Email Marketing Strategies To Boost Ecommerce Sales

You can write the world’s best email, but if it goes to spam, it doesn’t matter. Email deliverability is the technical boring stuff that actually matters a ton. It’s the difference between your emails landing in the inbox or disappearing into the spam folder where nobody will ever see them.

 

How to Avoid Spam Filters

 

Spam filters are trying to protect people from garbage emails. Here’s how to stay on their good side and prove you’re legit.

 

•  

• • Set up your authentication. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records sound technical and scary, but your email platform should help you. These prove you’re actually allowed to send emails from your domain. Without them, email providers get suspicious. Services like SendGrid, Mailgun, and HubSpot handle a lot of this automatically.

 

• • Clean your list regularly. Remove people who never open your emails, fix bounced addresses, and honor unsubscribes immediately. A smaller engaged list beats a huge dead list every single time. I know it feels bad to remove people, but keeping dead weight on your list hurts your deliverability for everyone else.

 

• • Avoid spam trigger words. Filters are smarter now than they used to be, but words like “FREE” in all caps or “ACT NOW” with a bunch of exclamation points still look suspicious. Just write like a normal human and you’ll be fine.

 

• • Watch your sender reputation. Email providers track how people interact with your stuff. High opens, low spam complaints, and good engagement signal that you’re legit. Poor engagement tells them you’re sending stuff people don’t want.

 

• • Use a real email marketing service. Don’t try to send mass emails from your regular Gmail account. Platforms like Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and Mailchimp have relationships with the big email providers and handle most of the technical stuff for you.

 

 

Why Engagement Actually Matters

 

Here’s something counterintuitive. Sending less email can actually improve your deliverability. Email providers watch how people react to your messages. If people keep deleting your emails without opening them, you get flagged as low quality. Your future emails are more likely to go to spam or the promotions tab.

 

Better to send fewer, more targeted emails to people who actually want them. Your deliverability goes up, your engagement rates improve, and you’re not annoying people into unsubscribing. Quality over quantity isn’t just a cute saying. It’s actually how email deliverability works.

 

How Can I Measure the Success of My Welcome Email Sequence?

 

Data is useless if you don’t know what to look at. Let’s talk about which email marketing metrics actually matter and what they tell you about your performance.

 

The Core Four Metrics

 

Open rate tells you what percentage of people open your email. Average for ecommerce is around 20 to 25%. If you’re below 15%, something’s wrong with your subject lines or you’re sending too much. Above 30% means you’re doing something right.

 

Click-through rate shows what percentage of people click links in your email. This tells you if your content is compelling. Average is two to three percent, but good campaigns can hit five to ten percent. If you’re below one percent, your content isn’t interesting enough or your calls-to-action aren’t clear.

 

Conversion rate is what percentage actually do what you want them to do. Buy something, sign up for something, download something. This is your money metric. Everything else is just vanity if people aren’t converting. Even one to three percent is decent for ecommerce. Five percent or higher is killing it.

 

Revenue per email is total money made divided by emails sent. This gives you a clear picture of ROI. If you’re not tracking this, you’re basically guessing about whether email is worth your time.

 

Beyond the Basics

 

List growth rate tells you if you’re adding people faster than you’re losing them. You want this number positive and growing. If it’s flat or negative, you’ve got a problem with either how you’re acquiring subscribers or how you’re treating them.

 

Email sharing rate shows if people are forwarding your emails to friends. That means your content is valuable enough that people want to share it. It’s rare, but when it happens, it’s gold.

 

Overall ROI matters most. Email marketing usually makes $36-42 for every dollar you spend. If you’re not hitting at least $20 per dollar, something needs to change. If you’re above 40, you’re doing great.

 

Unsubscribe rate tells you if people are leaving. Some people leaving is totally normal. 0.5-1% is fine. But if this jumps suddenly, you need to re-evaluate your strategy immediately. You’re either sending too much or your content got bad.

 

Track all this stuff in your platform’s dashboard. Modern tools like Campaign Monitor, GetResponse, and ActiveCampaign make it pretty easy to see how you’re doing at a glance.

 

Email Performance Benchmarks

 

Metric	Good	Great	Problem
Open Rate	20-25%	30%+	Below 15%
Click-Through Rate	2-5%	7%+	Below 1%
Conversion Rate	1-3%	5%+	Below 0.5%
Unsubscribe Rate	Under 0.5%	Under 0.2%	Over 1%
Bounce Rate	Under 2%	Under 0.5%	Over 5%

 

Use these benchmarks as guidelines, not absolute rules. Your specific numbers depend on your industry, your audience, and what you’re selling. But if you’re way off these numbers, dig into why.

 

Different Types of Emails You Should Be Sending

 

Not all email campaigns do the same thing. Some make you money directly. Others build relationships that turn into money later. You need both working together to create a complete strategy.

 

Promotional Emails

 

These are your main sales drivers. New products, sales, deals, limited-time offers. These have one job: get people to buy. But even promotional emails need more than just “here’s a discount.” Tell stories around your products. Give styling tips or usage ideas. Explain why the product matters and who it’s perfect for. Make the promotion feel like you’re helping them, not just trying to take their money.

 

Transactional Emails

 

Order confirmations, shipping updates, password resets, account notifications. These get opened like 80 to 90% of the time because people need the information. Don’t waste this opportunity. Add product recommendations based on what they just bought. Include helpful content about how to use their purchase. Promote your loyalty program. These emails are already getting opened at crazy high rates, use that attention.

 

Lifecycle Emails

 

These are automated sequences based on where someone is in their journey with you. Welcome series for new subscribers who just joined. Onboarding sequences for new customers making their first purchase. Re-engagement campaigns for people who went quiet. Win-back campaigns for people who haven’t bought in forever. VIP stuff for your best customers who deserve special treatment. Each stage needs different messaging because people’s needs change as they move through their relationship with your brand.

