I run a marketing agency. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I’ve done this a hundred times—set up automations, connect tools, and send high-converting emails. So when I needed to set up email marketing for a new client, I didn’t expect drama. But what started as a routine task turned into a full-blown nightmare.
Blocked accounts. Vanishing support. No refunds. One of the most painful experiences I’ve had with email marketing tools—and one I never want another founder or small business owner to go through.
When setting up email marketing becomes the problem—not the solution
We just needed to build a clean welcome flow, a couple of nurture emails, and maybe a lead magnet delivery sequence. Pretty standard. I picked a popular platform, paid for it, and jumped in.
Within minutes—blocked.
No onboarding. No chance to verify. No warning. Just “you’ve violated our compliance policy.”
But I hadn’t even done anything yet.
I realized quickly that email marketing tools aren’t always built to help you. Sometimes, they’re built to filter you out.
MailJet took my money and ghosted me
Let’s talk specifics. The first tool I used was MailJet. It looked like a dream: minimal UI, great pricing, automation, segmentation—everything a small business would need.
I paid $55. Got access. But before I could send anything, I got blocked. Not paused. Not flagged. Blocked.
Their reason? “Violation of compliance terms.”
I didn’t even get to verify the domain. I contacted support. No difference. It’s been weeks.
And this wasn’t just an inconvenience. It was a loud message:
If you’re from the wrong region—or using a new domain—you’re often guilty until proven innocent.
Mailchimp? Good, but not for lean budgets
Naturally, I turned to Mailchimp, the so-called gold standard of email marketing tools. And yes, it’s powerful. Flexible. Well-known.
But once you get into pricing, especially for automations, multiple audiences, and analytics, it stops being small-business friendly.
I had to drop it—not because it couldn’t do the job, but because it wasn’t built for the budget we were working with.
It’s one of the big disconnects in email marketing for small businesses: great tools priced like you’re already scaling to the moon.
Brevo, SendPulse—same setup, same shutdown
At this point, I was desperate. I tried SendPulse. Created an account, received the verification email, clicked it.
Blocked.
Then came Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). This one had everything—SMS, segmentation, pricing that made sense. I thought I’d finally found the right tool.
Then boom—account closed post-verification. No explanation.
And once again, I wondered: is it my IP? My domain? The fact that I’m setting up email marketing from Nigeria?
These silent shutdowns hurt more than you’d expect. Not just financially, but emotionally. It starts to feel personal—even when it’s not.
The compliance wall: what small business owners don’t see coming
One of the biggest traps in modern email marketing is compliance.
And I get it—email tools need to protect their systems. But the problem is, they rarely communicate the rules clearly. Especially to businesses outside North America or Europe.
Most small businesses don’t know:
You need to warm up your domain
Your IP might be flagged by default
Verification failures don’t always mean you did something wrong
These email compliance issues hit hardest when you’re least prepared.
Cheap tools? Often not for people like us
So I tried a few of the “budget” options. $8 to $10/month kind of tools. They seemed perfect—until I realized they weren’t email marketing tools in the traditional sense.
They were built for developers—full-on API-only platforms with no templates, no drag-and-drop, and no automations unless you built them manually.
If you’re not technical, these tools are useless.
And this is where many founders go wrong: choosing based on price, assuming every platform does the same thing. One of the most common email marketing mistakes I see every day.
ConvertKit is great—just not for this
ConvertKit gets a lot of love online. And for good reason. It’s clean, easy, and creator-focused.
But when you’re setting up email marketing for a small business that has diverse audiences, sales flows, onboarding sequences, and actual product logic?
ConvertKit starts to fall short.
It’s perfect for newsletter creators, course sellers, and influencers. But not ideal if you’re trying to scale business operations through automation.
Zoho Campaigns gave me hope… and then made me wait
Finally, I found Zoho Campaigns.
It had:
Reasonable pricing
Clean UI
SMS integration (even though limited by region)
Full email automation features
I built the campaign. Connected the list. Hit “send.”
Then I got this message:
“Your campaign is under review. This may take 2–3 business days.”
That wait? It broke me.
If you’ve ever had to launch something urgent—like a product drop, a flash sale, or a launch—and your email gets paused for days, you know what I’m talking about.
Sometimes, “fully featured” isn’t enough. You need fast. You need trusted. You need done.
5 things I now tell every founder about email marketing tools
If you’re setting up email marketing for your business—please, learn from my pain. Here’s what matters most:
1. Don’t choose based on price
The best email marketing tool for small business isn’t the cheapest. It’s the one that works for your model and your market.
2. Always warm your domain
If your domain is new and you go all-in with 1,000 contacts, expect deliverability issues or even blocks. Warm it up slowly.
3. Ask about compliance upfront
Email tool setup problems often stem from compliance misunderstandings. Message support and clarify their region and business type policies.
4. Choose based on your business type
Are you a content creator, a SaaS startup, an e-commerce brand? Use that to guide your tool choice.
5. Get help early
The right setup saves you hours. The wrong one will cost you days, money, and your trust in the process.
Email marketing for small businesses shouldn’t be this hard
And yet—it is.
The truth is, these tools weren’t built with us in mind. If you’re a small business in Africa, Asia, or even parts of Europe, you’re already climbing an invisible hill before you even press “Send.”
But it doesn’t have to be like this.
This is why Techdella exists
At Techdella, we’ve set up email marketing systems for startups, solopreneurs, and businesses with tiny budgets but big goals.
We know:
Which tools will flag you
Which ones play fair
How to warm up your email
How to build a compliant, automated system that just works
You don’t have to test five platforms. You don’t have to Google every error message. You don’t need to lose $55 on a tool that blocks you without warning.
