Startup OS #8 | Why e-mail marketing is so important 💰

For any CPG or product-based brand operating on Shopify, mastering email marketing is crucial for driving growth.

Email marketing isn’t just about sending out offers—it's a tool that helps you build relationships, nurture customer loyalty, and drive repeat purchases.

With competition in eCommerce continually increasing and paid ads becoming more costly, having an effective email strategy can be the difference between struggling to grow and scaling profitably.

So, what is email marketing, and how can it transform your Shopify-based startup?

The Power of Email Marketing for CPG Brands on Shopify

For consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands operating on Shopify, email marketing remains one of the most powerful channels for driving engagement, conversions, and long-term loyalty. While social media algorithms constantly change and paid ad costs continue to rise, email marketing offers a direct and reliable line of communication to customers. A well-executed email marketing strategy can turn first-time buyers into repeat customers and significantly increase customer lifetime value (LTV), a key metric for growth.

This article will explore why email marketing is so effective, the difference between campaigns and automated flows, how to measure success using key metrics, compare popular email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Omnisend, and what CPG brands should aspire to achieve with their email strategy.

Why Email Marketing is So Powerful

Email marketing is more than just a tool for sending promotions—it's one of the most effective ways to build and nurture customer relationships for CPG brands. Here’s why it’s such a powerful marketing channel:

1. Ownership and Control

Unlike social media, where algorithms decide who sees your content, email marketing gives you full ownership over your audience. When customers opt into your email list, you have a direct line to communicate with them—on your own terms and with no interference from third-party platforms. This control is particularly important for Shopify-based brands because it ensures a consistent reach, regardless of changes in ad costs or platform policies.

2. Personalization and Segmentation

Email allows for highly targeted, personalized communication. You can segment your audience based on behavior, preferences, and purchase history, enabling you to send the most relevant content. For example, a skincare brand might send different emails to first-time buyers versus loyal customers, or suggest personalized product recommendations based on past purchases. Personalization helps create stronger customer connections, which in turn leads to higher engagement and conversion rates.

3. Driving Repeat Purchases

For CPG brands selling consumable products, driving repeat purchases is essential to increase customer lifetime value (LTV). Email marketing allows you to send replenishment reminders, suggest complementary products, or offer exclusive discounts, helping to keep your brand top of mind and encouraging customers to return for more. This is key to turning one-time buyers into loyal customers who return again and again.

4. Exceptional ROI

Email marketing offers an impressive return on investment (ROI), often cited as delivering an average of $36 for every $1 spent. This high ROI stems from the fact that email marketing is low-cost, yet it targets people who have already shown interest in your brand, making them more likely to engage and convert compared to other channels like paid ads or social media.

Campaigns vs. Automated Flows: How to Use Both Effectively

When building an email marketing strategy, it's important to understand the distinction between email campaigns and automated flows. Both serve different purposes but are essential to building a robust email marketing system.

Email Campaigns: Timely, One-Off Sends

An email campaign is a one-time message sent to a targeted segment of your audience, usually around a specific event, promotion, or announcement. Campaigns are often used to create urgency and excitement, and are ideal for driving short-term sales.

For example, if your CPG brand is launching a new seasonal product, an email campaign would alert customers to the product’s availability, offering a time-sensitive promotion to encourage immediate purchases.

How to Use Campaigns Effectively:

• Segmentation: Instead of blasting your entire list, target specific groups—like recent purchasers, inactive customers, or VIPs—to make the campaign more relevant.

• Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Each email should have one clear, actionable goal, whether it’s driving customers to a product page or encouraging them to redeem a discount.

• Test and Optimize: Continuously A/B test subject lines, content, and design to optimize open rates and click-through rates (CTR).

Automated Flows: Set-and-Forget Sequences

Automated flows, or email automations, are sequences of emails triggered by specific actions a customer takes, such as signing up for your newsletter, abandoning their cart, or making a purchase. These emails are sent automatically at pre-set intervals, and they excel at delivering personalized, relevant content at the right moment.

For instance, an abandoned cart flow could remind a customer of the items they left behind, offer a discount to entice them to complete the purchase, and create urgency with a final reminder email.

Key Automated Flows to Implement:

• Welcome Series: Greet new subscribers with a series of emails introducing your brand, showcasing your top products, and offering a first-purchase incentive.

• Abandoned Cart Flow: Remind potential buyers to return and complete their purchase. Offering a discount or free shipping often increases conversion.

• Post-Purchase Flow: Follow up with customers after they’ve made a purchase, providing order details, product care tips, and recommendations for complementary products.

