The four checks
1. Does it do automated sequences at the tier you will actually be on? The most valuable feature in email, and frequently gated behind a higher plan than the one you sign up for. Check before choosing on price.
2. Does it connect to your website forms without a project? If adding a subscriber requires manual entry, it will not happen.
3. Can you export the full list, including engagement history? The critical one. Some platforms make leaving genuinely awkward. Check before committing.
4. Will you open it? A platform nobody logs into is a subscription, not a tool. Simpler usually wins.
How pricing works
Almost every provider charges on contacts held, sometimes with a send-volume limit as well. Small lists are cheap and several providers have free tiers at low contact counts.
Two things to watch:
Unsubscribed contacts may still count toward your total on some platforms, so a list nobody prunes quietly costs more each year.
Automation gated by tier, as above.
The ownership point
This matters more than the platform choice.
The account must be in your business name, with your email as owner, and you must have the login. An agency running email from their own account means your customer list — an asset you spent years building — is not in your possession.
Agencies should be users. They should not be owners. That applies to BayouEdge too: email marketing setup is $650 a month, on your platform, in your account.
What does not matter much
Template libraries. For a local business, a plain email from a named person outperforms a designed one. You will use one simple template.
Advanced segmentation. Two or three segments captures nearly all the benefit at this size.
AI features. Useful for drafting; not a reason to choose a platform.
Integrations you will never use.
Getting the technical part right
Whichever platform you choose, authentication has to be set up on your domain — SPF, DKIM and DMARC — so mail providers can verify that email claiming to be from you really is.
Major providers have tightened requirements for bulk senders, and skipping this is the most common reason good emails land in spam. It is a one-time setup and it is not optional any more.
Migrating later
Annoying but not fatal. What must transfer: consent records, unsubscribes and complaints above all. Sequences never transfer and have to be rebuilt.
So choose reasonably, and do not agonise.
Before signing up
Find out where your customer contacts currently live and whether you can export them. That answer shapes everything else.
Frequently asked questions
Which email platform should I choose?
Almost any mainstream one, if it does sequences at the tier you will use, connects to your website forms, lets you export the full list, and is simple enough that you will open it.
What are the billing traps?
Unsubscribed contacts still counting toward your total on some platforms, and automated sequences gated behind a higher tier than the one you signed up for.
Should my agency own the account?
No. The account belongs in your business name with your email as owner. An agency owning it means your customer list is not in your possession.
What technical setup is required?
SPF, DKIM and DMARC records on your domain so providers can verify your mail. Major providers have tightened requirements for bulk senders and skipping it sends good email to spam.