How to Set Up Shopify Email Marketing

What Is Shopify Email Marketing and Why Does It Drive More Revenue Than Any Other Channel?

Shopify email marketing is the practice of building a subscriber list from your store visitors and customers, then sending targeted campaigns and automated messages that bring people back to purchase. Email consistently delivers the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel — an average of $42 returned for every $1 spent — because it reaches an audience that has already expressed interest in your brand. Unlike social media (where algorithm changes can eliminate your reach overnight) or paid ads (where every click costs money), your email list is an owned asset that compounds in value the longer you build it. This guide covers exactly how to set up Shopify email marketing from scratch: platform selection, list growth, campaign types, automation flows, segmentation, and measurement.

Step 1: Choose the Right Email Marketing Platform for Your Shopify Store

Shopify integrates natively with several email platforms, but the right choice depends on your store’s size and requirements:

• Shopify Email — Shopify’s built-in email tool, free for up to 10,000 emails per month. Best for stores just starting out that need basic campaigns without the complexity of a third-party platform. Limitations: no advanced automation, limited segmentation, and basic templates.
• Klaviyo — the most powerful email platform built specifically for e-commerce. Deep Shopify integration syncs order history, browse behavior, cart abandonment, and product catalog directly into Klaviyo for precise segmentation and personalization. Best for stores doing $50K+ annually that want advanced automation and segmentation. Free up to 250 contacts; from $20/month.
• Omnisend — strong Shopify integration with multi-channel capabilities (email + SMS + push). Better value than Klaviyo for stores that prioritize SMS alongside email. Free plan includes 500 emails/month.
• Drip — e-commerce focused with strong visual automation builder. Good for stores with complex workflow requirements. From $39/month.

For most Shopify stores with growth ambitions, Klaviyo is the recommended choice — its e-commerce-specific features (predictive analytics, product feeds in emails, RFM segmentation) pay for themselves quickly in recovered revenue and increased purchase frequency.

Step 2: Connect Your Email Platform to Shopify and Configure Sync

After selecting your platform, connecting it to Shopify takes 5-10 minutes:

• Install the platform’s Shopify app — every major email platform has a Shopify app in the App Store. Install it and authenticate with your email platform account.
• Configure data sync settings — determine which customer data syncs automatically: new customer creation, order events (placed, fulfilled, refunded), browse activity, and cart abandonment. In Klaviyo, these are called “metrics” and power all segmentation and automation triggers.
• Set up your sender domain — authenticate your sending domain (yourbrand.com) via SPF and DKIM records in your DNS settings. Domain authentication improves deliverability and prevents your emails from landing in spam. Most platforms provide step-by-step DNS instructions.
• Import existing customer list — if you have existing customer emails, import them as subscribed contacts (only import customers who have explicitly opted in to marketing, per CAN-SPAM and GDPR requirements).

Step 3: Build Your Email Subscriber List

Your email list is the foundation of your marketing — growing it systematically is the highest-leverage activity for long-term email revenue:

• Popup opt-in with incentive — a well-designed popup offering 10-15% off the first order or a free gift converts 3-8% of visitors into subscribers. Show the popup to new visitors after 10-15 seconds or on exit intent (when they move to close the tab). Mobile popups should be full-screen and easy to close. Use Privy, Klaviyo’s built-in forms, or Justuno for popup creation.
• Footer signup form — a persistent email signup in your footer captures visitors who scrolled through your entire site without triggering the popup. Offer the same incentive as the popup.
• Checkout email capture — Shopify captures email addresses at checkout for all orders. Enable marketing opt-in at checkout (Settings → Checkout → Email marketing) so customers can subscribe during purchase without additional friction.
• Post-purchase email opt-in — customers who just bought are highly engaged. A post-purchase page or email asking them to join your list for exclusive offers converts at higher rates than cold site visitors.
• Social media promotion — promote your email list signup and lead magnet on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest with a link in bio. “Join 12,000 subscribers who get exclusive deals” provides social proof that increases signup rates.

