.svg)
Are you ready to supercharge your email marketing strategy? Email flows are the secret weapon that can transform your customer journey and boost your revenue.
By leveraging automation and behavioral triggers, you can create personalized experiences that resonate with your audience.
In this article, we'll dive into 17 of the best email flows that can help you drive growth and engagement and include template flowcharts you can use to create your own.
But before we dive into all 17 flows you need to the customer journey from awareness, to consideration and retention. If we want to maximize sales, we need to understand the buying psychology of each one so that we can know the right thing to say in each.
Stage 1: Awareness
Your customers are aware you exist. They went as far as giving you their email. But they might not be 100% clear on who exactly you are and what you sell.
The primary objective of these sequences is to introduce potential customers to your brand or product. It's about making them aware of who you are and what you offer.
These email flows establish the first connection and set the stage for building a deeper relationship with the potential customer.
A relationship that makes them know, like, and trust us enough to buy.
Stage 2: Consideration
Now that they know about you, the consideration stage is when customers start thinking seriously about whether to buy from you. They're comparing your offer with others, reading reviews, and looking at prices.
This is your time to show them why your product is the right choice. After potential customers are aware of your brand and products, the consideration sequences help potential customers evaluate the benefits of your products, address their concerns, and nudge them closer to a purchase.
Stage 3: Retention & Loyalty
After someone buys from you, your job isn't done. The retention and loyalty stage is about keeping them coming back for more.
This means staying in touch, offering a great customer experience, and letting them know about other products they might like.
If they bought something from you once and had a good experience, they’re more likely to come back, and maybe even tell their friends about you.
Awareness Flows
" The truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting. ”
- Bill B.
The primary objective of these sequences is to introduce potential customers to your brand or product. It's about making them aware of who you are and what you offer.
These flows establish the first connection and set the stage for building a deeper relationship with the potential customer.
A relationship that makes them know, like, and trust us enough to buy.
People reading these emails signed up through our pop-up or from a footer email capture form on our website.
1. Welcome Series
We want to use this sequence to create a simple path that turns subscribers into buyers.
Most brands use a discount incentive for first-time buyers, and it’s often a good practice, but it’s not mandatory.
Use this opportunity to introduce your potential buyers to your brand and educate them about your products. Set the tone for what your brand is truly about and keep them engaged to continue receiving emails.
This is usually the first point of contact you have with your potential customers.
Welcome emails have an average open rate of 4x higher and a click-through rate of 5x higher than standard campaigns, making them a powerful tool for engagement and sales.
Key Elements of an Effective Welcome Flow
To create an effective welcome flow, you should focus on providing value, setting expectations, and encouraging engagement. Start by introducing your brand and its unique selling points.
Share your story and mission to help subscribers connect with your values. Offer a special welcome discount or exclusive content to incentivize them to make their first purchase.
Timing and Frequency Considerations
Timing is crucial when it comes to welcome emails. Send the first email immediately after a subscriber signs up to capitalize on their initial interest.
Follow up with a series of emails over the next few days or weeks, gradually introducing them to your products and content. Be mindful of the frequency to avoid overwhelming your new subscribers.
Personalization Strategies
Personalization is key to making your welcome series more engaging and relevant. Segment your welcome flow based on the subscriber's interests, location, or sign-up source to tailor the content to their preferences.
Personalized product recommendations based on their browsing behavior can also be a powerful way to drive conversions.
Use can also use zero-party data collected from your subscribers in your opt-in forms to further tailor information in your welcome emails based on what you know from the subscriber.
2. Site Abandonment Flow
Someone visits your website but doesn’t make it to a product page. Unlike the Browse Abandonment Flow, this one is sent to subscribers who don’t arrive at a product page.
The goal is the same: move them closer to the purchase.
They might have been browsing your homepage and had to leave because their phone rang, or they had to leave for work, or they received an Instagram notification. The list is long.
This flow sits very top of the funnel, so we have to send them content to get them interested in checking out your products.
Consideration Flows
" Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief. ”
- Leo B.
After potential customers are aware of your brand and products, the Consideration Sequences help them evaluate the benefits of your products, addressing their concerns, and nudging them closer to a purchase.
