Your email newsletter software does a lot more than send emails. It holds your list, handles your signups and unsubscribes, manages your sending reputation, and for many publishers it’s tied directly to revenue. Switching later is possible, but it’s a real project, so it’s worth choosing carefully the first time.

Here are nine questions to ask.

How much will it cost, now and later?

Prices start low, and many platforms have free plans with limits. The number to look at is what you’ll pay when your list is two or five times its current size, because most pricing scales with subscribers.

Tip: Add up the extras too: paid add-ons, extra users, dedicated IPs, and fees on paid subscriptions if you plan to charge.

Is it easy to use?

You’ll be in it every week, so it should be easy for whoever builds the newsletter to work with, whether or not they’re technical.

Tip: Use the free trial to build a real issue from start to finish. If that’s a struggle, it won’t get easier.

Does it work with your other tools?

Check it connects to the tools you already use: your website or CMS, signup forms, payments, analytics and CRM.

Tip: Look at the platform’s integrations, and read user reviews to see how well they actually work in practice.

What automation does it offer?

At minimum, you want welcome sequences, tagging and segmentation, and automated list cleaning. Many newsletters also want A/B testing, RSS-to-email, and triggers based on clicks or purchases.

Tip: Check whether you can test subject lines and content, and whether tests can be judged on clicks rather than opens.

Are the templates flexible enough?

Good templates save hours. They should be easy to adapt to your brand, work well on mobile, and produce lean code, since bloated templates are the main cause of Gmail clipping long emails.

Tip: During the trial, build your real newsletter in their editor and send it to yourself in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail.

How does it handle deliverability and authentication?

Deliverability is whether your emails reach the inbox, and the platform has a big influence on it. Ask:

  • Can you set up DKIM and a custom return-path on your own domain, so your emails are properly aligned for DMARC? Gmail and Yahoo have required this from bulk senders since 2024.
  • Does it add one-click unsubscribe headers automatically?
  • How does it manage shared IPs, and does it remove senders who damage them?
  • Does it support a custom tracking domain for links?

Tip: If the answers aren’t in the documentation, ask support. How they answer tells you a lot too.

What do the analytics actually show?

Good analytics tell you what’s working. Look for clicks per link, results by segment and by mailbox provider, and signup sources.

Tip: Ask how the platform handles Apple Mail Privacy Protection. Since 2021, Apple Mail has inflated open rates, and better platforms flag those opens or report clicks more prominently.

Can you get your data out?

This is the question people forget. Check you can export everything, including your subscribers, their tags and signup dates, and especially your suppression list of unsubscribes, bounces and complainers. Losing that when you switch platforms is one of the easiest ways to damage your deliverability.

Tip: Also check whether the public newsletter archive can be noindexed, if you republish content on your own site.

Will it grow with you?

Think 12–24 months ahead. Will you want paid subscriptions, sponsorships, multiple newsletters, or more team members? Check the platform supports them, and what it costs to upgrade.

Tip: Test their support during the trial. Send a real question and see how quickly, and how well, they answer.

Choose carefully, then commit

There’s no perfect platform, only the right one for how you work. Ask these questions, run a proper trial with a real issue, read reviews, and watch a few walkthrough videos before deciding. Then commit to it, and spend your time on the newsletter rather than the tools.