Email Marketing Flows for your Shopify Store
Did you know average abandoned cart rate is 69.57% ? or average popup conversion rate is 11.09%? Did you know welcome emails generate 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular email marketing campaigns? So it doesn’t have to be said that if you aren’t using email marketing, you are leaving money on the table. But don’t worry, in this article, you’ll find multiple email marketing series tailored specifically to convert your store visitors into sales. You website can be running on any platform like shopify, woocommerce, wix etc. Not only that, you will also learn how you can implement these email series within 5 minutes, without even writing or editing a single email ! But before we get started, here is a quick explanation of Email Marketing.
What is Email Marketing ?
In simple words, email marketing is the use of email to promote products or services while developing relationships with potential customers or clients. It is a powerful direct marketing channel. Now that it has been made, the next question which naturally arises is how you can use it to your benefit. In the below section we will cover exactly that.
When to use Email Marketing for your ecommerce stores ?
Even if you are just getting started with ecommerce, then you must have a rough idea of what email marketing is. If you are killing it with ecommerce then of course, you know how important it is.However a lot of people don’t know when you should actually use it. A lot of people believe it is sending emails to random prospects they found on a list which they bought from somewhere. This form of email marketing is called cold emailing.
I do not advise cold email marketing for ecommerce stores because it doesn’t work. It can work for B2B products and services but it rarely works for ecommerce stores. You should not expect any relevant traffic from cold emails. Your primary source of traffic has to be something else, which can be Facebook ads, google ads, seo or anything else. You can expect email marketing to bring in an extra 30% of revenue on top of revenue which you are already doing. In some cases, we even saw an increase of 120%. Even if you are not doing any revenue from your store, it’s still very important to implement a good email marketing strategy so when you start doing revenue, you can get the maximum bucks for your money spent on advertising. The extra 30% can be a determining factor if you are profitable or not.
So if cold emails don’t work for ecommerce stores, what kind of email marketing actually works for ecommerce stores? Well the answer is simple, email flows and campaigns.
In this article we will cover only email flows, and also how you can implement them within 5 minutes without writing any emails. Email flows are also know as email automations. Here is a quick explanation of an email flow.
What is an email flow ?
An email flow also know an email automation is an automated email that is sent when certain conditions are met. These conditions are known as triggers and they can be based on the subscriber’s contact information, behavior, or preferences. An example of a trigger is when a person subscribes to offer/newsletter through a popup. That’s when generally ecommerce stores are supposed to send an email with a discount or welcome email. When multiple emails are sent, it is termed as email series.
Here are some other examples of when you can implement an email flow to increase your revenue.
When someone leaves a cart without buying (Abandoned Cart Flows)? Someone buys a product ? That’s a good time to ask them for a review. (Review Request Series) Did they leave a positive review ? Upsell them (After review series).Did they signup for your newsletter? Welcome them (Welcome email series) I have been into ecommerce industry for the past decade, both working for myself and working for other clients. In the last 3 years alone, have done about 2 million in sales from my own stores and worked with a lot of clients (doing about upto USD 10 million per year) for their email marketing. And each time I faced many issues which not only took weeks to implement but required a lot of reading through the documentation of different apps to integrate them. For e.g
- If you want to do review request emails you might need to use loox or stamped. You will have to separately pay for these apps of course
- Want to send something standard like abandoned cart emails ? Great, install klaviyo, mailchimp or some other app. You will start for free but be ready to pay upwards of 1000s of dollars once you start making consistent sales.
- Want to implement ‘After review series’ ? Good, you just learnt that the review app you installed doesn’t have apis to integrate with klaviyo. So uninstall it, setup a new review app and then figure out a way how to integrate their apis together so you can send them.
- Want to integrate popups and discount codes? Use a different app like privy and design the emails there again.
- Want to use chats? There are many apps like tidio, intercom etc. Once again, pay for them separately and design the emails again for chat transcripts and follow ups.
- Maintaining a consistent brand was not only a nightmare but impossible. Because all these apps/tools are from different providers, we had to use different email builders. Imagine uploading your logo, brand colors, signatures to 10 different apps if you just want to get started with email marketing. Then you have to play with their settings and design the emails. Even when everything is consistent, your design ends up looking different for each of these flows because of a separate builder being used.
- A lot of templates these providers have, are useless. They will almost always land in spam or promotions tab. You get tempted with those fancy looking templates but if you start sending them, that’s when you will know how useless they are. Why? Because they have a lot of images and html content. And that’s why they look fancy. You might ask why would they even provide these templates if they go to spam ? Honestly, I do not blame them. They sell what an average Joe demands. But you have to remember, higher the amount of HTML in your email, higher the chance of it going to spam. So we tried to keep the html and image content low. And of course, there are also many technical factors like Sender’s ip reputation, SPF & DKIM signatures etc. Imagine spending months designing emails and your customers can’t even read them. And you end up again spending months trying to figure out why.
