How to build automated email marketing flows (welcome series, abandoned cart, re-engagement and post-purchase) that generate revenue on autopilot.
Email automation means automatically sending relevant emails based on a subscriber’s behaviour or data, without manual intervention for every send. Unlike broadcast newsletters (sent to the whole list at once), automated emails are triggered by specific user actions: they subscribed, abandoned their cart, made a purchase, haven’t opened a single email in 90 days, have a birthday, and so on.
The value of email automation: automated emails have open rates 70-80% higher and click rates 100-200% higher than broadcast newsletters, because they arrive at the right moment, with the message that fits that particular user’s behaviour. Revenue from automated flows accounts on average for 30-50% of an e-commerce business’s total email marketing revenue, from less than 5% of the total volume of emails sent. The return per email is 10-20× higher than with broadcast.
Automated emails generate on average 320% more revenue than broadcast newsletters, according to Epsilon Research. Welcome emails generate 3× more revenue per email than any other type of promotional email. And abandoned cart emails recover on average 5-10% of abandoned carts: for an e-commerce business with 1,000 abandoned carts a month, that means 50-100 recovered orders. Source: Klaviyo Email Benchmarks Report, 2025.
Why the welcome series is the first flow you build: A new subscriber is at their highest level of engagement with your brand: they have just chosen to give you their email address, which shows active interest. If you don’t reach out to them quickly and relevantly, that initial energy fades. The welcome series is the flow that onboards the new subscriber, delivers the promised value (if they filled in the form in exchange for a lead magnet) and sets expectations for future communications.
Welcome series structure: 3 core emails: Email 1 (sent immediately on sign-up): welcome + delivery of the promised lead magnet (if there is one) + a brief introduction to the brand and what subscribers can expect. Email 2 (24-48 hours later): the brand’s value, what sets you apart, why it matters, a valuable article or resource. Email 3 (3-5 days later): a CTA for the first action, whether a first purchase with a welcome discount code, a booking or a visit to a key page on the site. The series can be extended to 5-7 emails for more complex onboarding (SaaS, professional services).
Abandoned cart is the flow with the highest ROI in email automation: it targets users who have shown purchase intent (they added items to their cart) but did not complete the order. The average cart abandonment rate in e-commerce is 70-75%, which means that out of every 100 people who add something to their cart, 70-75 leave without buying. Recovered cart emails win back 5-15% of them: a huge impact.
Abandoned cart series structure: 3 emails: Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): a simple reminder, ‘You left something in your cart’, showing the items left behind and a button straight to the cart (no discount: first you test whether they buy without an incentive). Email 2 (24 hours after abandonment): removing the objection. If they haven’t bought after the reminder, they probably have an objection (price, delivery, uncertainty). You address the main one: a returns guarantee, delivery terms, reviews of the products left in the cart. Email 3 (48-72 hours after abandonment): an urgency offer with a modest discount (10-15%) and a real time limit (24 hours). Genuine urgency and scarcity convert; fake urgency (an ‘offer expires in 24 hours’ that resets on every visit) erodes trust.
The post-purchase series: The order confirmation email has an open rate of 60-70%, making it the most opened email a customer receives. Use this peak attention to set the right expectations (delivery status, tracking), reduce ‘buyer’s remorse’ (confirm they made the right decision by reminding them of the benefits) and plant the seeds of future purchases.
The automated upsell and cross-sell flow: 7-14 days after confirmed delivery, you send the follow-up email with: a review request (if they are happy, that is valuable UGC), recommendations for complementary products (cross-sell based on what they bought) and an upsell offer (the premium version of the product they bought, or a higher-value product from the same category). Customers who have bought once are 3× more likely to buy again than a new visitor.
Defining inactivity: An inactive subscriber is one who hasn’t opened a single email in the last 90-180 days (the threshold depends on how often you send). Inactive subscribers damage deliverability: email providers (Gmail, Outlook) see that your emails go unopened and are quicker to classify them as spam. Segmenting inactive subscribers and treating them separately is essential for the health of your list.
The re-engagement campaign: A series of 3-5 emails designed specifically to reactivate inactive subscribers. The tone: direct and personal (you acknowledge that your messages haven’t been relevant lately and ask for another chance). The offer: something special, a bigger discount than usual, an exclusive resource or priority access to something new. At the end of the series, for those who still haven’t opened a single email: ‘If you’re no longer interested, we’ll unsubscribe you automatically in 7 days.’ A surprising number reactivate at this last email. Those who don’t, you remove from the active list, for the sake of your deliverability.
Klaviyo: the best choice for e-commerce: Native integration with Shopify, WooCommerce and other e-commerce platforms, advanced segmentation based on purchasing behaviour, intuitive visual automation flows and granular reporting on revenue per flow. The cost grows with the size of your list: affordable for SMB, significant for large lists (100K+ subscribers). Alternatives: Mailchimp (simpler, cheaper for small volumes), ActiveCampaign (powerful for B2B, with a built-in CRM), HubSpot (all-in-one for enterprise).
Deliverability: the overlooked factor: The best automation flow is useless if your emails land in spam. Deliverability is influenced by domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, correctly configured), the engagement rate of your list (high opens and clicks signal quality), regular list cleaning (removing bounces and inactive subscribers) and sending frequency (no spamming, but not too rarely either). You monitor deliverability through Google Postmaster Tools and the bounce reports in your email platform.
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