My Biggest Mistake Building My Flower Farm (And How You Can Avoid It)
They say, "I wouldn’t take back any of my past. It’s my past that led me here." And while that’s true, if I could go back and change one thing about building my flower farm, I absolutely would.
Let me take you back.
I was all in. Planting perennials. Filling an annual field. Adding raised beds. I even had peony roots lined up for the fall. I was growing, literally and figuratively, and business was booming. My community was incredible—one I built through Facebook and deeply valued. Sales took off in mom-to-mom groups, and momentum seemed unstoppable.
But here’s the mistake: I relied on social media for far too long to communicate with my community.
As flower farmers, we pour our hearts into growing armloads of beautiful blooms. But when it comes to growing our businesses, many of us turn to social media. It’s exciting, fast-paced, and it feels like the place to be. And while social media can be an incredible tool to expand your reach, relying on it as your sole line of communication is risky. That’s where email marketing comes in—a strategy that every flower farmer should invest in from the very beginning.
I knew email marketing was important. I heard it on every business podcast I listened to. But I put it off—for years. And friends, that’s the biggest mistake I made in building my flower farm.
Today, I’m sharing three reasons why having an email list is an incredibly powerful asset for your cut flower business. It’s a tool I wish I had prioritized sooner, and I don’t want you to make the same mistake.
1. You Don’t Own Your Social Media Accounts
Would you ever build your dream home on rented land? Highly unlikely, right? Yet so many of us build our businesses on platforms we don’t own. Social media feels like home because that’s where your customers are. You post, they engage, and your business grows—until something goes wrong.
The reality is, your social media account, content, and followers don’t belong to you. They belong to Mark Zuckerberg and a handful of tech companies. And that can cost you, big time.
Outages happen. As I write this, Instagram DMs are glitching. Last week, there was a platform-wide outage, and entire businesses ground to a halt for hours.
Accounts get hacked. I’ve had students lose their entire accounts to hackers with no way to recover them—years of work gone in an instant.
Algorithm changes. You can build an audience of thousands, but if the algorithm decides your posts won’t be seen, your reach disappears overnight.
Your business—your livelihood—shouldn’t rest on someone else’s platform or rules.
An email list? That’s yours.
No glitches. No outages. No shifting algorithms that tell you when to dance versus when to lip-sync.
Your subscribers are your community, and you can reach them anytime you want.
If Instagram or Facebook disappeared tomorrow, you’d still have your list—and your ability to sell your flowers.
When you build an email list, you’re not just growing your business—you’re building a foundation that’s solid, secure, and yours. No one can take it away from you.
2. Email is a Direct Line of Communication
Imagine this: You have a mini heat wave, and your tulip crop all blooms at once. Not having a cooler, you need to move these tulips NOW! You put a post out to your 500 followers. But here’s the kicker—only 5% of them will see it (that’s 25 people).
Now, let’s compare that to email. If you send an email to 500 subscribers, it will land in nearly every inbox. On average, 35% of your audience will open it—that’s 175 people seeing your message compared to 25 with social.
When you’re selling a perishable product like fresh flowers, you need to reach your customers in real time. If your flower stand is open today from 3–5 PM, you can send an email at noon, and it will hit inboxes within minutes. Social media, on the other hand? Some people might see it today, some tomorrow, and some… not at all.
With email, you bypass algorithms, trends, and unspoken rules. You get to talk directly to your customers—on your terms.
3. Email Has a Higher Rate of Return
If you feel like you’re spending endless hours on social media—posting, making reels, finding the next trending audio—only to see little to no results, you’re not alone. Many flower growers struggle to keep up with the constant demands of social media, all while wondering, Is this actually worth it?
Here’s the truth: Email marketing delivers a higher return on investment than any other marketing channel.
For every dollar spent on email, the average return is $42. Yes, you read that right—$42 for every single dollar. Compare that to the hours spent battling algorithms, chasing trends, and hoping your content reaches even a fraction of your followers.
Why is email so effective?
It’s intentional. Your subscribers chose to hear from you. They care about what you’re growing and selling.
It’s direct. Your message lands in their inbox—not buried in a feed or hidden by an algorithm.
It’s actionable. Whether you’re promoting a bouquet subscription, a flower stand opening, or a new product, email drives sales quickly and effectively.
Studies show that email marketing drives more sales than social media and has a conversion rate that’s up to 3 times higher. If you’re trying to decide where to spend your precious time, email isn’t just an option—it’s the smartest choice.
Building your email list means you can focus less on keeping up with social media trends and more on what matters: growing flowers, serving your customers, and running a business that thrives.
I could throw reasons and stats at you all day, but here’s the point: Email is the most effective strategy for driving sales in your business. Yet so many flower farmers hesitate because they think:
No one will read my emails.
I have nothing to say.
Email is dead.
I’m here to tell you that email is very much alive, and your audience wants to hear from you. I know this because I was in your shoes, scared to start. But I’ve since left my farm’s Facebook community of 25,000+ followers behind, and now I rely on email alone to run my farm, Muddy Acres Flower Farm.
Social media is still a valuable tool to generate traffic and build awareness. But your email list? That’s where sales happen.
Ready to Get Started? My Favorite Tools for Email Marketing
If you’re ready to build your email list (and trust me, you should be), you’ll need an email service provider to help you get started. Here are two of my favorites:
Flodesk: Beautiful templates, easy-to-use, and perfect for creatives like us who want pretty emails. I use Flodesk for my farm community. (Use this link for 50% off your first year!)
Kit (formerly ConvertKit): Lots of tools for building email sequences, segmenting your audience, and selling your products. Great for when you’re ready to level up. I use (and love) Kit for my Lynsey Taulbee brand.
Both platforms make it easy to start growing your list today.
Want to Avoid Other Common Mistakes?
Building a flower farm comes with its fair share of challenges, but you don’t have to make the same mistakes I did. I’ve put together a free guide sharing 5 common mistakes first-year flower farmers make (and how to avoid them).
Enter your email below, and I’ll send it straight to your inbox!
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this article, it’s this: Don’t wait to start building your email list.
Social media is great, but it’s rented land. Email gives you a reliable, direct, and powerful way to connect with your customers and grow your flower business. Learn from my biggest mistake, and start building your list today.
Your future self (and your business) will thank you.