Klaviyo Vol 1: Ask Phill's running list of email marketing strategies

Did I ever think it was possible to boost email marketing revenue by 321%...for a diaper brand? My strategic sticky note collecting dust on the brainstorm wall was hopeful - but back then, the thought of breaking through the industry benchmarks felt totally ambitious.

What are the industry benchmarks?
Generate 25% of total brand revenue from email marketing.

Aim for a 50/50 split between revenue from automated emails flows and manual campaigns.

See what I mean?

The constant rhythm of ‘what makes them click, what makes them bounce, what makes them buy?’ At times, it’s all felt controlled by the consumers' line of impulse. What initially triggers dopamine, a click to the product page and then a satisfactory purchase, soon becomes a stale and final experience. It’s why 69% of customers say goodbye to your subscriber list if personalisation is not part of the plan (thanks to Hubspot for keeping it real). So when Klaviyo arrived on Shopify’s doorstep in 2022 with a naive smile and backpack full of ideas, things really started to shift for ecommerce brands and how they would engage and retain customers. It came after the famous Shopify vs Mailchimp divorce, which made room for Klaviyo to step in as the designated email solution partner for the Shopify Plus merchant platform.

Email marketing aside for a second, have you noticed how expensive online acquisition has become lately?

How is an ecommerce brand supposed to attract customers and build profit in this competitive acquisition race?

There is a tried and true answer to that question, and it is: customer retention.

The Health and Beauty industry is costing advertisers a jaw-dropping $127 just to acquire a single customer and Fashion and Accessories? $129! That’s the cost of playing the game right now. But here’s the thing - most brands don’t have the margins to justify that CAC spend unless… they have a retention strategy in place. Without one, you’re essentially renting your customers short-term instead of owning the relationship for seasons to come. Klaviyo allows you to sync lists and segments to Meta as custom audiences so that you can advertise to the same subscribers and create lookalike audiences. 

Let’s continue our discussion on Klaviyo so you can get started and feel good about your ad spend again.

Flows over FOMO: Automate the right way

Sending email campaigns manually is default, habitual, it’s what we were all taught to do. But production is finicky and time is money.

With Klaviyo’s automation features, you can release campaigns without constantly having to hit “send.” Set up flows that trigger by behaviour: when customers browse, add to their cart, make a purchase, and return for repeat buys. The goal is to make the experience natural and personal.

Abandoned cart emails typically serve as general reminders for customers' forgotten items. What they should really offer is social proof (reviews or best-seller labels), customised purchase ideas (this customer is clearly heading somewhere warm soon, let's send them our range of hats), or even a little extra nudge of encouragment (low stock alerts). Automation means you can focus on iteration and base flows on critical analytics to drive those numbers up. Learn the latest 2025 updates: What is marketing automation? A complete guide for 2025. 

Real time relevance with dynamic product blocks

Instead of sending static product recommendations, use dynamic blocks that update in real-time based on a customer’s recent activity or what’s trending in your catalog. For instance, if a customer browses a product but doesn’t purchase it, you can send an email the following day that automatically pulls in related products they might be interested in. This approach keeps your emails fresh, relevant, and aligned with what your customers are actually searching for at that moment. Klaviyo provides great implementation tips: How to build dynamic blocks in a flow email. 

First party data - the pathway to gold 

With the decline of third-party cookies, your email list is an essential asset. We’ve broken it all down in our article, ‘The Data Party Isn’t Over.’ Your lists hold a wealth of insights that can help you better understand and serve your customers. Using tools like Klaviyo’s preference centre allows you to gather key product interest data, compliant with privacy regulation. Track behaviours across email and web interactions to inform richer and more impactful flows. And remember, don’t be shy about rewarding your most engaged subscribers with exclusive offers or early access to new products. This builds loyalty, keeps them coming back, and boosts your revenue over time. 

Intensive A/B testing capabilities 

For a long time, A/B testing was about minimal message comparison - a slight difference between subject lines expecting to solidify one clear, money making direction. I have come to realise it’s actually not about running endless baseless experiments. Effective A/B testing goes deeper. Focus on the big levers: test send times against purchase behaviour, pit percentage discounts against fixed prices to see what really drives conversions, and yes, test the structure of your messaging in subject lines, but be bold with it. Klaviyo’s data warehouse will do the heavy lifting. It goes beyond open rates, it digs into revenue per recipient and segment-level performance. And once you find a winner, test why it worked so you can identify the patterns.

For example, through A/B testing with our client Josephine & Co, we discovered its audience preferred concise, sales-focused subject lines over narrative ones, leading to higher open rates. This insight highlights the importance of understanding your customers’ unique characteristics: such as age, location, and preferences, to tailor your messaging effectively.

Standout Design 

I used to be guilty of email design as an afterthought. Spent all my time list-gathering, over analysing send times, writing copy and then ‘sh**t design.’ But we all know that’s exactly why so many emails go ignored. Our dedicated design team follows a focus formula, designing templates that grab attention for longer than a click-in, click-out experience. Your email header is an important real estate, but you want to make sure it doesn’t distract from the main message. Keep it simple and streamlined with your logo and some eyebrow copy. The body should be clear, consider descriptive imagery, GIFs for movement, low-maintenance CTAs such as ‘buy now’ and an overall layout that stands separate from the thousands of emails you receive. 

How do I handle customers who are inactive or haven't engaged in a while?

Win back campaigns: Sending "We miss you" emails with special offers to reignite interest.

Preference centers: Allowing subscribers to customise what content they receive and how often.

Sunset policies: Gently parting ways with persistently inactive subscribers to maintain list health - because who wants to be that annoying ex that keeps on texting?

Segmentation, the do’s and don’t’s can feel blurry. This is my advice:

Over segmentation: Creating too many tiny groups can dilute your efforts and message.

Stale data: Not updating segments regularly can lead to irrelevant messaging.

Ignoring testing: Assuming a segment will respond well without testing can lead to missed opportunities.