Run targeted email campaigns with Odoo Email Marketing
A practical guide to designing mailings, managing subscriber lists, A/B testing content, and reading Odoo's campaign analytics, with a platform-neutral look at the Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys equivalent for SMEs.
What is Odoo Email Marketing?
Odoo Email Marketing is the dedicated mass-mailing application inside the Odoo business suite. It provides drag-and-drop design tools, pre-built templates, and detailed reporting metrics so marketing teams can create, send, and track bulk email campaigns without leaving the Odoo backend.
The app is the foundation of Odoo's marketing stack. The separate Odoo Marketing Automation app depends on Email Marketing and layers advanced behavioral triggers and multi-step workflows on top of it. If your needs extend beyond one-off blasts, Email Marketing is the prerequisite; Marketing Automation is the sequencer (we cover that app separately in our marketing automation and marketing guide articles).
For SMEs evaluating an all-in-one ERP, this matters: the same database that holds your CRM contacts, sales orders, and accounting records also powers your newsletters and promotional mailings, with no separate integration to maintain.
Mailing lists and subscriber management
Mailing lists in Odoo silo contacts for different communication types: pre-sales prospects, post-sales customers, focus-group participants, or qualified lead lists for sales teams. Lists are created by navigating to Email Marketing, then Mailing Lists, then Mailing Lists, then New.
Each list exposes smart buttons for Recipients, Mailings, % Bounce, % Opt-out, and % Blacklist, giving you an at-a-glance read on list health before you send. The % Bounce figure reflects the share of mailings tied to that list that bounced back; % Opt-out reflects recipients who have unsubscribed. Lists can also be linked to the website using Newsletter building blocks, so visitors subscribe directly from public pages and are added to the right segment automatically.
Because bounce, opt-out, and blacklist rates are tracked per list, you can spot decaying audiences early and prune them, which protects deliverability across every campaign you send from that list.
- Create lists under Email Marketing > Mailing Lists > Mailing Lists > New.
- Smart buttons show Recipients, Mailings, % Bounce, % Opt-out, and % Blacklist.
- Link lists to website Newsletter blocks for visitor self-subscription.
- Lists feed pre- and post-sales communications and qualified lead lists for sales.
Designing and sending mailings
The mailing builder offers drag-and-drop blocks and pre-built templates, so non-technical marketers can assemble on-brand emails. Each mailing can target one or more mailing lists, and recipients are deduplicated so a single contact is never mailed twice for the same campaign.
Before sending, Odoo lets you preview the email, run deliverability checks, and test the message. The same builder handles both one-off newsletters and recurring promotional blasts, and the underlying contact data comes straight from the CRM or other Odoo apps, with no manual import/export step.
A/B testing email content
A/B testing in Odoo Email Marketing lives on the mailing form's A/B Tests tab. To enable it, you check the Allow A/B Testing option on the mailing. An on (%) field then appears where you set the share of pre-configured recipients who receive the test variants, and each recipient is mailed only once for the entire campaign regardless of how many variants you test.
You then choose a Winner Selection metric and set a Send Final On date and time that triggers automatic winner rollout to the remaining recipients.
To build the variant, you use the Create an Alternative Version action on the same A/B Tests tab and edit the body or content. Note that Mailing Campaigns must be enabled in Configuration, then Settings to expose the Campaigns menu and the A/B options in the first place; the same setting also enables A/B testing for SMS mailings.
| Winner selection | What it optimizes for |
|---|---|
| Manual | You pick the variant yourself after reviewing results. |
| Highest Open Rate (default) | Best subject line and sender recognition. |
| Highest Click Rate | Best body content and call-to-action. |
| Highest Reply Rate | Best engagement for conversational outreach. |
| Leads | Variant that generates the most CRM leads. |
| Quotations | Variant that drives the most sales quotes. |
| Revenues | Variant that produces the highest attributed revenue. |
Behavioral triggers and Marketing Automation
Behavioral triggers such as opened, not opened, replied, not replied, clicked, not clicked, and bounced, plus sequenced multi-step workflows, are not features of the Email Marketing app itself. They require the separate Odoo Marketing Automation app, which depends on Email Marketing being installed.
In Marketing Automation, each campaign activity has a Trigger (the beginning of the workflow or a follow-up after another activity), an optional delay measured in Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months, an optional Expiry Duration, and a per-activity domain filter that narrows who enters that step. Activity types are Email (using mail templates), Server action (update a record, send an email or note, send an SMS, add or remove followers, execute code, or call a webhook), or SMS. Child activities branch from a parent based on the trigger outcome.
The short version: Email Marketing is for batch sends and A/B tests; Marketing Automation is for triggered, multi-step journeys. If you need automated nurture sequences, plan to enable both apps. We cover triggered workflows in depth in our marketing automation guide.
Analytics and reporting
Odoo Email Marketing surfaces per-mailing metrics for Sent, Delivered %, Opened %, Clicked %, and Replied %, with smart buttons that link directly to the filtered recipient records behind each number so you can drill from a metric to the actual contacts.
