As an email marketing specialist, one of the most common questions I am asked, is how much does it cost to work with an email marketing agency? In this blog, I hope to cast some illumination on the cost of working with email agencies and how much you should look to invest.
What support do you require from an email marketing agency?
You've probably got a requirement to get some support with email marketing and you're about to contact agencies. Whether it's creative, strategy, new templates or anything else for that matter, a good agency will be willing to discuss your plans and build a brief with you. I always encourage marketers to share the responsibility of briefing with the agency, instead of serving a brief. The reason for this, is that it creates connection, and as the quote goes, "a problem shared is a problem halved". It's the best way to begin a partnership and if you're the one appointing an email marketing agency, it's going to serve you better in the long run to be as open and collaborative as possible.
So, define what you want support with, what the problems are, what the goals are and what your thoughts are in terms of overcoming those problems and achieving those email marketing goals and list what you feel you need support with, paying particular attention to business goals and personal goals, then share this with your email agency.
Start by defining the email marketing categories where you'll need support. Here are some suggestions for what you might ask an email marketing agency to do for you:
- Email strategy creation
- Email marketing audit
- Email design
- Campaign sends
- Email marketing copywriting
- Email marketing HTML development and templating
- Automation and flows for email marketing
- Specialist analytics for email marketing
- Email optimisation, refinement and enhancements
- Embedding AI into email campaigns
- Integrating email selections and segments with other channels, such as paid social and direct mail
- Best practice advice - this should run through all the work you do with your email agency
- Platform, ESP and technology selection advice
- Ongoing advisory
Not all email agencies will offer all of these services and that might not be a showstopper - look to the agency that you have the best connection with and if you need to, fill any gaps with contractors or freelancers. Also, you might find that one email agency is fantastic in one area, but not as strong in others. In cases like this, I recommend that you work with the agency on their strengths. It's tempting to move away from an agency when it's realised that they're not experts across all areas, but it's normal for agencies to specialise in one area of email and to be not quite as strong in other areas. You might find that one email agency are best positioned to support you with strategy and another is better for campaign creation.
On a side note, Enchant can help with all of the above, so if you are looking for an email marketing agency to work with, drop us a message and we'll be in touch.
Insist on transparent pricing and costs
Whilst I encourage you to choose an email agency that is transparent with their pricing, you should expect prices to vary to some degree. No two projects are the same, so they have to be priced accordingly - don't view this as a negative, as it shows commitment to working together.
I personally avoid any day-rate pricing or per-hour costing and at Enchant we've always worked to fixed transparent costs with our customers. There are a number of reasons for this, but the primary reasons are to work to scope and provide clients with fixed costs. If you are working with an agency based on a time estimate, paying the email agency by day rate and they burn through the time, you may have to go and find more budget in order to complete the work. I just don't see how this serves the customer well - no one wants variable costs in any part of their organisation and in marketing, well I don't know how you can manage a marketing department with unknown variable costs.
Retainers are usually the way to go...
I see your frown, but retainers are usually the best way to go in terms of cost and results. You'll almost always save money and even find that you get better work and results when you invest in an email agency subscription. Why? Well, you're committing to a scope of work that is significant and this means that the agency should be able to offer something of a favourable price for this. This also helps you to be able to ask your agency to focus on goals and outcomes.
Retainers are great for a steady monthly cycle of services that will support you in terms of growing your email marketing program. It'll give you access to a team of specialists and will feel like an extension of your marketing team. If you're adverse to this, try it for a short while at a low commitment. A good agency will journey with you on mutual terms, so that you're not left feeling like you've over committed. Look for the email agencies that are more interested in talking to you about your scope of work and email marketing challenges over those that want to talk 2-year contracts.
Cost should not be your primary driver for selecting an email agency
I advise you to be open with your email marketing agency about your budget. The best way to do this is to give a budget scale or window to show what you're looking to invest. Your agency should be clear with you from the start about whether your budget is viable, considering the scope and the goals of the relationship you will form.
Cost should never be the main driver when selecting an email agency and I suggest being wary of the cheapest quotes - you get what you pay for and if you're hiring an agency who have a roster of strong brand clients and a team of experts, you'll get quality back in return for your investment. Ask where the team are located and see if you can meet some of the people you'll be working with before you commit.
How much does it cost to hire an email agency?
You can pay as little as £1000 for a strategic plan or monthly retainer and the ceiling for spend is limitless. The key, is choosing an agency where you get value, based on the scale of your project and goals. Start by looking at these and have a "window of investment" that you can share with your agency. For example, you might look at your scope as being:
- An email marketing audit and roadmap
- A new email marketing creative template
- Ongoing support with campaign sends and creative
Looking for a bargain when "agency shopping" is a bad plan. You will get back what you put in, so if you have a frugal budget, you can expect the minimum requirements to be met but that will likely be it. If you have a modest budget, then you should expect a little more than this and if you have a significant budget, you should expect a partnership and shared accountability for making a success of your email marketing through a solid relationship with your email agency.
A guide for the cost of working with your email marketing agency
£1000-£3000 per month: a little support from a junior team, without account management or in-depth planning. Be very careful investing at this level - you get what you pay for and there will be little support if things don't go as planned
£3000-£5000 per month: Industry-average support but a good level of guidance, conquering one or two key initiatives each month
£5000-£10,000 per month: A dedicated consultant and account manager, getting through a multitude of tactical and strategic initiatives. This budget will give you a great opportunity to get the best results
£10,000+ per month: Industry-leading consultancy, design and automation. Expect great copywriting, deliverability and multichannel CRM support here also. You may even get campaign sends included in your contract. Agencies at this level will likely expect at least a 12-month commitment
How can I tell which agencies are best?
First things first, find agencies that have worked with leading brands - this is important, even if you're a small D2C or start up, because you need specialists that have worked at the highest level. You can generally find this information on their website. Secondly, see if they have any accolades for their work - agencies that have won awards for their work, especially with platforms you're working with, are likely to be a good fit. Lastly, check to see if the email marketing agency you are evaluating are listed in a marketplace reviews platform such as Clutch. This will enable you to see their reviews and their credibility.
Are you looking for a new email marketing agency? Have a chat with our team and we'll be happy to discuss how we could collaborate