People who read these emails signed up through your pop-up, through the Checkout opt-in, or are already subscribers in your list.
Then they triggered an event by viewing a product, adding it to their carts, or reaching checkout.
The one exception is the Back In Stock Flow, which triggers after someone gives you their email on an out-of-stock product.
3. Browse Abandonment Flow
Someone views a product in your store but doesn’t continue to checkout. With this sequence, you’ll be reaching subscribers when they’re hotter.
They just saw one of your products but for some reason, they didn’t buy it or even add it to the cart.
Let’s use our marketing knowledge to get those subscribers to happily pull out their credit cards for us.
The goal of this flow is to remind a subscriber about the product(s) they were browsing and move them closer to the purchase.
Personalized Product Recommendations
One of the key elements of a successful browse abandonment email is personalized product recommendations. By analyzing the customer's browsing history and preferences, you can showcase products that are most likely to capture their interest.
This could include items they viewed, similar products, or complementary items that enhance their browsing experience.
Personalized recommendations demonstrate that you understand their needs but also make it easier for them to find what they're looking for.
Creating FOMO with Limited-Time Offers
Another effective strategy for re-engaging window shoppers is to create a sense of urgency and fear of missing out (FOMO). By offering limited-time discounts or exclusive deals, you can motivate them to take action and complete their purchase.
Highlight the scarcity of the offer and emphasize the benefits they'll receive by acting quickly. This approach taps into the psychological principle of loss aversion, where people are more motivated to avoid losing out on a good deal than to gain something new.
4. Abandoned Cart Flow
Someone adds a product to their cart but doesn’t continue to checkout. This one lays one step above the Checkout Abandonment flow.
In this sequence, your subscribers went to one of your products and clicked or tapped the “Add to cart” button, but they didn’t make it to checkout.
Let’s give them a few nudges, shall we? Nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, resulting in $18 billion in lost sales annually.
Automated abandoned cart emails can help recover these potential sales by reminding customers about the items they left behind and encouraging them to complete their purchases. These emails typically have an average open rate of 45% and a conversion rate of over 10%.
Timing is everything when it comes to abandoned cart recovery. Sending the first email within an hour of the abandonment can capture the customer's attention while their interest is still fresh.
Follow up with a series of emails over the next few days, gradually increasing the urgency and incentives to convert. Experiment with different timing sequences to find the optimal approach for your audience.
To further entice customers to complete their purchases, consider offering incentives such as limited-time discounts, free shipping, or bonus products.
Create a sense of urgency by emphasizing the scarcity of the offer or the potential of the items selling out. Use persuasive subject lines and preview text to grab their attention and encourage them to open your emails.
5. Checkout Abandonment Flow
Someone starts checking out but doesn’t complete the purchase. You’re likely familiar with this sequence and with the pain of seeing someone abandoning their cart in real time and never coming back.
What most people get wrong about this flow is that they make it entirely about the cart, and not about the person paying for the cart.
Read that again.
Yes, a portion of these subscribers abandoned checkout for distraction X, and a simple reminder would do. But 90% of them need extra reasons to buy. They need to get motivated with compelling reasons to buy.
We’ve seen increases in conversion rates of 2-5 times by making these emails less about the cart and more about the person behind the cart.
Personalize the content by including the specific products they abandoned and highlighting their benefits. Use persuasive language and clear calls to action to guide them back to the checkout.
6. Back In Stock Flow
Someone subscribes to receive back-in-stock notifications. Do one or some of your products go out of stock frequently?
If so, instead of leaving your site visitors (and your bank account) disappointed give them the option to enter their emails for a notification when they’re back in stock.
It creates a better customer experience for them and a way to grow your email list for you. Win-win.
This flow needs you to install a widget on your website and it’s made of two events – unlike regular flows.
- Our site visitors would leave their emails in exchange to be notified when a product is back in stock.
- The second part of this flow triggers when the product is back in stock.
A must-have flow for products that go out of stock frequently.
The goal is to create excitement and introduce them to other products that are in stock. You can even give them a discount incentive, these emails work great.
The second part of this flow triggers when the product is back in stock. You can send them an email right away when this happens.