Beyond per-mailing stats, a Mass Mailing Analysis reporting dashboard offers graph, pivot, and list views that can be grouped by period and by the responsible user, making it easy to compare campaign performance over time or across team members. A low bounce rate on this view generally indicates an up-to-date mailing list and sender authentication that email providers trust.
When A/B testing is tied to business outcomes, the same smart buttons extend to Revenues, Quotations, Opportunities, and Clicks, closing the loop between a marketing touch and downstream sales activity.
The Dynamics 365 equivalent for SMEs
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 equivalent is Customer Insights - Journeys (real-time marketing), the successor to Dynamics 365 Marketing and the older outbound marketing module. Microsoft fully removed the outbound marketing module in May 2026 after a phased transition (the originally announced retirement date was June 30, 2025), and outbound assets such as old journeys, segments, and certain forms are not usable in the current real-time environment.
Customer Insights - Journeys orchestrates trigger-based journeys, which react in real time to customer or business actions, and segment-based journeys, which run targeted scheduled or repeating outreach. Both are built on a visual canvas with messages, waits, branches, and splits across email, text/SMS, push, and custom channels. Static segments built from a CSV upload are capped at 200,000 members per segment.
We cover Customer Insights - Journeys in full depth, including pricing, segmentation, lead scoring, and the outbound-to-real-time migration, in our Dynamics 365 Marketing guide. The table below is a quick orientation only.
| Capability | Odoo Email Marketing | Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Mass mailings and newsletters | Real-time and segment-based multi-channel journeys |
| Triggers | In Email Marketing app via Marketing Automation add-on | Custom, interaction, and business (Dataverse) events |
| A/B testing | Per-mailing A/B Tests tab | Journey tile with control/hold-back groups |
| Channels | Email (and SMS) | Email, SMS, push, and custom channels |
| Segmentation | Mailing lists with bounce/opt-out/blacklist stats | Dynamic and static segments (up to 200k per static segment) |
| Analytics | Per-mailing metrics + Mass Mailing Analysis | Sankey flow, channel, and cross-journey dashboards |
Which platform fits an SME?
The choice is rarely about which marketing tool is objectively better. It is about which stack the SME already runs, or plans to run. Odoo Email Marketing sits inside an all-in-one ERP that also covers CRM, accounting, inventory, and e-commerce, so it shines when the goal is a single integrated database with no third-party connectors and a unified contact record.
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys fits SMEs already invested in the Microsoft and Power Platform ecosystem, especially those using Dataverse, Power Automate, and Customer Insights - Data for unified customer profiles. Its real-time trigger model and Sankey-style journey analytics are geared toward teams that want event-driven, multi-channel orchestration rather than scheduled blasts.
Because Flectic implements both platforms, the recommendation is stack-led: if your business runs on Odoo, Email Marketing plus Marketing Automation covers the spectrum from newsletter to triggered workflow; if your business runs on Dynamics 365, Customer Insights - Journeys is the current, supported path now that outbound marketing has been removed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Odoo Email Marketing included with Odoo, or is it a separate app?
Odoo Email Marketing is a dedicated app inside the Odoo suite. It is the foundational mass-mailing application. Advanced behavioral triggers and sequenced multi-step workflows require the separate Odoo Marketing Automation app, which depends on Email Marketing being installed.
Does Odoo Email Marketing support A/B testing?
Yes. On the mailing form's A/B Tests tab, check Allow A/B Testing. An on (%) field appears where you set the share of recipients who receive the test variants, each recipient is mailed only once for the entire campaign, and you choose a winner metric such as Highest Open Rate, Highest Click Rate, Highest Reply Rate, Leads, Quotations, or Revenues. A Send Final On date triggers automatic rollout of the winning variant to the remaining recipients.
What is the Dynamics 365 equivalent of Odoo Email Marketing?
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys (real-time marketing) is the equivalent and the successor to the outbound marketing module, which Microsoft removed in May 2026. It orchestrates trigger-based and segment-based journeys across email, SMS, push, and custom channels, with visual segment building, A/B testing tiles, and Sankey-style journey analytics. We cover it in depth in our Dynamics 365 Marketing guide.
Can I manage bounces, opt-outs, and blacklists in Odoo Email Marketing?
Yes. Each mailing list exposes smart buttons for Recipients, Mailings, % Bounce, % Opt-out, and % Blacklist. These per-list metrics help you monitor list health and prune decaying audiences to protect deliverability across campaigns.
How does Odoo Email Marketing handle analytics?
Odoo surfaces per-mailing Sent, Delivered %, Opened %, Clicked %, and Replied %, with smart buttons linking to the filtered recipient records. A Mass Mailing Analysis dashboard offers graph, pivot, and list views grouped by period and responsible user, and business-outcome smart buttons extend to Revenues, Quotations, and Opportunities.
Choosing between Odoo and Dynamics 365 for email marketing?
