Table of contents
klaviyo-guide

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]

Learn why Klaviyo is way better than Mailchimp for eCommerce brands, how to set up email campaigns and email flows, & sync your Klaviyo data with Shopify.

DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE
Table of contents:

Klaviyo has become synonymous with email marketing in the eCommerce world. It's one of the most popular email platforms for eCommerce brands and has been slowly expanding to other channels like SMS and push notifications.

If you're an eCommerce brand owner or marketing manager and are not using Klaviyo yet, you are missing out. For this post, we reached out to one of our retention and email marketing experts, and the CEO of one of the leading Klaviyo agencies - Daniel Budai - to give us the scoop on everything Klaviyo.

Here are all the reasons you should use Klaviyo and the top must-have features and strategies you should be utilizing for your eCommerce brand.

Let's dive in.

[Add Banner Here]

What is Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform that automates eCommerce SMS and email marketing to help businesses acquire, retain and grow their customers by sending marketing emails. It has over 70,000 paying customers and has become one of the most popular email marketing platforms in the world.

It's built for Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento stores, and has a lot of advanced features such as email segmentation, email automation, pre-built reports, and drip campaigns.

7 Reasons you should use Klaviyo for your email marketing

There are many reasons you should use Klaviyo, here are the top ones.

1. Klaviyo has the most features for eCommerce stores

One of the many advantages of Klaviyo is how data-centric it is. It generates powerful data about your email campaigns and then gives actionable info (and the features) that help you create better campaigns.

Klaviyo-sms-email-marketing
Source: Shopify

It supports robust automation and has a huge variety of targeting and segmentation options. These guys understand data and know how to use it effectively.

A lot of other email marketing platforms either don't capture the same amount of data or don't have an easy feature to display and analyze it. When was the last time you tried looking up your unsubscribe rate per campaign in Mailchimp? (Hint: it’s getting better, but it will still take you a while to find it).

2. Klaviyo is built for Shopify

Klaviyo and Shopify work very well together, as Klaviyo is a Shopift-first marketing automation tool, and integrating the two literally takes only a few minutes. Dozens of email flows can be triggered by Shopify events, so even while you sleep, your emails go out to the right segments.

You can literally set up abandoned cart emails, SMS campaigns, and automated customer journeys in just a few clicks.

shopify-klaviyo-sync
Source: Shopify

In comparison, Mailchimp stopped directly integrating with Shopify a few years ago (you need a third-party tool to connect the two). Other email tools may integrate with Shopify but lack integrations with the other tools you may be using.

3. Klaviyo has every integration known to man

Speaking of integrations, besides Shopify, Klaviyo virtually integrates with every eCommerce platform and app you'll ever need. It has over 200+ pre-built integrations to customer support tools, loyalty programs, user-generated content, subscription tools, payments, and virtually any app you have in your tech stack.

klaviyo-integrations
Image source: Celigo

4. Klaviyo is better than Mailchimp for eCommerce

I mentioned Mailchimp a few times and you're probably asking - why is Klaviyo so much better than Mailchimp? Klaviyo is much more focused on eCommerce brands than Mailchimp so it has developed all the right features early on while Mailchimp offered no eCommerce integrations for many years.

According to Klaviyo's own data - more than 20,000 brands have switched from Mailchimp to Klaviyo (I know because I've worked with dozens of them).

Here are a few key features that you won't find in Mailchimp:

  • Dynamic product recommendations
  • Ability to send automated happy birthday campaigns
  • An easy drip campaign setup (ugh, it's a pain in Mailchimp)
  • Ability to set up an omnichannel campaign with other marketing channels (SMS messages + push notifications)
  • Friendly email templates
  • Business metrics + real-time data (the kind you need anyway)

Still using Mailchimp? Need help setting up your email automations and improving open/click through rates? Come talk to one of our Mailchimp experts today!