The goal here is to play on the consistency psychology principle and tell them that the product that they said they wanted to buy is now in stock.
Retention & Loyalty Flows
" The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers. ”
- Peter D.
After a customer has made a purchase, these email flows focus on retaining them and encouraging further purchases or upgrades.
It's also about enhancing their post-purchase experience, as that’s a critical factor impacting repurchase rates.
The post-purchase experience is crucial for nurturing customer relationships and driving long-term loyalty. By engaging with customers after they've made a purchase, you can reinforce their decision, provide valuable support, and encourage future purchases.
All in all, we’re aiming to increase Customer’s Lifetime Value (LTV). For the most part, these flows are triggered after someone buys from you.
7. New Buyer Flow
Someone places their first order with you. This one might be one of the most underrated flows in 30 years of eCommerce history.
And that’s why we love it.
In email marketing flows, if you do the things that no one else is doing, you’ll stand out and have a special place in your customer’s minds.
Create the best purchase journey to improve the chances that one-time buyers return. Get people to experience and use their products in the best way possible.
Thank You and Order Confirmation Emails
Immediately after a customer completes a purchase, send a thank you email expressing your gratitude for their business.
This email should also serve as an order confirmation, a summary of their purchase details, including the product(s) ordered, shipping information, and expected delivery date.
Use this opportunity to reassure customers that their order is being processed and that you're committed to providing excellent service.
Product Usage and Care Instructions
Help customers get the most out of their purchase, send a follow-up email with product usage and care instructions.
This could include tips on how to use the product effectively, maintenance guidelines, or even creative ideas for incorporating the product into their daily life.
By providing valuable information, you demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction and help reduce the likelihood of returns or negative reviews.
8. Returning Customer Flow
Someone places their 2nd order with you (and beyond). We could have just one generic post-purchase flow that treats every buyer the same and we’d still be doing a better job than 90% of brands.
But why stop there?
Let’s have a unique journey for repeat customers that makes them feel special and unique. Also, we know that these customers are already familiar with our products, so it’s simpler to lead them to their next purchase in a compelling way.
Acknowledge their importance and loyalty and find ways to upsell and cross-sell new products.
Cross-Selling and Upselling Opportunities
Post-purchase emails also present an opportunity for cross-selling and upselling different products. Based on the customer's recent purchase, recommend complementary products or upgrades that enhance their experience.
For example, if a customer bought a CBD Tincture for pain relief, suggest a complementary product like a CBD Cream. Use personalized recommendations based on their browsing and purchase history to increase the relevance and effectiveness of your suggestions.
9. VIP Flow: Rewarding Your Best Customers
Your VIP and loyalty program members are the backbone of your business. They are your most engaged, frequent, and high-spending customers who deserve special recognition and rewards.
A VIP program is a great way to keep customers engaged and looking forward to continuing to buy from you. And if you have Klaviyo you have everything needed to automate the lifecycle messages.
You can automatically let customers know once they become VIPs and send them reminders about their perks if they haven’t used them.
All you have to do is define your VIP segment and this flow will trigger when customers join it.
Finally, remember that these are the customers we want everyone to become. So you can also use this flow to collect valuable feedback from them. Not every customer is created equally. By gathering insights exclusively from your best customers you skip some of the “noise” from mass feedback requests.
Designing Exclusive VIP Flows
To make your VIP customers feel truly special, design email flows that are exclusively available to them. These flows should offer premium content and early access to new products or sales.
Consider creating a dedicated VIP newsletter to informe about the latest VIP perks, events, and offerings.
Tiered Rewards and Perks
Implement a tiered loyalty program with a tool like Stamped.io that rewards customers based on their level of engagement and spending.
Each tier should offer increasingly valuable perks and benefits, such as free shipping, exclusive discounts, priority customer service, or invitations to special events.
Use your email flows to communicate the requirements for reaching each tier and celebrate customers when they achieve a new level.
Gamification Elements in Loyalty Emails
Incorporate gamification elements into your loyalty program emails to make the experience more engaging and interactive. Use progress bars, badges, or points to visualize customers' progress toward their next reward or tier.
Use leaderboards or social proof to showcase top performers and create a sense of friendly competition among your loyal members.
