How email marketing agencies can diversify revenue with consulting

Key takeaways

• Diversifying revenue protects your agency from client loss and market downturns. Relying solely on project or retainer work from a few big clients is a major financial risk.
• Consulting is a high-margin entry point into diversification. It leverages your existing expertise without needing new hires or tech, and can command day rates of £1,000+.
• Building multiple income channels creates a more stable business. A mix of retainers, consulting, and passive income smooths out cash flow and increases overall profitability.
• Start by packaging your knowledge into sellable services. Audit current client conversations to identify common problems you can solve for a fixed or recurring fee.

What is email marketing agency revenue diversification and why does it matter?

Email marketing agency revenue diversification means creating several different ways your business makes money, instead of just one. For most agencies, that one way is client project fees or monthly retainers. Diversification adds new income channels like consulting, training, or selling digital products.

This matters because relying on a single income source is risky. If your biggest client leaves, your revenue can drop overnight. Market changes, like a new privacy law affecting email marketing, can suddenly make your core service less valuable. Diversification builds a safety net.

In our experience working with email marketing agencies, the most profitable and resilient ones rarely have more than 60% of their income from one type of service. They spread their risk. This isn't about abandoning your core email marketing work. It's about adding new revenue streams that complement it.

Why do email marketing agencies need to think about multiple income channels now?

Email marketing agencies need multiple income channels because the market is getting more competitive and client budgets are under pressure. When every pound counts, clients may cut retainers or seek cheaper alternatives. Having other ways to earn money keeps your agency growing during tough times.

Think of it like a financial portfolio. You wouldn't put all your savings into one stock. Your agency shouldn't rely on one type of client work. Multiple income channels make your revenue predictable. When project work is slow, your consulting or product sales can fill the gap.

This also future-proofs your business. The demand for pure email campaign management might change. But the demand for strategic advice on customer communication and marketing automation is growing. By diversifying, you're selling your deep knowledge, not just your time to execute tasks.

How can consulting services become a new revenue stream?

Consulting services let you sell your strategic brainpower for a high daily or project fee. Instead of managing someone's email sends, you advise them on their overall strategy, tech stack, or team structure. This is a powerful form of email marketing agency revenue diversification because it uses expertise you already have.

Start by looking at the questions your clients already ask you. Do they want help choosing an email service provider? Do they need a strategy for their welcome series or reactivation campaigns? These are consulting opportunities. Package this advice into a fixed-price audit or a strategy workshop.

Pricing is key. A common mistake is to price consulting like project work. Your consulting rate should be much higher because you're delivering condensed value and insight, not ongoing labour. Day rates for specialist email marketing consulting can range from £800 to £1,500 or more, depending on your reputation and the client's size.

This creates a high-margin income channel. There's usually no software cost or delivery team to pay. The money you charge goes almost straight to your bottom line, after your own time. It's a smart way to increase your agency's profit without scaling your team.

What are the best passive income opportunities for an email marketing agency?

Passive income opportunities are products or services that earn money with little ongoing work from you after they're created. For email marketers, this includes templates, courses, ebooks, or software tools. These can provide a steady income that isn't tied to your available hours.

A simple starting point is selling email template packs or campaign blueprints. If you've created a high-converting webinar follow-up sequence for a client, you can adapt it into a generic template and sell it dozens of times. The work is done once, but the sales can continue for years.

Another strong option is creating a short course. Teach other marketers or small business owners how to master a specific part of email marketing, like writing subject lines or segmenting a list. Platforms like Teachable or Kajabi handle the hosting and payments for you.

These passive income opportunities complement your active services. A client who buys your course might later hire you for consulting. Or a business using your templates might need help with implementation. It's a funnel that feeds itself, creating multiple income channels from one piece of expertise.

How do you introduce retainer variation without confusing clients?

Retainer variation means offering different tiers or types of ongoing service packages, not just one standard monthly fee. This lets you cater to different client budgets and needs, capturing more revenue. The key is to make the options clear and distinct, so clients can easily choose what fits them.

A classic model is the "Do-It-For-Me", "Do-It-With-Me", and "Do-It-Yourself" tiers. The top tier is your full-service email management retainer. The middle tier could be a monthly strategy call and template review where you guide the client's team. The lowest tier might be access to your template library and a monthly Q&A session.

Frame this as giving clients more choice, not complicating things. On your website and proposals, present the tiers side-by-side with clear benefits. This approach often increases your average revenue per client. Some will choose the middle option when they wouldn't have sprung for the full retainer.

This retainer variation is a core part of building multiple income channels. It turns a single pricing model into a scalable system. It also protects you if a client wants to downgrade. Instead of losing them completely, you move them to a lower-tier retainer, preserving some revenue and the relationship.

