15 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Email Marketing Agency

You have shortlisted a few email marketing agencies and scheduled your calls. Having a defined set of questions will keep those conversations focused and useful. 

The 15 questions we cover in this blog will help you assess each of those agencies more explicitly. 

To make this easier to navigate, we’ve grouped these questions into clear categories so you have the opportunity to evaluate each agency from multiple angles. 

Category 1: How the Agency Thinks – Strategy Questions

The questions in this category reveal how an email marketing agency thinks and whether they can build a clear and effective email marketing strategy consistent with your business goals. 

Use them to assess if the agency relies on structured strategy development or jumps straight into execution. 

Question 1: How do you create an effective email marketing strategy? 

This question tells you very quickly whether an email marketing agency has a real process to create an effective strategy, or they’re just figuring things out as they go. 

A strong answer gets concrete, fast. You should hear – 

• an audit of your current email marketing campaigns and email platforms
• how they map your customer journey into email flows (welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase)
• what they prioritise first vs later (quick wins vs long-term email programs)
• how everything ties back to your business goals and target audience

If they stay vague or jump straight into execution, that’s a definite and immediate red flag.

Watch out for answers like:

• “it depends”
• “we’ll test and see what works”
• no mention of customer journey, past performance, or data analysis

A strong email marketing firm will be structured. They will explain how they think and ask you detailed questions about your business and your requirements. If they are just pitching their services, it’s time to rethink.

Question 2: What’s your approach to segmentation and personalization?

This question is to understand whether your chosen email marketing company goes beyond the basics or does just surface-level work. 

Good answers are more specific. See if they bring up things like – 

• segmentation based on behaviour (purchase history, clicks, browsing)
• lifecycle stages (new, repeat, at-risk)
• use of dynamic content inside email campaigns
• how they test and improve open rates and click through rates

Weak answers are easy to spot. You’ll notice:

• basic segments (active vs inactive clients)
• no testing framework
• no link to customer retention or customer lifetime value

The best email marketing agencies don’t treat segmentation as a setup task. They should keep refining it as your customers and campaigns grow. 

Question 3: How would you approach our business specifically?

At this point, you’ll have an idea if the agency was actually prepared for the call or if they just showed up. 

A strong email marketing agency will already have a point of view. They should have done in-depth research about your company to point out some intricacies of what’s working and what’s not. If they point out – 

• gaps in your current email campaigns
• missed opportunities in your email flows
• early signs of deliverability issues or poor inbox placement
• ideas tailored to your e-commerce model

…then it is a good sign. 

But a bad sign is also easy to spot. Here’s how you would know –  

• their advice could apply to any business
• they have no reference to your brand, clients, or current setup
• no curiosity about your marketing strategy

The best teams, especially among top email marketing agencies, start thinking before you hire them. That’s usually a good sign that you have found the right agency. 

Category 2: Execution and Delivery Questions

This is where you find out how the agency actually works day to day. Their strategies may sound good on calls, but their execution and delivery process is what drives actual, real-world results. 

Question 4: What does your campaign creation process actually look like?

It’s really important to understand how organized an email marketing agency is. 

A strong answer would go into detail. Good agencies will talk about – 

• clear timelines from brief → draft → launch
• how email design and copy are handled (in-house vs outsourced)
• QA steps before sending (links, rendering, mobile checks)
• approval rounds and how feedback is managed

If they can’t walk you through this step clearly, things might just fall apart later.

Some red flags to watch for are – 

• them saying “we’ll send drafts and iterate”
• no timeline or deadlines
• no mention of QA or testing before campaigns go live

Strong email marketing firms run on set systems. You’ll hear structure and planning, not on-the-spot improvisation.

Question 5: How do you approach testing and improving campaigns over time?

It’s important for an email marketing agency to ship, test, and improve. But they should not sit around and wait for the perfect email campaign to just fall in their laps. They will talk about – 

• what they test first (subject lines, offers, email design, send times)
• how they prioritise tests across campaigns
• what makes a test “valid” (not just random results)
• how learnings are applied to future email marketing campaigns

If you hear things like this, you may want to reconsider – 

• “Honestly, we already know what works for most brands.”
• “We don’t test too much, it can hurt performance.”
• “We’ve found one winning formula, so we stick to it.”