- Then comes the price. All these prices add up and even though many of them have free plans, once you start getting even a few orders, be ready to pay upwards of $500. These apps lure you in with their free plans and once you start getting a few orders you end up paying a lot. In almost all cases we saw Klaviyo alone costing us upwards of $1000. On some stores our clients paid over $3000. Once you actually start growing, that’s when you realize how much money these apps actually cost. It feels outrageous paying that amount but it’s too late to do anything because setting these flows up takes a lot of time and you usually don’t have the energy to implement them again.
We ended up being so frustrated that we started using our own inhouse tools to get these things done.Anyways, on to the next step Here are the top email series and flows which we implemented regularly and saw most of the revenue coming from.1. Review Request Series: (Total Emails: 3)2. After Review Series And Upsell: (Total Emails: 5)3. Cart Abandonment Email: (Total Emails: 3)4. Welcome Email Series: (Total Emails: 2 Sent After someone is added to the list Newsletter.)5. Ordered Placed Thank you Email: (Total Email: 1)6. Order Fulfilled Thank You Email: (Total Email: 1)7. Popup Series: (Total Emails: 3)8. Chat Transcripts: (Total Email: 1) I am sharing here the email templates (with minor changes) which I personally use. You can start using them and expect your revenue to go up by 30% minimum.
Review Request Series: (Total Email: 3)
Email 1: An email asking users for their feedback, 30 days after they have purchased the product. Feel free to change the number of days, based on your average delivery times.Subject: I Would love to know about your experience with {In_Brandname}Body:
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
Thank you for shopping with {In_Brandname} recently. I hope you were happy with your order. I would love to know about your experience with the product. Please take a moment to leave us a review.
{Product Photo with review link}
If you face any problems reply to this email and I will do my best to ensure that it’s resolved.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 2: This is an email sent as a reminder if they do not submit a review.Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, I’m waiting for you to tell us what you think!Body:
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
I hope you’re doing good. I wanted to check on you to make sure you’re experiencing the best of our product. Customer satisfaction is our top priority, and we don’t take that lightly.
(Photo)
If you experience any problem with the product just reply to this email and I will reach out to help.
Also, if you leave us a review right now, you will get a heavy discount on your next purchase at {In_Brandname}.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 3: This is a second reminder email.
Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, Are you enjoying our product?
Body:
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
{In_Firstname} here again from {In_Brandname}. I wanted to follow up on my previous email about leaving a review for a discount. It’s a limited-time code so we suggest you hurry while you still can. Creating a better experience for you is all we care about, and your feedback means a lot to us.
I understand you might be busy so this will be my final request, however, If you have any questions, please let me know anytime. I’m here to help.
(Photo)
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
After Review Series And Upsell (Total Email: 5)
Email 1: Sent when a customer leaves a negative review . This is an apology emailSubject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, we apologize for the experience.Body:
Dear {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
{In_Firstname} here from {In_Brandname}. I came across your review about your recent purchase and I’m sincerely sorry for the unpleasant experience. I understand you might be feeling frustrated about the experience. I have personally read your feedback and our team has started working on it.
Delighting you, and every single one of our customers, is the topmost priority for us at {In_Brandname} and we’ve worked very hard over the last years to earn the trust of our customers. I’m sorry we couldn’t live up to our standards.
Please let me know how we can work together to solve it so we can provide you with a better experience.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book. 
Email 2: (The review has an image)Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, thank you for your feedback!Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}
I would like to thank you for your feedback and for helping us improve. Please accept this coupon code as a token of my appreciation towards you as our valued customer. Use this on your next checkout.
EWREVWIMG
(REDEEM NOW)
HAPPY SHOPPING!!
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 3: (The review doesn’t have an image)Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, a thank you won’t be enough!Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}!,
I would like to thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
Creating a better experience for you is all I care about at. And as a token of my gratitude, please use this code to get a discount on your next purchase.
EWREVWNIMG
OR
Add a picture in your review and we will bump up the discount on your next purchase 🙂
(EDIT REVIEW)
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 4: (Has a review image)Subject: SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}You’ve earned yourself a gift!Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}!,
I would like to thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
Creating a better experience for you is all I care about at. And as a token of my gratitude, please use this code to get a discount on your next purchase.
EWREVWIMG
(REDEEM NOW)
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 5: (Doesn’t have a review image)Subject: Final opportunity to grab thisBody:Hey {SUBSCRBER_FIRST_NAME},
This is your last opportunity to grab this amazing 5% discount on your next purchase. You can still claim it by sending me a picture of your purchased product and telling me what you think about it!
This is time-sensitive, so hurry up!
