaged, to moderately engaged to unengaged. When subscribers are unengaged with your emails, one question to ask yourself is whether they are unengaged with your brand or just with your emails.

Reviewing your metrics

Understanding how your emails perform will help you determine what changes need to be made to your program. Go beyond the open and click. How often is someone clicking on your emails? Of the number of emails you send each month, what percentage of your list do your emails reach? Review bounce rates. Are they creeping up over time? Are people taking the action you want them to take on the landing page? When people say email is easy, they are likely not reviewing metrics. 

Test Test Test

We often think we know what will work and what will not. There are many times I am surprised that what I believe will be the winning subject line or the winning creative is the opposite when we run a test. Your opinion, while valuable, isn't essential. What your audience tells you is what is essential.

Segment – don't treat each subscriber the same.

It is hard to say that all batch-and-blast emails don't work, because I have seen firsthand that they still have a place in some email programs. But when it does work, it is usually with a small, highly engaged list. If you treat all subscribers the same, you are leaving revenue on the table. I'm sure you have received emails that make it so clear a brand doesn't know you. Think of what you do with those emails? Make sure you aren't making that same mistake with your brand.

Utilize automation and develop a customer journey.

A solid email marketing strategy includes a customer journey. Hitting subscribers with the right message at the right time, aligned with their specific journey, will build a lasting relationship and email engagement. And guess what? While the strategy can be complex and takes time to create and implement, once your journey is done, it just needs to be maintained.

 Next time someone mentions that email marketing is easy, ask them about the above. Chances are, if they think email marketing is easy, they aren't doing it right.