Step 4: Create Your Core Automated Email Flows

Automated flows run 24/7 and generate revenue without ongoing effort — set them up once and they compound indefinitely:

• Welcome series (3-5 emails over 7-10 days) — the most important flow for new subscribers. Email 1 (immediate): deliver the promised discount, introduce your brand story, and showcase your bestsellers. Email 2 (day 3): share what makes your products different — materials, craftsmanship, sourcing, or the problem you solve. Email 3 (day 7): social proof — best reviews, customer photos, UGC. Email 4 (day 10): urgency reminder for any discount that’s expiring. Welcome series typically generates 3-5% of total email revenue despite going to a small percentage of subscribers.
• Abandoned cart recovery (3 emails) — Email 1 at 1 hour: reminder with the cart contents and a clear CTA. Email 2 at 24 hours: address common purchase hesitations (returns policy, shipping speed, quality guarantee). Email 3 at 72 hours: offer a small incentive (5-10% off or free shipping) to complete the purchase. Abandoned cart flows recover 5-15% of abandoning visitors and are typically the highest-revenue flow.
• Browse abandonment (1-2 emails) — triggered when a visitor views a product but doesn’t add to cart. Send 1-2 hours after browsing with the specific products viewed and similar items. Lower intent than cart abandonment but significant volume — recovers buyers who were considering but not ready.
• Post-purchase sequence (3-4 emails) — Email 1 (day 3 after delivery): check-in asking how they’re enjoying the product. Email 2 (day 10): review request asking for honest feedback. Email 3 (day 30): cross-sell related products based on their purchase. Email 4 (day 60): replenishment reminder for consumable products.
• Win-back flow for lapsed customers — triggered when a customer hasn’t purchased in 90+ days. Three-email sequence with escalating offers to bring them back before suppressing them from your list.

Step 5: Plan and Send Regular Campaign Emails

Beyond automated flows, planned campaign emails drive revenue for new launches, promotions, and seasonal moments:

• New product launches — announce new arrivals to your full subscriber list with a launch email, then follow up 3-5 days later to people who opened but didn’t purchase. Segmented follow-ups consistently outperform single broadcast campaigns.
• Promotional campaigns — sales events, holiday promotions, and clearance events. Use a 3-email structure: preview (2-3 days before), launch (event start), and urgency/last chance (24-48 hours before end).
• Educational/content emails — product guides, styling tips, how-to content, and brand storytelling. Non-promotional emails build relationship and brand affinity, which improves open rates and deliverability for all future emails. Best practice: 30-40% of emails should be non-promotional.
• Curated product roundups — “This Week’s Picks,” “Staff Favorites,” or “New Arrivals” roundups that showcase products without requiring a specific promotion. Works well for stores with large catalogs where discovery is valuable.

Step 6: Segment Your List for Higher Relevance and Revenue

Segmentation is what separates stores doing $5K/month from email and $50K/month from email — the same list, dramatically different results based on relevance:

• VIP customers (top 10% by spend) — send early access, exclusive products, and personalized thank-you campaigns. VIP segments open at 2-3x the rate of your full list and convert at much higher rates.
• One-time buyers — the largest opportunity segment for most stores. A specific “second purchase” campaign with your most popular products and a returning-customer offer converts at higher rates than sending one-time buyers the same content as your active customers.
• Product category segments — customers who’ve bought from specific categories should receive category-relevant new arrivals and promotions rather than your entire catalog. A buyer who purchased only kitchen products shouldn’t receive outdoor gear promotions.
• Engagement-based segments — separate highly engaged subscribers (open every email) from unengaged ones (haven’t opened in 90+ days). Engaged subscribers can receive more frequent communication; unengaged ones should receive only win-back campaigns before being suppressed.

Step 7: Measure Email Marketing Performance and Optimize

Track these metrics monthly to understand what’s working and where to improve:

• Open rate — industry average for e-commerce is 15-25%. Rates below 15% signal deliverability issues or unengaged list. Improve by: cleaning unengaged subscribers, testing subject line styles, and personalizing preview text.
• Click-through rate (CTR) — industry average is 2-4% for e-commerce. Low CTR with high opens means your email content isn’t compelling enough to drive action. Improve by: cleaner email design, stronger CTAs, and product-specific emails over general newsletters.
• Revenue per email sent (RPE) — total email revenue divided by emails sent. This is the most important e-commerce email metric because it captures both engagement and purchase behavior. Benchmark against your own history month over month.
• Flow vs. campaign contribution — track what percentage of email revenue comes from automated flows vs. manual campaigns. Stores with well-built flows typically see 40-60% of email revenue from flows — higher flow contribution means your foundational automation is working.
• List growth rate — track net list growth (new subscribers minus unsubscribes) monthly. A growing list with consistent engagement compounds over time; a shrinking list with high churn indicates acquisition or content quality issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I send marketing emails on Shopify?