Flectic is a platform-neutral implementation partner for both Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics 365. We help SMEs across Canada, the UK, and the USA select, configure, and roll out the right marketing stack for their existing systems, designed to deliver up to 3x faster. Book an ERP Readiness Call to map your email-marketing requirements to the platform that fits.
Sources
- The Odoo Email Marketing app provides drag-and-drop design tools, pre-built templates, and detailed reporting metrics to create and track email campaigns. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 documentation for the Email Marketing app.)
- Odoo mailing lists silo contacts for pre- and post-sales communications and supply sales teams with qualified lead lists; they are created via Email Marketing > Mailing Lists > Mailing Lists > New. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing/mailing_lists.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 mailing lists documentation page.)
- Odoo mailing lists expose smart buttons for Recipients, Mailings, % Bounce, % Opt-out, and % Blacklist, and can be linked to the website via Newsletter building blocks so visitors subscribe directly. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing/mailing_lists.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 mailing lists page documenting smart buttons and website Newsletter integration; % Bounce / % Opt-out definitions confirmed verbatim.)
- In Odoo Email Marketing, A/B testing is enabled on the mailing form's A/B Tests tab by checking 'Allow A/B Testing'; an on (%) field then appears and each recipient is mailed only once for the entire campaign. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 Email Marketing documentation describing the Allow A/B Testing checkbox and on (%) field.)
- Odoo A/B test winner selection options are: Manual, Highest Open Rate (default), Highest Click Rate, Highest Reply Rate, Leads, Quotations, or Revenues; a 'Send Final On' date/time triggers automatic winner rollout to remaining recipients. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 Email Marketing documentation listing winner-selection metrics and Send Final On behavior.)
- Odoo Email Marketing requires enabling 'Mailing Campaigns' in Configuration > Settings to expose the Campaigns menu and A/B options; A/B testing for SMS mailings is also enabled by this setting. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 documentation describing the Mailing Campaigns setting.)
- Advanced behavioral triggers (opened / not opened / replied / not replied / clicked / not clicked / bounced) and sequenced workflows require the separate Odoo Marketing Automation app, which depends on Email Marketing. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/marketing_automation/workflow_activities.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 Marketing Automation documentation on workflow activities and triggers.)
- Odoo Marketing Automation activity types are Email (using mail templates), Server action (e.g. update record, send email/note, send SMS, add/remove followers, execute code, webhook), or SMS; child activities branch from a parent based on the trigger outcome. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/marketing_automation/workflow_activities.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 Marketing Automation documentation enumerating activity types and branching.)
- Odoo Email Marketing analytics surface per-mailing Sent, Delivered %, Opened %, Clicked %, and Replied %, with smart buttons linking to filtered recipient records; a Mass Mailing Analysis reporting dashboard offers graph/pivot/list views grouped by period and responsible user. — https://www.odoo.com/documentation/19.0/applications/marketing/email_marketing/analyze_metrics.html (verified Official Odoo 19.0 documentation page on analyzing mailing metrics; a low bounce rate is documented as indicating an up-to-date list and trusted sender authentication.)
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys (real-time marketing) enables real-time, personalized, multi-channel customer journeys and is the successor to the outbound marketing module. — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/real-time-marketing-overview (verified Microsoft Learn overview page for Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys real-time marketing.)
- The Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys outbound marketing module was removed in May 2026 after a phased transition (originally announced retirement date June 30, 2025); outbound assets like old journeys, segments, and certain forms are not usable in the current real-time environment. — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/outbound-removal-notes (verified Microsoft Learn page documenting the outbound marketing module removal; removal date May 2026 confirmed. Earlier-announced June 30, 2025 retirement date corroborated by third-party sources (ERP Software Blog, Walker Scott).)
- Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys supports two journey types: trigger-based (real-time reactions to customer/business actions) and segment-based (targeted scheduled/repeating outreach), orchestrated on a visual canvas. — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/journeys-overview (verified Microsoft Learn journeys overview page describing trigger-based and segment-based journey types.)
- In Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys, static segments built via CSV upload are capped at 200,000 members per segment. — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2025wave2/customer-insights/dynamics365-customer-insights-journeys/create-static-segments-up-200000-members (verified Microsoft Learn 2025 Wave 2 release plan confirming the 200,000-member cap for CSV-based static segments; corroborated by Microsoft Message Center announcement MC1239668. (The earlier '2,000,000 total' figure was unverifiable and dropped.))
- Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys triggers come in three types: custom (user-defined events raised from websites/apps/external systems), interaction (Email Opened, Email Link Clicked, etc. from prior journey steps), and business (Dataverse record changes such as Contact created, Lead created, Opportunity created, Marketing form submitted). — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/real-time-marketing-triggers (verified Microsoft Learn page describing the three trigger types in real-time marketing.)
- A/B testing in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys is a tile/action inside journeys comparing a control (version A) and variant (version B); the winning metric can be journey goal events, clicks, or opens, and segment-based journeys support an optional control/hold-back group. — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/real-time-marketing-ab-tests-in-marketing-journeys (verified Microsoft Learn page on A/B tests in marketing journeys.)