5. Predictive analytics

Klaviyo has a predictive analytics feature that combined data science and machine learning to get you a lot of insights into your data. Klaviyo's AI can tell you not only the past and total lifetime value of a customer but it can predict their future lifetime value, estimated next order date, churn risk, and even gender.

klaviyo-ai-predictive-analytics

Pro tip: want to improve your email marketing strategy? Check out our guide to boosting your email engagement.

6. Super easy to create customizable reports

You can group your data or filter them based on different criteria. Klaviyo can pull in data from emails, SMS, sign-up forms, your eCommerce platform, or your custom integrations. You can easily create segments based on the customer profile that you could then use to retarget your new leads, loyal customers, and anyone in between.

And if you want to compare your stats to your competitors, Klaviyo has a benchmarking system that compares your numbers to industry averages. It also tells you which of your KPIs are underperforming compared to industry averages.

7. Klaviyo is a better tool for growth

Klaviyo helps businesses uncover growth opportunities just with the sheer volume of data and insights it offers. From what I've seen working with dozen of businesses, e-Commerce brands that use Klaviyo get higher delivery rates, open rates, click rates, and attributable revenue. Klaviyo has a strong email-sending infrastructure compared to other email automation companies.

8. SMS marketing + lead generation

Besides email, you can build several sign-up forms and set up your SMS marketing using Klaviyo. For example, you could build a special holiday campaign and send an email promotion, a text message, and a push notification. You could also create flows with all three channels and set up rules that determine what gets sent and when.

klaviyo-ai-predictive-analytics
Source: Klaviyo

>>> Want to improve your SMS campaigns? You should start using SMS codes.

9. Segmentation and custom automations

No need to re-invent the wheel. Klaviyo offers several built-in automations that help brands scale revenue without having to hire a team of email marketing experts or service partners. This platform can help you create better email flows, automated workflows, and transactional emails.

Examples include:

10. Email list growth

Klaviyo pricing

The only usual complaint that I get about Klaviyo is that it's more expensive than Mailchimp. That's definitely true but you get what you pay for. With Klaviyo you can unlock incremental growth and develop customer relationships at scale. With Mailchimp, you get to make predictions using vanity metrics and hope for the best.

Klaviyo has a better ROI on your investment at the end of the day.

klaviyo-vs-mailchimp
Image source

How to connect your Shopify store with Klaviyo

Here's a quick step-by-step guide on integrating your Shopify store to Klaviyo.

First, go to Integrations and search for Shopify. Then, click on Add Integration and go through the Shopify settings to make sure everything looks correct.

shopify-klaviyo-integration-1

Varify that your store URL is correct, enable onsite tracking, check the various subscription boxes if you want to migrate those lists over to Klaviyo, and click on Update Settings.

shopify-settings-klaviyo

Then, click on Connect to Shopify and this will take you to your Shopify account where you will be prompted to download the Klaviyo app. Click on Install App and begin syncing your data between the two platforms.

klaviyo-shopify-integration

If you want to learn how to test your onsite tracking and want more info on any of these steps head over to Klaviyo's guide on integrating with Shopify.

If you are migrating from Mailchimp to Klaviyo, use this guide.

Pro tip: Once you connected Mailchimp with Klaviyo and you started migrating your email list from one to the other, don't forget to remove the integration before you delete your Mailchimp email list/account. If you don't do it, Klaviyo will also delete your migrated list since it's synced with your Mailchimp.

Now that you know how to connect your Shopify store to Klaviyo, it's time to create your email flows and campaigns.

The 3 email flows to start with

In Klaviyo, you will discover that there are fundamentally two types of emails - email flows and email campaigns.

1. Email flows: these are automated emails triggered by a certain user action on your site. For example, you could set up a flow that sends an email every time a user looks at specific products or product categories.

2. Email campaigns: these are sent out manually by you whenever you want them to be scheduled. They are sent out to a certain segment of your subscribers that you define (based on their customer profile data).