Email sending frequency for Shopify stores: start with 1-2 emails per week for your active customer segments and adjust based on engagement data. If open rates stay above 20% at 2 emails/week, you can test 3/week. If rates drop below 15%, scale back to 1/week. Frequency is less important than relevance — a highly segmented, personalized email every day outperforms a generic newsletter once a week. Your VIP customers can receive more frequent communication than your full list. Automated flows (welcome, cart abandonment) run regardless of your campaign sending schedule and don’t count toward frequency fatigue for most subscribers.

What is a good email open rate for Shopify stores?

Shopify email open rate benchmarks: 20-30% is good for a healthy, engaged list. 30%+ is excellent. 15-20% is acceptable but indicates room for improvement in subject lines, list hygiene, or segmentation. Below 15% suggests deliverability issues or a heavily unengaged list that needs cleaning. Note that iOS 15+ Mail Privacy Protection inflates open rates for subscribers using Apple Mail — many platforms now report “click rate” as a more reliable engagement metric. Focus on revenue per email sent as your primary performance metric rather than open rate alone, since revenue is the metric that actually matters for business decisions.

How do I prevent my Shopify emails from going to spam?

Email deliverability for Shopify: authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records (your email platform provides setup instructions). Only send to subscribers who explicitly opted in — purchased lists or scraped contacts will destroy your sender reputation. Maintain a clean list by suppressing unengaged subscribers (no opens in 180+ days) before they drag down your engagement metrics. Avoid spam trigger words in subject lines (“FREE,” “GUARANTEED,” all caps, excessive punctuation). Send from a consistent sending address at your brand domain, not a generic Gmail or Hotmail address. Monitor your spam complaint rate in Google Postmaster Tools — keep it below 0.1%.

What should my first email to new subscribers say?

Welcome email best practices: your first email should deliver on the promise that got subscribers to sign up (the discount code, the free guide, the exclusive access). Include it immediately and make it prominent. Then briefly introduce your brand — who you are, what makes your products different, and why you started the business. Show 3-5 of your bestselling products with compelling photos and descriptions. Include a clear call to action: “Shop now with your 15% off code.” Keep the first email focused on conversion — save brand storytelling for email 2 or 3 in your welcome series. Subject line: “[Your brand] — here’s your 15% off code” performs well because it’s transparent about the value and drives opens.

How do I grow my Shopify email list faster?

Accelerating Shopify email list growth: the fastest methods are exit-intent popups with strong incentives (10-15% off converts at 5-8% of visitors), post-purchase opt-in during checkout (already engaged, high conversion), and social media promotions that drive traffic to a dedicated landing page with the opt-in offer. Giveaway campaigns (“enter your email to win”) grow lists quickly but often attract low-quality subscribers who entered only for the prize — quality matters more than quantity. Referral programs where existing subscribers earn rewards for referring friends generate the highest-quality new subscribers because they share your target profile. Test your popup timing (10 seconds vs. 30 seconds vs. exit intent) — small optimizations to popup timing and copy can double your list growth rate without changing your incentive.

Final Thoughts

Shopify email marketing is a compounding asset — every subscriber added today increases the revenue potential of every campaign you send for years. The stores that build email marketing correctly from the start (proper platform setup, list growth systems, core automation flows, segmentation) compound this advantage over time while competitors rely on increasingly expensive paid advertising. Start with the foundational flows (welcome series, cart abandonment, post-purchase), grow your list systematically, and add complexity incrementally as your understanding of your customer segments deepens. Email marketing isn’t a channel you launch once — it’s a system you improve continuously, and every improvement compounds.

For more on Shopify marketing, explore our guides on Shopify customer loyalty programs, reducing cart abandonment, and Shopify analytics for business growth.