Why You Shouldn’t Consider Using Email Marketing (Yet)

 

Email marketing gets thrown around as a “must-have” for a business.  You might have heard marketers say that the best time to build an email list is yesterday.

I’ve said that too. And yes, I love it. I help ecommerce brands do it. But I’m not here to convince you if actually your business is not ready for email marketing (yet).

So, if any of the following points sound like you, email marketing might not be worth your time right now.

 

1. You Don’t Have a Product That Sells (Yet)

If your product-market fit isn’t quite right and you’re struggling to get anyone to buy, or if your product pages aren’t converting then email marketing won’t magically fix that. It’s not a Bandaid for a business problem.

Yes, email can help build loyalty and drive repeat purchases. But if your first-time purchase rates are low and traffic to your store is quieter than London streets during lockdown then you need to focus on your offer, messaging and customer research first.

 

2. You’re Not Collecting Emails (Properly)

If you’re not actively building your list using a clearly placed opt-in (with a compelling reason for someone to join) then you’ll have no one to email.

Don’t go buying lists as that’s just spammy.  And don’t send to people who didn’t sign up because you’ll annoy them and in some regions is Illegal.

If your list is tiny but clean that’s fine. But if you’ve got nothing to sell in place then please sort that first.

 

3. You Think “Doing Email” Means Sending A Few Newsletters a Year

Be honest. Have you started an email marketing account, maybe set up one flow, sent a newsletter at Christmas, one in the summer and then ghosted subscribers until Black Friday, when you sent one email? 

Guess what? That’s not email marketing. That’s sending an email sometimes.

Consistency is essential for email marketing to work. Remember that email is a relationship, not a broadcast tool. If you’re not ready to commit to a regular strategy and prepared to use email marketing to grow your business, then  wait until you are.

 

 

4. You Can’t Handle the Fulfilment Side (Yet)

You launch a new product, highlight it on email and it sells out. The dream, right?  But if you’re not ready operationally to handle all the orders, you’ll have unhappy customers and angry DMs.

Email will drive results. So make sure you can fulfill the orders before you start emailing.

 

5. Your Business Model Relies on One-Off, High-Value Purchases

Some brands sell products people only buy once in a blue moon such as custom wedding dresses, premium hot tubs or  luxury garden rooms.

If there’s little to no repeat purchase opportunity, and your leads are high intent and well-qualified already, email marketing might not offer a huge ROI. 

In these cases, it’s often content marketing, blogs, case studies and tools like pricing estimator that guide the buyer on their journey.

That said, email can still help with nurturing those long sales cycles, using email to nurture people who start the calculator and don’t finish, or asking for reviews and referrals.  But email may not be a core growth channel for these brands.

 

So, When Should You Consider Email Marketing?

Glad you asked.

✅ You’ve got a product(s) that’s selling
✅ You’ve got traffic and people opting in
✅ You want to build loyalty, increase Customer Lifetime Value and reduce ad spend reliance
✅ You want to own your data and not rent it from Meta

If that sounds like your business then email can absolutely work for you. But if not, then work on your inventory and traffic first.

 

Final Thought

Email marketing isn’t for every business, all the time. And that’s okay.

If your business isn’t quite ready, focus on what matters most – your product, your customer journey and building something solid. Then come back when you’re ready to do email properly.

Need help figuring out if you’re ready or what to do next?

Book my Email Therapy Hour, a 1-hour consultancy call to get personalised advice and actionable tips tailored to your business.