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Shopify Email Marketing Checklist

Email delivers the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Use this 76-point checklist to build an email programme that drives serious revenue.

76 items8 sections

Why Email Marketing?

Email delivers 35-45x ROI on average. Unlike paid advertising where costs grow with scale, email becomes more profitable as your list grows. Automation flows generate revenue around the clock whilst you sleep.

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Email Platform Setup

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List Building

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Essential Automation Flows

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Abandoned Cart Emails

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Welcome Series

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Campaign Best Practices

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Deliverability

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Analytics & Optimisation

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The Power of Email for Ecommerce

Email marketing is unique among marketing channels because you own your audience. Algorithm changes cannot reduce your reach. Platform fees do not eat into margins. Your subscriber list is an asset that compounds in value.

Email ROI Example

For a store with 10,000 email subscribers:

  • •Email platform cost: ~£150/month
  • •Average revenue per subscriber/month: £3-5
  • •Monthly email revenue: £30,000-50,000
  • •ROI: 200-300x on platform costs

As your list grows, costs increase slowly while revenue scales proportionally.

Essential Email Flows

  • 1.Abandoned cart: Recovers 5-15% of lost sales. Sends 3 emails starting within 1 hour of abandonment.
  • 2.Welcome series: Converts new subscribers into first-time buyers. 3-5 emails introducing your brand and products.
  • 3.Post-purchase: Builds loyalty and drives reviews. Thanks customers and introduces complementary products.
  • 4.Win-back: Re-engages lapsed customers. Triggers after 60-90 days of inactivity with special offers.

Target Benchmarks

15-25%
Open rate
2-5%
Click-through rate
5-15%
Cart recovery rate

Quick Wins for Immediate Impact

Focus on these high-impact automations first:

1. Set up abandoned cart emails

This single flow typically recovers 5-15% of abandoned carts. Send the first email within 1 hour. No discount needed in email one.

2. Create a welcome series

New subscribers are most engaged immediately after signup. A 5-email welcome series converts far better than a single welcome email.

3. Authenticate your domain

Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Without these, emails may go to spam. Technical setup once, benefits forever.

4. Segment your list

Even basic segmentation (purchased vs. not, recent vs. inactive) dramatically improves engagement and reduces unsubscribes.

Related Checklists

Email works best alongside these other strategies:

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Deep dive into cart recovery strategies

Conversion Optimisation

Convert more of the traffic email drives

Launch Checklist

Set up email from day one

SEO Checklist

Drive organic traffic to capture as subscribers

Frequently Asked Questions

Klaviyo is the industry standard for Shopify email marketing due to its deep Shopify integration, powerful segmentation, and robust automation capabilities. Shopify Email is simpler and more affordable, suitable for smaller stores or those just starting with email. If you anticipate growing beyond basic email campaigns, starting with Klaviyo avoids migration pain later. For stores doing over 100k GBP annually, Klaviyo typically delivers positive ROI through better automation and segmentation.
Quality matters more than quantity, but most successful ecommerce brands send 2-4 campaigns per week in addition to automated flows. Start conservatively (1-2 per week) and increase based on engagement metrics. If open rates decline or unsubscribes increase, reduce frequency. Segment your most engaged subscribers for more frequent communication whilst sending less to less active subscribers. Always prioritise relevance over reach.
Ecommerce email open rates typically range from 15-25%. However, Apple Mail Privacy Protection has made open rates less reliable as a metric. Focus instead on click-through rates (2-5% is good) and, most importantly, revenue generated. Automated flows (welcome, abandoned cart) typically outperform campaigns significantly. Compare your performance against your own historical data rather than industry benchmarks, as every audience is different.
Send your first abandoned cart email within 1-2 hours of abandonment. This catches customers while your store is still fresh in their mind, and before they have purchased elsewhere. The first email should be a simple reminder without a discount. Follow up at 24 hours with social proof and addressing objections. Reserve any discount offer for a third email at 48-72 hours. This sequence typically recovers 5-15% of abandoned carts.
Start with technical authentication: configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain. Warm up new domains gradually by starting with your most engaged subscribers. Monitor bounce rates (keep under 2%) and spam complaints (keep under 0.1%). Remove hard bounces immediately and regularly clean inactive subscribers. Avoid spam trigger words, include your physical address, and make unsubscribing easy. Test emails through deliverability checkers before major campaigns.
Abandoned cart recovery is typically the highest-impact automation to implement first. It recovers revenue that would otherwise be lost, often generating 5-15% recovery rates. Set up a 3-email sequence before moving to your welcome series, which converts new subscribers into first-time buyers. Once these two core flows are running, add post-purchase and browse abandonment flows. These four automations form the foundation that generates revenue automatically whilst you build out campaigns.

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