• Replenishment Reminders: If you sell consumable products, set up reminders based on the average time it takes for a customer to finish the product (e.g., 30 days after purchase).

Automated flows ensure that you're nurturing leads and customers continuously and efficiently, without the need for manual intervention.

Key Metrics to Track and How to Analyze Them

To get the most out of your email marketing efforts, you need to focus on data-driven decision-making. The key metrics you track will help you understand how your emails are performing and where improvements can be made.

1. Open Rate

This metric shows how many people opened your email. A high open rate indicates that your subject line is engaging and that your email list is healthy. Low open rates (typically below 20%) may signal poor subject lines or list fatigue.

How to Improve: Test different subject lines and send times. Additionally, clean up your list by removing inactive subscribers to improve overall performance.

2. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR shows how many recipients clicked on a link within your email. If you have a high open rate but a low CTR, it could mean that your content isn’t resonating with readers or that your call-to-action (CTA) isn’t clear.

How to Improve: Simplify your content, focus on one main CTA, and make your email visually appealing. Ensure your CTA buttons stand out and are placed strategically.

3. Conversion Rate

This is the percentage of people who completed a desired action (such as making a purchase) after clicking through from your email. If your conversion rate is low despite good open and click-through rates, there might be a problem with your landing page or checkout process.

How to Improve: Ensure that the landing page aligns with the email’s message and provides a seamless experience. Test different landing page designs, copy, and offers.

4. Unsubscribe Rate

Unsubscribe rates reflect how many people opted out of your email list after receiving a specific email. A high unsubscribe rate could mean your emails are too frequent, irrelevant, or poorly targeted.

How to Improve: Adjust your email frequency, refine your list segmentation, and focus on sending more personalized, value-driven content. Offering subscribers the option to choose how often they hear from you can also help reduce unsubscribes.

Comparing Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Omnisend for Shopify-Based CPG Brands

When it comes to selecting the right email marketing platform for your Shopify-based CPG brand, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Omnisend are three popular options. Here’s how they stack up:

1. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is well-known for its simplicity and is a great option for beginners or smaller businesses. It offers an intuitive interface and basic automation features, making it a solid choice for brands just starting with email marketing.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface

• Affordable for small lists

• Offers a variety of email templates

Cons:

• Limited automation and segmentation features compared to more advanced platforms

• Integration with Shopify is no longer as strong since their partnership ended

2. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a favorite for Shopify-based CPG brands looking for deep segmentation, powerful automation, and data-driven marketing. It offers a robust set of tools specifically designed for eCommerce, allowing for personalized customer journeys and complex automated flows.

Pros:

• Strong integration with Shopify

• Advanced automation and segmentation

• Powerful analytics and reporting

Cons:

• Higher cost than Mailchimp, especially for larger lists

• Steeper learning curve due to its advanced features

3. Omnisend

Omnisend is an eCommerce-focused platform that integrates email marketing with SMS and push notifications. It’s easier to use than Klaviyo but offers more advanced features than Mailchimp, making it a great choice for mid-sized businesses looking to expand their marketing channels.

Pros:

• Multi-channel marketing (email, SMS, push notifications)

• Easy-to-use interface

• Strong integration with Shopify

Cons:

• Fewer advanced features for segmentation and analytics compared to Klaviyo

What CPG Brands Should Aspire to in Email Marketing

For CPG brands operating on Shopify, email marketing should aspire to more than just promotions and discounts—it should be about building relationships and delivering value to customers. Here are key aspirations to aim for:

1. Personalization at Scale

Brands should focus on delivering a personalized experience to each customer, even as their list grows. Segmentation and automation tools allow you to tailor your messaging based on customer behavior, making each email feel relevant and timely.

2. Consistent Engagement

The best email marketing strategies go beyond sporadic promotional emails. Consistent engagement, such as through educational content, product tips, and personalized offers, helps build long-term customer loyalty.

3. Seamless Customer Journeys

Emails should be part of a broader customer journey that spans multiple touchpoints—from discovery to purchase to post-purchase. Automating flows ensures that you are nurturing leads and customers continuously, driving repeat purchases and boosting LTV.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a cornerstone of success for CPG brands on Shopify. By understanding the power of personalization, leveraging both campaigns and automated flows, and tracking the right metrics, brands can create a high-performing email strategy that drives engagement, repeat purchases, and long-term loyalty. Choosing the right platform—whether it’s Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or Omnisend—will depend on your specific needs and goals, but the ultimate aspiration should be to create meaningful customer experiences that lead to sustainable growth and profitability.

So that’s why e-mail marketing is so important.

Thank you for reading. I hope this becomes useful reading before the work week starts again.

Feel free to DM me here.

Have a great week,

Robert