Phase 7~3 hoursMedium
7.1 Email Marketing Setup
Choosing a Platform
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) -- free tier, 300 emails/day. Includes SMS and CRM. Best all-in-one option for most small businesses starting out.
- Mailchimp -- free up to 500 contacts. Most well-known, but limited automation on free plan.
- Postmark -- transactional email specialist. Best deliverability in the industry. Use for receipts, booking confirmations, and automated sequences where deliverability matters most.
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit) -- free up to 10,000 subscribers. Strong automation builder with visual sequences. Excellent for creator and service businesses.
Step-by-Step
Create your account and verify your domain
Sign up for your chosen platform and verify your sending domain. This involves adding DNS records (similar to what you did in Phase 1):
- SPF record -- tells email servers your platform is authorised to send on your behalf
- DKIM record -- digitally signs your emails to prove they haven't been tampered with
- DMARC record -- tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF/DKIM checks
- Your email platform will provide the exact records to add
- Important: You can only have ONE SPF record per domain. If you already have one, combine the includes into a single record.
- This is not optional. As of November 2025, Gmail rejects bulk email from senders without proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Set up your subscriber list
Create your first list and configure these settings:
- Double opt-in: Recommended for Australian compliance. Subscriber clicks a confirmation link in the first email.
- Welcome email: Automatically sent when someone joins. Include: who you are, what they'll receive, how often, and a link to your best content or offer.
- List segments: If you serve different audiences, create segments. This lets you send relevant content to each group.
Connect your lead sources
Every way someone gives you their email should feed into your list automatically:
Design your email template
Create a reusable template that matches your brand:
- Your logo at the top
- Clean, single-column layout (multi-column breaks on mobile)
- Max width 600px -- the email standard
- Clear CTA button (not just a text link)
- Footer with: business name, physical address (legally required), unsubscribe link (legally required)
- Keep it simple. The best-performing emails look like a personal message, not a brochure.
Send a test campaign
Before launching any automation, send a single campaign to test everything:
- Send to yourself and 2--3 colleagues/friends
- Check: does it arrive in inbox (not spam)? Does it render correctly on mobile? Do all links work? Is the unsubscribe link functional?
- Check deliverability with mail-tester.com (free, 3 tests/day) -- aim for 9+/10
Deliverability Warning -- This Changed in 2025
Gmail now outright rejects (not just spam-filters -- rejects) bulk email from senders without proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. This affects any business sending to Gmail addresses, which is approximately 30% of all email recipients in Australia. If you skip domain verification, your emails don't just land in spam -- they never arrive at all.
You're Done When
- Email platform account created and domain verified (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Subscriber list created with double opt-in enabled
- Welcome email configured and tested
- At least one lead source connected to your list automatically
- Email template created matching your brand
- Test email arrives in inbox (not spam) with a mail-tester score of 9+
Still here? You're basically an agency now.
70 hours of DIY, or one phone call to us.