(ADD IMAGE)
Until next time.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Cart Abandonment Email (Total Email: 3)
Email 1: As the name suggests, an email asking users to complete their checkout if they abandoned it.Subject: Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, you left something behind!Body:Email 2: This is an email sent as a reminder. The email has a discount code to encourage people to buy it.Subject: I’m holding it for you.Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
{In_Firstname} here from {In_Brandname}.
I noticed that you added some items to your cart but have yet to close the deal. I wanted to check in and make sure all your questions are answered, and that you’re not having any problems with the checkout process.
I’m committed to doing everything I can to help you out. Whether you have a question about the products or just need some recommendations.
I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email – or feel free to finish checking out your purchase.
(Photo)
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
I hope you’re doing awesome on this fresh day. I wanted to inform you that we are about to run out of stock.
So, I recommend that you check out as soon as you can. To sweeten the deal, here is a coupon code to give you {DISCOUNT.EWACART.VALUE} % off. You can use it at the time of checkout. Make sure you hurry up because this offer is for a limited period only.
EWACART
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 3: This is a second reminder email. The discount here is increased to encourage them even further.Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, This is your last chance.Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
I wanted to remind you that time is running out! Use the coupon code below at the check out to avail {DISCOUNT.$EWACART2.VALUE} % off ! Order now before time runs out. It’s now or never, you don’t want to miss this deal.
EWACART2
(Product)
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Welcome Email Series (Total Email: 2)
Email1: This is a welcome email sent when people are added to your list. It currently sends to everyone however you can change the segment to send it to only non buyers (meaning people who have subscribed but not purchased yet)Subject: Welcome to club, {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}!Body:Welcome! {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}! You’re now on the list – and will be the first to hear from me.
Watch your inbox over the next few days as I’ll be sending some juicy deals to you. Good things are coming, exciting content as well as updates on new products, discounts, promotions, and much more! I’m looking forward to a great journey ahead.
Your willingness to share your email address with me makes me super thankful. And worry not, we will never spam, or send boring emails to you.
Have questions? Just reply to this email, we’d love to help you out.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 2: This is second email in the welcome series. It encourages the customer to make a purchase.Subject: Let’s get the ship sailing, {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}!Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}, thought you might be interested in a few of our best sellers on the market. Take a look at this
(Products)
These top-selling products are only available to the people on the list. But hurry, we have limited stock due to incredibly high demand! So you’ll have to be quick about it.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Ordered Placed Thank you Email (Total Email: 1)
Description:Subject: {In_Firstname}, thank you for your purchase at {In_Brandname}!Body:
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
Thank you so much for placing your order! This means a lot to me. And in return, I will provide you with the best customer experience.
I will update you again with further details when the order is shipped. Looking forward to serving you again.
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Order Fulfilled Thank You Email (Total Email: 1)
Description:Subject: {In_Firstname}, thank you for your purchase at {In_Brandname}!Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
{In_FirstName} here from {In_Brandname}! Just wanted to send you a personal thank you for your purchase. I have shipped your order with love and care and it’s on your way.
I know you had many options to choose from, but I thank you for choosing {In_Brandname}.
I wish when you’re looking for something special again, {In_Brandname} will continue to be the place you think of first.
I sincerely hope you will be satisfied with your purchase and look forward to serving you again.
Cheers,
{In_FirstName}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Popup Series (Total Email: 3)
Email 1: This is an email sent when a potential customer submits his email in the popup. It gives them a discount code to use.Subject: {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME} ! Here’s your discount 🙂Body:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME}!
I hope you’re doing amazing! And to make your day even more amazing, I have a special discount for you.
Remember, this discount is exclusive to people on the email list (That’s you!). You can use it once on your next favorite purchase for the next 5 days.
I hope you enjoy it, click on the button down below to use it!
EWPOP
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 2: This is an email sent as a reminder if they do not use the discount code.Subject: You don’t have much time leftBody:Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
{In_Firstname} here from {In_Brandname} to remind you that you haven’t used your coupon yet. The best deals are selling out faster than expected and they will be all gone after some time. So, use the code below at checkout:
EWPOP
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
Email 3: This is a second reminder email.Subject: This is your last chance to grab this deal.Body:
Hey {SUBSCRIBER_FIRST_NAME},
I’m worried you might miss out on this favorite product you’ve eyeing for a while.
This sale will be over in the next 24 hours. And (No. of buyers) have already grabbed this deal. So hurry up and grab this deal before it’s gone.
Click on the code below to get your discount at the checkout.
EWPOP
For any assistance, please let me know. Happy shopping!
Thank you,
{In_Firstname}
{In_Position}
{In_Email}
P.S – To ensure delivery to your inbox instead of your junk mail folder, please add {In_Email} to your address book.