As a rule of thumb, it's good to start with email flows as they are automated and need to be set up only once. They also bring the majority of your revenue. Email campaigns on the other hand require ongoing work.

After managing and reviewing hundreds of Klaviyo accounts, I see these 3 email flows accounting for at least 50% of the results, every single time. Here they are.

1. Abandoned Cart Flow

Cart abandonment is a serious issue for a lot of e-Commerce sites, with studies showing it’s currently at an average of 69.9%, so it’s critical to set up an effective email flow to recover some of these potential customers.

This flow is a sequence of emails sent to visitors who already added an item (or several items) to their cart, but for some reason failed to complete the purchase. These are already quite engaged visitors but they need that nudge to become buyers.

This is the standard Klaviyo abandoned cart flow trigger and filters:

klaviyo-abandoned-cart-flow

Pro tip: make sure you use the dynamic product block in this email flow so that recipients will see the products abandoned in their cart and they can buy them with a few clicks.

Here's a simple abandoned cart flow structure for you:

  1. Email #1 - 1 hour after trigger - Simple reminder email with a product block + 4 customer reviews
  2. Email #2 - 4 hours later - Low discount email with a 48-hour expiration + 4 customer reviews
  3. Email #3 - 24 hours later - Low discount email reminder + 4 customer reviews
  4. Email #4 - 25 hours later - High discount email with a 48-hour expiration + 3 best-selling products
  5. Email #5 - 24 hours later - High discount email reminder + 3 best-selling products

By the way, the same email campaigns can be sent to users who abandoned the checkout process.

2. New Customer / Welcome Flow

When someone buys your product for the first time, it's the best time to email them and start building that relationship. It's a sweet spot for your business because the customer showed that they believe in your product and they voted for you with their money.

From this point, the relationship can thrive and you can maximize their lifetime value or you can disappoint them and they will never come back or even worse, spread your bad reputation.

This is why a welcome flow is crucial. The purpose here is to not only upsell but also set expectations about delivery times, returns, and refunds.

Important: this is not for your repeat buyers or VIP, this is sent out only once to new customers.

Here are our standard flow triggers and filters.

In this flow, you have 3 options when to upsell your products:

  • A. Right after the first purchase when they are still in "buying mode"
  • B. When they already received the product (calculate with your avg delivery time + add a few days)
  • C. Use both

Here's a simple flow structure to start with:

  1. Email #1 - 1 hour after trigger: thank them for their order, provide a tracking page for their order and show related / complementary products
  2. Email #2 - 1 day later: give them a discount with a 24-hour expiration and display your best-sellers
  3. Email #3 - 4 days later: FAQ email, more info on your return policy. Direct them to your Contact Us or support page from here.
  4. Email #4 - 4 days later: our story email drives them to your "About" page or something similar.
  5. Email #5 - 4 days later: social proof email showing your reviews and directing them to leave a review on your website.

3. Welcome Flow

The welcome flow is usually a short series of emails to those visitors who subscribe to the email list but haven't browsed, purchased any products, or placed anything into their shopping carts yet.

Discounts are usually better than free shipping offers. The strongest offer is usually a free product sample, this can have a 2-4x higher subscription rate than weaker ones. Once you decided on the intro offer, it's time to set up your flow in Klaviyo.

Our go-to triggers and flow filters:

klaviyo-welcome-subscription-flow-triggers

The 3 email marketing campaigns to start with

Once you have your basic email flows set up, you can start sending email campaigns to your email list.

The beautiful thing about campaigns is that you can send one at any time and it's quite independent of your website traffic or what your users do on your site.

In order to make your life easier, it's good to plan your campaign calendar at least one month ahead.

Here are three campaign types we use:

  1. Trust/content - the main purpose of these emails is to build relationships with the audience in different ways. (e.g. blog posts, surveys, customer reviews, etc.)
  2. Product promos - the primary goal of these emails is to drive sales, by telling them the main benefits of the product and directing them to the product page. (bestsellers, product collections, upsells, new product launches).
  3. Sales events - the primary purpose of these emails is to drive more sales on holidays and special events. These could be national/international holidays, events, or celebrations (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Valentine's Day, etc.). We usually offer a discount on these emails.