10. Winback Flows
You already know it’s cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire a new one. This flow takes care of that.
Over time, even your most engaged customers can become inactive. Whether they've lost interest, found a competitor, or simply forgotten about your brand, it's essential to have a strategy in place to win them back.
The Winback email flow is a series of emails sent automatically to a customer who hasn’t purchased from you in a set amount of time. How long should we wait to trigger this sequence?
It will depend on the buying cycle of your products. A CPG brand will not have to wait as long as a brand that sells for example bongs.
Provide compelling reasons for customers to buy from you again. Use enticing offers to recover an otherwise lost customer.
12. Replenishment Flows
For products that are consumable and have a predictable usage pattern, like CBD or THC Gummies, replenishment reminder emails can be a powerful way to encourage repeat purchases.
By anticipating when a customer is likely to run out of a product and sending a timely reminder, you can make the reordering process seamless and convenient.
Someone hasn’t purchased a product from you in X days, where X is less than the average time between orders. E.g if your customers are buying on average every 5 weeks, trigger this at week 3 or 4.
Give customers a chance to easily repeat their last order with one click by splitting Replenishment flows to make them product-specific. This one should trigger before the winback flow.
Calculating Optimal Reminder Timing
To maximize the effectiveness of your replenishment reminders, it's crucial to calculate the optimal timing for each product. Consider factors such as the average usage rate, product shelf life, and customer preferences.
Use data from previous purchases to estimate when a customer is likely to run out of a specific product and schedule your reminder emails accordingly.
Combining Reminders with Cross-Sell Opportunities
Replenishment reminder emails also present an opportunity to cross-sell related products or introduce new items that complement the customer's previous purchases.
For example, if a customer is due for a refill on their cannabis strain, suggest a new flavor they might enjoy or offer a discount on a compatible bong.
By providing relevant recommendations, you can increase the average order value and encourage customers to explore more of your product range.
13. Referral Program Flow
Sent days after someone has bought from you, these emails fit perfectly in the post-purchase sequences.
If you have products that are sold one time or you just want to add another way to acquire customers, a referral program can be a good option.
You’d send these emails after someone buys from you introducing them to your referral scheme and educating them on the program benefits. Very simple.
You can also include an incentive to the referee, the referrer, or both.
If your customer acquisition cost is $20, then giving a $5 discount to the referee and a $5 voucher to the referrer is a no-brainer. You’d be paying $10 for a customer instead of $20.
14. Anniversary And Birthday Flows: Celebrating Milestones
Celebrating your customers' birthdays and anniversaries is a powerful way to build emotional connections and foster long-term loyalty. These special milestones show that you value their relationship with your brand beyond just transactions.
To create effective birthday and anniversary flows, collect customer data by asking them to provide their birth date. It's best to do this in a post-purchase flow as adding this to a popup form can decrease new lead conversion rates.
You also can track their purchase or subscription anniversaries in your database.
Once a subscriber's birthday is approaching, you want to trigger, 1-2 weeks before their birthday, then again on the Monday of their birthday week, and lastly again on the actual day of their birthday.
To give subscribers a discount or offer they can use in celebration of their birthday – which can be used for a few days, a week, or an entire month.
Anniversary emails can commemorate significant milestones in a customer's relationship with your brand, such as their first purchase or subscription renewal. Acknowledge their loyalty and thank them for their continued support.
By incorporating birthday and anniversary flows into your email marketing strategy, you can strengthen customer relationships, increase retention, and drive repeat purchases.
Celebrate your customers' milestones and show them that you appreciate their business every step of the way.
15. Order Delivered Flow
We’re obsessed with creating the best possible post-purchase experience for our client’s brands – and this sequence helps us with that.
First, you’ll need an app that’s capable of integrating with Klaviyo so you can know when an order was delivered and use that as a trigger.
Some examples are Wonderment, Aftership, ParcelPanel, Tracktor or just the native Delivered Order trigger from Shopify.
Thank customers for their trust and create hype for their products. When your customers receive their purchase it is the highest point of excitement they have with your brand. So make it memorable and take advantage of it.
The more emotions and excitement you manage to create, the bigger the spot in your customer’s mind for your brand. This email flow is often overlooked.
