What should you do when a client disregards your email marketing advice?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 3 May 2025
Updated 17 Aug 2025
7 min read
It can be incredibly frustrating when you dedicate time and expertise to crafting a robust email marketing strategy for a client, only for them to disregard your advice. You see the warning signs, understand the potential impact on their sender reputation, and know precisely what steps are needed to ensure their emails reach the inbox. Yet, they choose a different path, often one that led them into trouble in the first place.
This situation is unfortunately common in the world of email marketing and deliverability. Clients often have their own ideas, sometimes based on outdated information or a misunderstanding of how email systems truly work. They might prioritize short-term gains over long-term health, leading to consequences like low inbox placement, being added to a blocklist (or blacklist), or even full domain reputation damage.
When a client chooses to ignore critical advice, it's not just their email program at risk, it can also reflect poorly on your recommendations and efforts. The challenge lies in guiding them towards better practices without alienating them, while also protecting your own professional integrity.
Understanding the root causes of client resistance
Before reacting, it helps to understand why a client might be resistant to your expert advice. It's rarely a personal affront, but rather a mix of business pressures, lack of knowledge, or past experiences. They might be under pressure to hit sales targets, and see aggressive emailing as the quickest path, despite the risks to email deliverability rates. Or perhaps they believe their current strategy is effective because they're focusing on metrics like sends, not actual inbox placement or conversions.
Sometimes, clients might have received bad email deliverability advice in the past, or they might be wary of changes that seem abstract or too technical. The concept of sender reputation, blocklists (or blacklists), and spam traps can be complex to grasp for those not immersed in the field daily.
They may also confuse short-term open rates with long-term email health. For instance, if a client is sending to an unengaged list, they might see high initial open rates from bots or spamtrap hits, mistakenly believing their campaign is successful. It is crucial to address these underlying misconceptions with data and clear explanations, helping them understand that quality almost always trumps quantity in email marketing.
Client's perspective
Short-term focus: Prioritizing immediate sales or lead generation over long-term email health.
Misunderstanding metrics: Believing high send volumes or deceptive open rates indicate success.
Fear of change: Reluctance to alter established, even if flawed, processes.
Internal pressure: Being pushed by management for quick results, ignoring consequences.
Compliance: Ensuring adherence to email regulations and best practices.
Communicating the consequences
When a client is resistant, it's essential to clearly articulate the potential negative consequences of ignoring your advice. This isn't about scare tactics, but about laying out the factual implications in a way they can understand. Focus on what matters most to them, which is usually revenue, brand reputation, and operational efficiency.
For instance, explain that continued poor practices, such as sending to unengaged subscribers, can lead to their domain being placed on an email blocklist (or blacklist). This can result in emails not reaching any inbox, including crucial transactional messages or customer service communications. Detail how this directly impacts their ability to conduct business, acquire new customers, and retain existing ones.
Illustrate how issues like low inbox placement or being marked as spam by recipients can escalate. A continuous decline in sender reputation means future campaigns will likely fare even worse, trapping them in a cycle of poor performance. Remind them that recovering a damaged sender reputation is a long and challenging process that requires consistent adherence to best practices, as outlined in guides like Why Your Emails Are Going to Spam and Email Deliverability Issues. You can also present the cost of ignoring customers and how poor email hygiene can hurt their brand.
Setting clear boundaries and expectations
If a client continues to disregard your advice, it's crucial to set clear boundaries and manage expectations. This involves documenting your recommendations, their decisions, and the potential outcomes. This isn't about an 'I told you so' moment, but about establishing a paper trail that protects both parties.
Documenting client interactions
Written recommendations: Provide detailed reports and proposals outlining your strategy.
Client responses: Keep records of their decisions, especially when they deviate from advice.
Impact analysis: Detail projected outcomes of both followed and disregarded advice.
Regular updates: Provide ongoing reports on performance, highlighting any negative trends linked to their chosen path.
You may need to have a candid conversation about the scope of your engagement. If their actions consistently undermine your ability to achieve the promised results, it might be time to revise the terms of service or, in extreme cases, consider if the partnership is viable. Knowing how to deal with an unresponsive client is a crucial skill.
Ultimately, fostering a long-term, successful relationship with a client involves continuous education. Rather than merely stating what they should or should not do, explain the 'why' behind your recommendations. Use analogies, real-world examples, and data visualizations to make complex deliverability concepts more accessible. This might involve demonstrating how DMARC monitoring provides visibility into their email ecosystem or how blocklist monitoring protects their sender reputation.
Objection
Expert counter-argument
“But we need to email our entire list!”
Explain the concept of unengaged subscribers and their negative impact on sender reputation. Show data on engagement decline and the risk of hitting spam traps.
“My emails are going to promotions, not primary.”
Explain that this is a categorization, not a deliverability failure. Focus on engagement metrics over tab placement. See handling Gmail promotions tab concerns.
“Our business has needs, so we have to email this way.”
Reframe needs as opportunities for sustainable growth. Show how adhering to best practices leads to better long-term ROI.
“I think my plan is better.”
Offer to test both approaches on small, controlled segments, demonstrating the effectiveness of your recommended strategy with hard data.
Your role is not just to provide advice, but to advocate for the health of their email program. This includes explaining how to manage sender reputation when clients send emails through your platform. By empowering clients with knowledge, you help them make informed decisions and become partners in achieving excellent email deliverability.
Ultimately, the goal is to shift their perspective from viewing email deliverability as a technical hurdle to an integral part of their business success. It's about convincing them that removing unengaged subscribers or not emailing inactive subscribers isn't about losing reach, but about improving engagement and ROI.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Clearly articulate the 'why' behind your advice, focusing on business impact.
Maintain comprehensive documentation of all recommendations and client decisions.
Suggest small-scale tests to demonstrate the effectiveness of your proposed strategies.
Educate clients on the long-term benefits of good email hygiene and sender reputation.
Common pitfalls
Assuming clients understand complex deliverability concepts without explanation.
Failing to document client decisions that go against expert advice.
Allowing short-term client pressures to dictate unsustainable email practices.
Not setting clear boundaries when client actions compromise professional integrity.
Expert tips
Always link deliverability advice to the client's business goals and revenue.
Use clear, simple language and avoid technical jargon when explaining issues.
Offer alternative strategies that meet business needs while adhering to best practices.
Be prepared to walk away from partnerships that consistently undermine your expertise.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says clients acting as their own consultants is one of the most frustrating scenarios in email marketing.
2024-08-27 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks emphasizes the importance of teaching clients how to be effective clients, acknowledging that adoption rates for advice can sometimes be low.
2024-08-27 - Email Geeks
Navigating client relationships and protecting deliverability
Handling clients who disregard email marketing advice is a delicate balance of education, communication, and strategic boundary-setting. Your primary goal is to protect their email deliverability and sender reputation, which ultimately impacts their business success.
By clearly articulating the 'why' behind your recommendations, demonstrating the tangible impact of their choices, and documenting everything, you empower them to make better decisions. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, a client may choose a path that leads to inevitable issues, such as email campaign block bounces or declining click and open rates. In these instances, you’ve provided the guidance, and the record of your advice becomes vital.