You should send one promotional email for every 3-to 4 product or content-heavy emails. The rest of the emails can be trust/content and product promo emails with a 50/50 ratio.

How many emails should I send?

The amount of emails you should send depends on the size of your email list. Generally, the bigger your list the more emails you can send. Keep in mind that you should use segmentation and identify who your most engaged segment(s) are. You don't want to spam your subscribers.

As a rule of thumb, if your list is below 10,000 subscribers, you can send 2 campaigns per week. For a list of 10,000-100,000 subscribers, you can send 4 email campaigns per week, and for 100,000+ subscribers, you can send 5 emails per week. Those are just general numbers, you should test them out and change the frequency based on how your audience responds to your email campaigns.

klaviyo-results

How to segment your email list (quick & easy)

As I mentioned above, you should use email segmentation to send your email campaigns to those subscribers that are the most likely to engage with your content and buy something from you. You do not want to send mass emails to everyone on your list.

This ensures that people who want to hear from you more, get more emails, and those who don't, receive less.

Klaviyo has a wide variety of segmentation features available. Here are the ones I recommend:

  1. Location-based segmentation
  2. Gender-based segmentation
  3. Behavior-based segmentation - for an item, product category, or brand-specific behaviors
  4. Engagement-tier segment (this is what we use the most): we segment people who opened an email in the last 30, 60, 120, or 180 days and we send more campaigns to the last 30 days segment and much less to the last 180 days segment.
  5. VIP segment: either $ amount or AOV-based (e.g. placed order 3x or more, past customer lifetime value is over $500)
  6. Holiday shoppers: useful for upcoming big sales events to find those customers who usually buy during a holiday every year. "Customers made a purchase between X and Y dates last year"

Use one or more of these segmentation principles to segment your list and craft messages that are tailored to your audience. Personalization and segmentation go a long way in maximizing your revenue per recipient.

Find a Klaviyo expert today

Once you set up your Klaviyo and Shopify integration and get your email campaigns and flows set up, you should start generating at least 20% of your monthly eCommerce revenue through Klaviyo after your first month. If you are not there yet or want to get to 30-50% (which is a number achieved by many of our eCommerce clients), you might need a helping hand.

Mayple has a community of 600+ vetted marketing experts and can help you find the perfect Klaviyo expert or email marketing company for your business that could take a deep dive into your account and see what could be optimized. Get started with Mayple today.

Author

Mayple LinkedIn
Share this article:
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinCopy URL
Agency
Services
Social media advertising, PPC, Google advertising, native ads, Amazon ads
Social media management, advertising, graph design, web design, SEO, email marketing, branding CRO
Performance marketing, social media advertising, video editing, Google ads, copywriting
Email marketing, social media advertising, social media management & strategy, content marketing
Social media management, paid advertising, content marketing, SEO, email marketing
Conversion rate optimization, landing page design, Shopify development, WordPress
Influencer marketing, graphic design, creative services, influencer outreach
Social media advertising, marketing strategy, display advertising, search engine optimization
Email marketing management, email marketing audits, list management, email segmentation & design
Email marketing, website and graphic design, social media marketing, search engine optimization, copywriting

FAQs

Is Klaviyo an email marketing tool? 

Yes, Klaviyo is a powerful email marketing platform that uses powerful AI, predictive analytics, and advanced reporting to help you send personalized messages to customers, automate abandoned cart reminders, and display dynamic content and AI-based product recommendations. You can also use Klaviyo's subject line assistant to craft copy that converts.

How is Klaviyo different from Mailchimp? 

Mailchimp is built for general-purpose email marketing which can include all types of businesses (B2B, SaaS, services) while Klaviyo is specifically built for e-Commerce businesses.