They may sound confident and self-assured, but they subtly dismiss structure and data. Their idea is to rely on “instinct” instead of a real process. 

Question 6: What tools and email platforms do you actually specialize in?

Technical expertise in an email marketing agency is one of the most basic and important skills. 

A strong email marketing agency will sound specific. They will tell you – 

• which email service providers or email platforms they specialise in
• their experience with major email platforms like Constant Contact, Klaviyo, or HubSpot
• how they use tools for testing, reporting, and data analysis
• how they integrate with your wider marketing stack

Some red flags to avoid are – 

• “we work with everything”
• no mention of advanced features or integrations
• surface-level tool knowledge

Good email marketing services go beyond sending emails. They understand the platform deeply and use that information to improve performance.

Question 7: How do you make sure emails actually land in the inbox?

Here is the interesting part. The part where some email marketing agencies falter. 

If your emails don’t reach the inbox, nothing else matters. Your email campaigns, email advertising, all of it fails.

Good agencies talk about – 

• monitoring sender reputation
• list hygiene and removing inactive users
• authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• testing for spam filters and rendering issues
• how they handle ongoing deliverability issues

Weak answers sound like they – 

• are focusing only on subject lines
• have no clear process for deliverability
• have no technical understanding of how emails land

Agencies should treat email deliverability as a part of their process, not an outcome or something they fix later. 

Category 3: Proving Results and Accountability

Now things start becoming a little uncomfortable – for the agency. 

Up until now, they’ve been talking about process and execution. Now you start asking for proof.

Question 8: What do you actually track and how do you report it?

Hint: if they start with open rates, you already have your answer.

If your email marketing agency is serious about onboarding you as a client, they will talk about things like – 

• revenue from email marketing campaigns
• click through rates tied to conversions
• customer lifetime value and customer retention
• deliverability and overall channel performance
• how often they report and what insights they include

Weak answers sound polished but fall apart pretty quickly – 

• “We track all the key metrics.”
• “We’ll share reports regularly.”
• dashboards with no explanation or next steps

Agencies will go into the depths of what is working, what’s not working, and what changes they want to bring. 

Something else worth noticing – they should ask you what success looks like FOR YOU (like growth, retention, profitability?) before locking in metrics. If they don’t, they’re guessing.

Question 9: What results have you actually driven for brands like ours?

This is where you stop listening to promises and start looking for proof. A strong email marketing firm won’t hesitate here. They will talk about – 

• specific numbers (not ranges)
• before vs after comparisons
• results from similar ecommerce businesses or clients
• what they did—not just what happened

If they say things like – 

• “We’ve worked with a lot of brands in your space.”
• “Results vary, but we’ve seen strong performance.”

And they provide you with no real numbers or no context, you may want to hold on to the final decision. If they can’t show results, they probably don’t have a track record worth trusting.

The best email marketing agencies are transparent about wins and limitations, and can clearly explain their role in the outcome.

Question 10: How long before we start seeing results?

This question tests honesty more than anything else. An email marketing agency shouldn’t promise overnight wins, but that doesn’t mean they drag things out. You should hear something like – 

• initial improvements within the first 30 days
• meaningful impact in 60–90 days
• what actually affects timelines (list size, email platforms, existing setup, etc.)

Look out for things like:

• “It depends” (with no explanation)
• guaranteed revenue numbers
• vague timelines with no clear milestones

Also, pay attention to speed. 

If they can’t get email campaigns live within a few weeks, something’s off. Execution delays usually turn into performance delays.

Strong email marketing services set clear expectations upfront and back them with a plan.

Category 4: Who You’ll Actually Be Working With

You’re not hiring a designer to build your logo; you’re hiring a team of people who will actually run your account, who will be responsible for a big part of your revenue. If you don’t feel right about working with some people, nothing else will. 

Question 11: Who’s actually going to run our account?

Straight up – who’s doing the work after you sign?

Email marketing agencies should have a strong sales process. You’re speaking to senior people, sometimes even the founder. But that’s not who manages your email campaigns day to day.

When you ask them about who is going to handle your account, the answer should be clear and specific. They should be able to tell you – 

• who your account manager is
• who handles email design, copy, and execution
• what each person is responsible for
• their experience working with similar clients

If they give answers like – 

• “You’ll have a dedicated team” (but no names)
• “Our team collaborates across accounts”

Or they show hesitation when you ask to meet the team before signing, which could be a potential red flag. 