16. Product Review Requests: Leveraging Social Proof
A straightforward way to increase the conversion rate of your website is by having more reviews on your homepage and product pages.
Reviews and testimonials are a form of social proof, and we as humans are always seeking ways to satisfy this social proof craving when buying something.
With this sequence, we want to give customers the chance to leave a product review and make it simple.
Timing Your Review Request Emails
You want to give customers enough time to receive and experience your product before asking for their feedback. Depending on the nature of your product, this could be a few days or a couple of weeks after the purchase.
Consider your product's usage patterns and customer behavior to determine the optimal timing for your review request emails.
Incentivizing Customer Reviews
To encourage customers to leave reviews, consider offering incentives such as discount codes, loyalty points, or entry into a prize draw.
This can work to motivate customers who might otherwise be hesitant to take the time to write a review.
Showcasing Reviews in Future Emails
Once you've collected positive reviews, leverage them in future email campaigns. Highlight glowing testimonials, star ratings, and customer photos to showcase the value and quality of your products.
This social proof can be particularly effective in abandoned cart recovery emails, product recommendation emails, and even welcome series to build trust with new subscribers.
17. Sunset Flow
A subscriber joins the unengaged segment because they have not been opening or clicking your emails for 2-3 months.
You can have the most beautiful emails, the best copywriting, and the best strategy, but if your emails are landing in spam then they’re worthless. With Gmail’s and Apple’s recent updates email deliverability has become one of the most important pillars of email marketing.
This flow helps us get rid of subscribers who haven’t been engaging with our emails so that we don’t keep sending them emails and hurt our reputation in front of the email providers’ eyes.
It will trigger when a subscriber enters a dynamic Sunset segment. For example “Has not opened any emails in the last 90 days”.
We want these subscribers to engage with this email so that we know we can continue sending them emails in the future.
Otherwise, we can exclude them from our emails and just try to engage them during special events, like Black Friday or 420.
Template Email Flows: The Easiest Way To Increase Revenue
Email flows have a profound impact on customer engagement and revenue generation. By implementing these 17 email flows, you can create personalized experiences that resonate with your audience throughout their journey.
From making a strong first impression with a welcome series to winning back dormant customers, each flow is crucial in nurturing relationships and driving conversions.
Analyzing customer behavior and preferences to refine your email flows and deliver maximum value and relevance. These email flow templates give you everything you need to build your automated email funnels for your online ecommerce business, including easy-to-follow instructions.
If you need help implementing this email automation flowchart, Maaly's team of email marketing professionals will help you out.
Remember, effective email marketing is an ongoing process of learning and improvement, so keep testing, iterating, and refining your strategies to achieve long-term success.
Email Flow FAQs
How Can I Boost The Revenue From My Email Marketing Efforts?
To enhance your email revenue, consider implementing these strategies:
- Utilize a variety of email workflows beyond standard promotional campaigns.
- Ensure each email is designed to achieve a single specific goal.
- Engage your audience with effective replenishment emails.
- Encourage and reward feedback to boost online sales.
- Occasionally send emails that focus on content other than sales.
- Provide early access to new products.
- Foster a sense of community among your subscribers.
What Proportion of a Brand's Total Revenue Should be From Email Marketing?
Ideally, a brand should generate between 35% to 45% of its total revenue from email marketing. If it's more than 50% it's likely due to an acquisition problem.
What Are Considered The Most Effective Email Flows in Klaviyo?
Some of the top-performing email flows in Klaviyo include:
- Abandoned cart flows to recover potentially lost sales.
- Welcome series to greet and engage new subscribers.
- Post-purchase flows to enhance customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.
- Back-in-stock notifications to alert customers about product availability.
- Browse abandonment flows to re-engage visitors who didn't make a purchase.
- Lifecycle flows to communicate with customers based on their lifecycle stage.
Do Automated Emails Outperform Non-automated Emails in Terms of Revenue?
Yes, automated emails are capable of generating 320% more revenue compared to non-automated emails. The most successful email marketing strategies often include segmentation (78% effectiveness), personalization (72%), and automation (71%), according to data from Campaign Monitor and HubSpot.
.webp)