Is Shopify good for musicians?

Shopify is the best solution for musicians and is very popular with many bands and artists across the world. Shopify lets you set up your store and manage your products in minutes. It has thousands of great plugins you could use to improve conversion, increase social proof and consumer trust in your brand, and improve your design.

Why is Klaviyo so popular?

Klaviyo is a much better tool for eCommerce brands. It helps improve the customer experience by letting you customize your email marketing efforts to fit each segment of your audience. It's a really powerful email marketing automation platform that can send various types of email campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and SMS marketing campaigns.

What are the drawbacks of Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a super powerful platform for eCommerce brands, and it offers top-notch features to scale email marketing campaigns. The only drawback is that it tends to be more expensive than other email tools and there's a bit of a learning curve when you use it.

Get The Ultimate CRO Audit + Checklist Tool

Mayple Your Scroe DashboardGet Access Now

Get The Ultimate Marketing Strategy Template

Marketing Template screenshotDownload Now
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]

Learn why Klaviyo is way better than Mailchimp for eCommerce brands, how to set up email campaigns and email flows, & sync your Klaviyo data with Shopify.

No items found.

FAQs

Is Klaviyo an email marketing tool? 

Yes, Klaviyo is a powerful email marketing platform that uses powerful AI, predictive analytics, and advanced reporting to help you send personalized messages to customers, automate abandoned cart reminders, and display dynamic content and AI-based product recommendations. You can also use Klaviyo's subject line assistant to craft copy that converts.

How is Klaviyo different from Mailchimp? 

Mailchimp is built for general-purpose email marketing which can include all types of businesses (B2B, SaaS, services) while Klaviyo is specifically built for e-Commerce businesses.

Is Shopify good for musicians?

Shopify is the best solution for musicians and is very popular with many bands and artists across the world. Shopify lets you set up your store and manage your products in minutes. It has thousands of great plugins you could use to improve conversion, increase social proof and consumer trust in your brand, and improve your design.

Why is Klaviyo so popular?

Klaviyo is a much better tool for eCommerce brands. It helps improve the customer experience by letting you customize your email marketing efforts to fit each segment of your audience. It's a really powerful email marketing automation platform that can send various types of email campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and SMS marketing campaigns.

What are the drawbacks of Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a super powerful platform for eCommerce brands, and it offers top-notch features to scale email marketing campaigns. The only drawback is that it tends to be more expensive than other email tools and there's a bit of a learning curve when you use it.

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]

Learn why Klaviyo is way better than Mailchimp for eCommerce brands, how to set up email campaigns and email flows, & sync your Klaviyo data with Shopify.

No items found.
No items found.

Lindsay C. PPC expert
Lindsay C.
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
Sergio F.
Camila K. PPC Expert
Camila K.

Hire

with data-backed results

The challenge of assessing social media manager is real. With Mayple you don't need to rely on reviews and fancy sales pitches.

No items found.

Hire The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]

FAQs

Is Klaviyo an email marketing tool? 

Yes, Klaviyo is a powerful email marketing platform that uses powerful AI, predictive analytics, and advanced reporting to help you send personalized messages to customers, automate abandoned cart reminders, and display dynamic content and AI-based product recommendations. You can also use Klaviyo's subject line assistant to craft copy that converts.

How is Klaviyo different from Mailchimp? 

Mailchimp is built for general-purpose email marketing which can include all types of businesses (B2B, SaaS, services) while Klaviyo is specifically built for e-Commerce businesses.

Is Shopify good for musicians?

Shopify is the best solution for musicians and is very popular with many bands and artists across the world. Shopify lets you set up your store and manage your products in minutes. It has thousands of great plugins you could use to improve conversion, increase social proof and consumer trust in your brand, and improve your design.

Why is Klaviyo so popular?

Klaviyo is a much better tool for eCommerce brands. It helps improve the customer experience by letting you customize your email marketing efforts to fit each segment of your audience. It's a really powerful email marketing automation platform that can send various types of email campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and SMS marketing campaigns.