A top-notch email marketing firm is transparent here. They’re proud of their team, and they’ll show them early.

Question 12: How many accounts does your account manager handle?

This question sounds simple, but it tells you everything about quality. Context switching kills performance. If your account manager is juggling too many clients, your email marketing campaigns become just another task on a list.

You should want to hear – 

• a clear number (not “it depends”)
• how they manage workload across clients
• how they maintain quality across multiple campaigns

Watch for answers that don’t seem to align with your requirements. Like – 

• “Our team is very efficient, so we handle multiple brands”
• “We distribute work across the team”

If one person is handling 8–10+ clients, expect slower execution and less strategic thinking. The best email marketing agencies protect bandwidth. Fewer clients usually means better work.

Question 13: What does working together actually look like day to day?

Try to understand how the relationship between you and the email marketing agency will feel. 

A good email marketing agency won’t keep this vague. They’ll explain:

• how often you’ll meet (weekly, biweekly)
• how communication works (Slack, email, calls)
• how updates, reporting, and project management are handled
• who you go to when something breaks

Instead, if you hear – 

• “We’ll figure out a rhythm once we start”
• “We’re flexible with communication”

then it might not be the greatest idea to hire them. How they communicate now is exactly how they’ll communicate later.

Strong email marketing services have structure here, but not rigidity. Clear cadence, fast responses, no guesswork.

Category 5: Before You Sign Anything

Make sure you don’t rush into anything. You may regret it later. 

Question 14: What happens after we sign?

This question is really about onboarding, but more importantly, whether they have a plan. Make sure the email marketing company you choose walk you through – 

• what happens in the first 2–4 weeks
• what they need from you (access, data, tools)
• what they’ll deliver (audits, strategy development, initial campaigns)
• how quickly things actually go live

Avoid them is you hear things like – 

• “We’ll get started right away”
• “It depends on the project”

Onboarding is also an important step. See how long it takes, what their process is. But if they don’t have one, that usually means delays and unnecessary confusion. 

Learn more about InboxArmy’s onboarding process here.

Question 15: What are your contract terms, and how easy is it to leave?

This question may be a little sour. It may be awkward to ask, but it’s extremely necessary. Make sure your email marketing agency is clear about – 

• contract length
• cancellation terms
• payment structure
• ownership of assets (your email campaigns, data, creatives)

If they have unclear exit terms, long lock-ins with no flexibility, or if they say something like “it’s a standard contract”, you may want to recheck that contract. 

If it’s hard to understand how to leave, that’s the point.

A good email marketing agency should not rely on contracts to keep clients, it should be the results they lean on. Clear, fair terms are usually a good sign you’ve found the right agency.

Why Choose InboxArmy as your Email Marketing Agency?

InboxArmy is a full-service email marketing agency built around execution — not just strategy decks and recommendations. We run your email marketing, end to end.

Here’s how we work:

• Everything in one place

We handle strategy, email campaigns, email design, and email automation as one team. No handoffs, no gaps.

• We work with your setup

We support 40+ email platforms and email service providers, so you don’t have to switch tools.

• You get a dedicated account manager

One point of contact who understands your business, your email programs, and what’s going out.

• We follow a structured process

Clear timelines, defined workflows, and consistent execution across ongoing campaigns.

• Simple onboarding, flexible terms

No confusion after signing. No long lock-ins.

We focus on making your email marketing campaigns run smoothly, consistently, clearly, and without friction.

Contact us now to get started. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Should I ask all 15 questions in one call?

No. Split them across calls. Focus on strategy and team first, then execution and results. Rushing through everything in one call leads to surface-level answers.

2. What if the agency avoids answering certain questions?

That’s a red flag. Good agencies answer directly or explain why they can’t. Avoidance usually means lack of clarity, structure, or experience.

3. How do I know if an agency’s answers are good enough? 

Good answers are specific, structured, and easy to follow. You should hear clear processes, real examples, and confident explanations, not vague statements.

4. What if all agencies sound the same?

Look for specifics. The right agency will go deeper, ask better questions, and tailor answers to your business.

5. How soon should I expect answers after a discovery call?

Within 24–48 hours. Good agencies follow up quickly with clear next steps, summaries, or proposals. Delays early on usually continue later.