How to Choose an Email Marketing Platform (And Actually Get It Set Up Without Losing Your Mind)

If you’re running a business, building an audience, or selling literally anything online, you already know email marketing is important.

But actually starting?

That’s where most people get stuck.

• Which platform should you use?

• How complicated does this need to be?

• What’s a segment and do you really need one?

• And why does every email tool seem to assume you already know what you’re doing?

Good news: this is way simpler than most people think. You don’t need a giant, overengineered system to start. You just need a solid foundation you can grow into.

Let’s walk through it step by step.

Step 1: Picking the Right Email Platform (Without Overthinking It)

There are a lot of tools out there:

• Mailchimp

• ConvertKit

• Klaviyo

• ActiveCampaign

• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

• HubSpot

• And about 37 others you’ll see in YouTube ads

Here’s the honest truth:

For 90% of businesses, the best platform is the one you’ll actually use consistently.

What You Should Look For

When comparing platforms, focus on:

• Ease of use

  • Can you create an email without watching 3 tutorials?

  • Is the interface understandable at a glance?

• Segmentation features

  • Can you tag people?

  • Can you group them based on behavior or interests?

• Automation

  • Welcome emails

  • Simple follow-up sequences

  • Basic “if they do X, send Y” logic

• Scalability

  • Will this still work when your list grows?

• Price that makes sense for your stage

My Practical Recommendations

• If you’re a creator, service business, or consultant → ConvertKit or Mailchimp are great starting points

• If you’re ecommerce → Klaviyo or similar tools are built for that world

• If you’re B2B or more complex → ActiveCampaign or HubSpot might make sense

Don’t pick based on “what the big brands use.” Pick based on what matches your complexity right now.

You can always migrate later. (Yes, it’s annoying. No, it’s not the end of the world.)

Step 2: Set It Up the “Boring But Correct” Way

This is the part people rush and then regret later.

Your Initial Setup Checklist

• Set up:

  • Your sending domain

  • Your from name and from email

  • Your business address (for compliance)

• Authenticate your domain:

  • DKIM

  • SPF

  • DMARC (if available)

This improves deliverability and keeps you out of spam. It is not optional if you want this to work long-term.

Create Your Core Lists or Structure

Most modern platforms use either:

• One master list + tags/segments

• Or multiple lists (less ideal, in most cases)

In almost every case, you want:

• One main list

• Use tags and segments to organize people

Step 3: Understand Tags vs Segments (This Matters More Than People Realize)

Here’s the simple version:

• Tags = labels you apply to people

  • “Customer”

  • “Interested in SEO”

  • “Downloaded Lead Magnet A”

• Segments = rules-based groups

  • “People who are customers AND opened last 5 emails”

  • “People who clicked on product links but didn’t buy”

Example Structure

You might have tags like:

• Lead

• Customer

• Web Design Interest

• Email Marketing Interest

• Freebie: Content Guide

And segments like:

• “Warm Leads” = Opened last 3 campaigns

• “Engaged Subscribers” = Clicked any link in last 30 days

• “Buyers” = Has tag Customer

Tags describe people. Segments think for you.

Step 4: Your First 3 Segments Everyone Should Have

Don’t overbuild this. Start simple.

1. Engaged Subscribers

• People who opened or clicked in the last 30–90 days

• These are your core audience

• This is who you should optimize for

2. Customers

• Anyone who has ever bought from you

• These people should:

  • Get different messaging

  • Get rewarded more

  • Not be pitched the same way as cold leads

3. Cold or Inactive Subscribers

• People who haven’t opened in 90+ days

• You’ll eventually:

  • Try to re-engage them

  • Or clean them off your list

A smaller, engaged list beats a big, dead one every time.

Step 5: Set Up Your First Two Automations

You do not need 47 funnels.

Start with these:

1. Welcome Sequence

When someone joins your list:

• Email 1: Welcome + what to expect

• Email 2: Your best content or story

• Email 3: What you do + how you help people

2. Basic Nurture or Value Sequence

• A few emails that:

  • Teach something useful

  • Build trust

  • Show your perspective

  • Soft-introduce your services or products

These run in the background and do the relationship-building for you.

Step 6: What to Send (Because This Is the Part Everyone Overcomplicates)

Your emails do not need to be:

• Perfectly designed

• Long

• Fancy

• Written like a corporate newsletter

They should be:

• Useful

• Interesting

• Human

• Consistent

Easy Content Ideas

• Recent blog posts

• Lessons from client work

• Quick tips

• Short stories with a business takeaway

• “Here’s what I’m seeing a lot of people mess up right now”

If it would make a good LinkedIn post, it probably makes a good email.

Step 7: The Big Mistake to Avoid

The biggest mistake I see:

People build their email system like they’re already a 7-figure company.

They create:

• Over-segmented lists

• Over-complicated automations

• Over-engineered funnels

And then…

They never send emails.

Start:

• Simple

• Clean

• Usable

You can always make it smarter later.

When It Makes Sense to Get Help

Eventually, you’ll hit a point where:

• Your list is growing

• Your offers are more complex

• You want better targeting

• You want smarter automation

• You want email to drive real revenue, not just “send newsletters”

That’s usually when:

• Strategy

• Architecture

• Segmentation logic

• Funnel design

…start to matter a lot more.

And that’s where having someone design this properly can save you months (or years) of trial and error.

Final Thought

Email marketing isn’t about tools.

It’s about:

• Owning your audience

• Building relationships

• Showing up consistently

• And turning attention into trust—and trust into sales

The tools just make it easier.