What are the drawbacks of Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a super powerful platform for eCommerce brands, and it offers top-notch features to scale email marketing campaigns. The only drawback is that it tends to be more expensive than other email tools and there's a bit of a learning curve when you use it.

The trusted growth partner for many startups, eCommerce brands, and Fortune 500 companies

Our community of 600+ vetted experts have worked with some of the biggest brands in the world. Want to be like these brands? We're your secret weapon.

Victoria’s_Secret
Rivalry
Gillette
Nivea
Ulta_Beauty
Samsung
Bank_of_America
Lemonade,_Inc
mazda
BarkBox
Virgin_Atlantic
Nespresso
twitter
WIX
Weebly
Ebay
Marriott
Harley-Davidson

HOW IT WORKS

We're Here to Help Your Business Grow

Easy process to hire the best social media experts for the job. VIP support from hiring to management and strategy.

1

Tell us about your business

Let us know exactly what you need in our easy-to-fill brief and then hand over the hard work to us.

2

Get matched

Our AI will tap into our 600+ global network of exhaustively vetted experts to identify the perfect match to seamlessly integrate with your business needs.

3

Manage your experts

Keep your finger on the pulse through easy to navigate and comprehensive dashboards embedded into the Mayple platform

Explore Our Services

One easy-to-use platform that help online businesses and expert marketers to match up, collaborate, and grow their businesses together.

Our Customers
Love Us

From SMBs to Fortune 500s, Here’s Why Businesses Choose Mayple

You can't get this level of service and care anywhere else. It makes my work much more effective.

Roee Arbel, Co-founder, CoreMasters

Mayple was able to help us choose the best marketer for our project. All the marketers are hand-picked and vetted by Mayple.

Deborah Herbet


Mayple truly restored my trust in digital marketing again.  I got the best PPC expert I've ever worked with.

Nicholas Taylor


Mayple paired us up with a marketing professional who took the time to understand me, my needs, and what I'm trying to do with my business.

Nicole Davies
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
Nitzan L.
4.9/5

I enjoyed the sales stage, as it seemed professional, attentive and not too pushy. Our sales manager - Sheila, listened and addressed all of our concerns and needs and helped in matching us with the best professional.

Read review on

G2: Business Software and Services Reviews LOGO
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
Melaina B.
4.9/5

It was great getting industry knowledge from experienced professionals. We feel like we gained a ton of insight and created actionable plans to move forward with our strategy.

Read review on

G2: Business Software and Services Reviews LOGO
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
Stephanie B.
4.9/5

They care and really listen to our needs as a company and continue to set calls to discuss future projects they can help with. Their customer service has been top notch

Read review on

G2: Business Software and Services Reviews LOGO
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Klaviyo [2024]
Jordan R
4.9/5

They didn't stop until they found the right candidate for me. The best part is your aren't charged anything until you approve your expert.

Read review on

G2: Business Software and Services Reviews LOGO

Find the Perfect Marketer For Your Project

Our easy-to-use platform can help you find the perfect marketer, with proven experience in your niche, and a successful track record. Skip the learning curve, no interviews, no headaches.

Tell us about your business

Answer a few basic questions.

Find your marketer

Our AI picks the top 3 experts you should talk to in our community.

Launch your project

Start working together, and scale your business like never before. The relief is real.

HOW IT WORKS

We're Here to Help Your Business Grow

Easy process to hire the best experts for the job.
VIP support from hiring to management and strategy.

1

Tell us about your business

Let us know exactly what you need in our easy-to-fill brief and then hand over the hard work to us.

2

Get matched

Our AI will tap into our 600+ global network of exhaustively vetted experts to identify the perfect match to seamlessly integrate with your business needs.

3

Manage your experts

Keep your finger on the pulse through easy to navigate and comprehensive dashboards embedded into the Mayple platform

Find the Perfect Marketer
Get started