What does a diversified income model actually look like for an agency?

A healthy diversified income model for an email marketing agency might split revenue across three or four streams. A good target is 50-60% from core client retainers, 20-30% from consulting and strategy work, and 10-20% from passive income products like templates or courses.

Let's say your agency makes £20,000 a month. A diversified model could be £11,000 from retainers (55%), £6,000 from consulting projects (30%), and £3,000 from template sales and affiliate income (15%). This mix is far more stable than £20,000 from retainers alone.

The consulting and product income also typically have much higher gross margins. Gross margin is the money left after paying the direct costs of delivering the service. For retainers, you have team costs. For consulting, your main cost is your own time. For digital products, the cost of sale is nearly zero after creation.

This model makes your agency more valuable to a potential buyer too. A business with several proven income channels is seen as less risky and more innovative. It shows you're not just a service provider, but a commercial thinker. Specialist accountants for email marketing agencies can help you track the profitability of each stream separately.

What are the first steps to start diversifying your agency revenue?

The first step is to audit your current client work and conversations. Write down every piece of advice you gave last month that wasn't part of a formal scope. These are your consulting service ideas. Note any assets you created that could be turned into a template.

Next, pick one idea to test. Don't try to launch a course, a consulting package, and a new retainer tier all at once. Choose the lowest-effort, highest-potential option. For many, that's a fixed-price email marketing audit or a small template pack. Create a simple sales page and offer it to your existing network.

Set up separate tracking in your accounts from day one. Use different codes in your accounting software for "retainer revenue", "consulting revenue", and "product sales". This lets you see exactly how profitable each new income channel is. You can't manage what you don't measure.

Finally, schedule regular time to work on diversification. If you only focus on client work, your new revenue streams will never get built. Block out a few hours each week dedicated to creating your consulting offer or building your first digital product. Consistency is more important than speed.

How do you price new services like consulting or digital products?

Price consulting based on the value you create, not the time you spend. For a strategy day, estimate the potential impact for the client. If your advice could help them increase their email revenue by £50,000 a year, charging £3,000 for the day is a no-brainer for them. Start with a day rate that feels slightly uncomfortable to say out loud, then test it.

For digital products like templates or courses, research the market. See what similar products sell for. A good rule for a comprehensive template pack (like a full lifecycle email set) is £200-£500. For a short course, £100-£300 is a common range. You can always start higher and offer launch discounts to your email list.

Remember, these are new multiple income channels. Their purpose is to add profit, not just revenue. After covering any platform fees (like a course hosting site), most of the money from a digital product sale is pure profit. This improves your agency's overall financial health dramatically.

To understand how these new revenue streams might affect your agency's financial health, try the Agency Profit Score — a free 5-minute assessment that reveals where you stand on profit visibility, cash flow, and revenue stability.

What common mistakes do agencies make when trying to diversify?

The biggest mistake is creating new services that are just different versions of the same time-for-money work. If your "consulting" is just hourly strategy calls with no defined outcome, you haven't really diversified. You've just created a new hourly service. True diversification involves different commercial models.

Another error is neglecting the core business. Don't let the pursuit of new passive income opportunities cause you to drop the ball on your existing retainer clients. They pay the bills while you build the future. Diversification is a marathon, not a sprint. It should happen alongside excellent core service delivery.

Under-investing in marketing the new offer is also common. You can't just put a new service page on your website and wait. You need to actively promote it to your email list, talk about it on social media, and mention it to current clients. Your existing audience is your best first customer base.

Finally, many agencies fail to track results properly. They don't know if their new consulting arm is actually profitable after accounting for the time spent selling and delivering it. Use clear financial tracking from the start. This is where working with a specialist who understands agency economics, like the team at Sidekick Accounting, provides a major advantage.

When should an email marketing agency seek professional advice on diversification?

Seek professional advice when you're ready to turn your diversification ideas into a formal business plan with financial projections. A good accountant or commercial advisor can help you model the tax implications, set up the right legal structures for new income streams, and ensure your pricing is profitable.

You should also get advice before making a significant investment, like developing custom software or producing a high-end course. These projects have upfront costs and risks. An external perspective can help you validate the idea and build a sensible budget.

If you're struggling to find the time or mental space to plan because client work is all-consuming, that's a key signal. It means your business model is too reliant on your personal time. Professional guidance can provide the framework and accountability to build the systems that create true email marketing agency revenue diversification.

Getting specialist accounting support for email marketing agencies means you're not just getting tax compliance. You're getting a commercial partner who can help you evaluate which new income channel has the best potential for your specific agency.