 

Newsletter Emails

 

Pure value with minimal selling. Share tips related to your products. Give industry news that your customers care about. Tell behind-the-scenes stories about your brand. Show them things they wouldn’t see anywhere else. Newsletters build trust and keep you top of mind for when people are ready to buy. They’re not about immediate ROI. They’re about long-term relationship building.

 

Abandoned Cart and Browse Abandonment

 

We covered cart abandonment already. Browse abandonment targets people who looked at products but didn’t add them to cart. Show them what they looked at, include reviews to address quality concerns, give them a little nudge to come back and check it out. This catches people even earlier in the buying process.

 

The best email strategies use all these types together. It creates a complete system that nurtures relationships while driving sales. You’re not just hammering people with promotions. You’re providing value, building trust, and making offers at the right times.

 

Email Marketing Best Practices for 2025

 

Email keeps evolving. What worked great five years ago might not work now. Here’s what’s actually working in 2025 based on what I’m seeing with real campaigns.

 

Mobile-First Design Is Non-Negotiable

 

Over 60% of emails get opened on phones now. If your emails don’t work on small screens, you’re losing more than half your potential engagement. Use templates that automatically adjust to screen size. Make buttons big enough to tap with a thumb. Keep your copy short because nobody wants to read an essay on their phone. Test every email on mobile before you send it. This isn’t optional anymore.

 

Interactive Elements Are Gaining Momentum

 

Polls, surveys, countdown timers, image carousels, hover effects. Things that make emails feel less passive and more engaging. These interactive elements can boost engagement significantly. People like clicking and interacting, not just reading. Platforms like Klaviyo and Campaign Monitor support these features now.

 

Privacy Rules Are Here to Stay

 

GDPR, CAN-SPAM, CCPA, and whatever new regulations come next. Compliance isn’t optional. Always get clear permission before adding someone to your list. Make unsubscribing easy—like one-click easy. Be honest about how you use people’s data. Don’t be shady. Platforms like HubSpot Marketing Hub and Brevo have compliance features built in to help you stay legal.

 

AI-Powered Optimization

 

Machine learning isn’t just for big companies anymore. Platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact use AI for send time optimization, subject line testing, and content recommendations. It’s not about replacing human creativity. It’s about using data to make better decisions. Let the AI figure out when each person is most likely to open your email. You focus on creating good content.

 

User-Generated Content Wins Trust

 

Include actual customer reviews in your emails. Show photos from real customers using your products. Feature testimonials with specific results, not vague praise. Real people using real products beats polished marketing copy every single time. It’s more believable and more relatable. Ask your customers for content and actually use it.

 

Accessibility Matters

 

Use alt text for images so screen readers can describe them. Make sure your color combinations have enough contrast for people with vision issues. Use proper HTML structure. Don’t rely only on images to convey important information. Accessible emails reach more people and show you actually care about all your customers, not just the ones who see and interact with content the same way you do.

 

 

Advanced Strategies: Taking Your Email Game to the Next Level

 

Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals and your basic campaigns are running smoothly, here’s where it gets fun and you can really start optimizing.

 

Dynamic Content Blocks

 

Show different stuff to different people in the same email. Someone in New York sees winter coats while someone in Florida sees swimwear. Same campaign, same send time, but personalized for each person based on their location. Or show different products based on past purchases. Or different messaging based on how engaged they are. Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign make this pretty easy to set up once you understand how it works.

 

Predictive Analytics

 

Some platforms can now predict customer lifetime value, identify who’s about to stop buying from you, and estimate when someone’s likely to make their next purchase. Use these insights to create super targeted campaigns. Reach out to high-value customers with exclusive offers. Try to save at-risk customers before they leave. Time your promotions when people are most likely to buy.

 

Multi-Channel Integration

 

Email shouldn’t exist alone in a vacuum. Combine it with SMS through platforms like Omnisend or Brevo. Coordinate with your retargeting ads. Align with your social media. Create experiences that follow people across channels so your messaging feels consistent no matter where they encounter you. Someone who clicked your email but didn’t buy might see a retargeting ad later. Then they get an SMS reminder. It all works together.

 

Cleaning Out Dead Subscribers

 

Create automated sequences that try to win back inactive people before you remove them from your list. “We miss you” campaigns with compelling offers. Ask if they want to stay subscribed. Give them options to update their preferences instead of completely unsubscribing. But if they’re truly dead weight and not engaging at all, remove them. It keeps your list healthy and your deliverability strong.

 

Should I Use Automation Tools for Welcome Email Sequences?

 

Yes. Absolutely yes. No question.

 

I know “automation” sounds cold and robotic to some people. But here’s the truth: automation is what lets you be personal at scale. Without it, you’d have to manually send each email to each new subscriber. That’s completely impossible once you have more than a few dozen people on your list.

 

Good automation tools let you send emails automatically when someone signs up. They let you personalize content dynamically using subscriber data. You can A/B test everything from subject lines to calls-to-action. You get detailed analytics about what’s working and what’s not. And you can segment automatically based on how people behave.

 

Modern email platforms make this surprisingly accessible. You don’t need to be a programmer or a tech wizard. You just need to learn how the interface works and think strategically about your customer journey. Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Drip, they all have visual automation builders that let you map out flows without touching code.

 

The brands crushing it with email are using automation. It’s not optional if you want to compete. Set it up once, and it works for you forever. That’s leverage.

 

Choosing an Email Marketing Agency: When to Outsource

 

Not everyone needs to become an email expert. Sometimes the smart move is bringing in people who do this all day every day and have seen what works across dozens or hundreds of brands.

 

Think about hiring an agency when your list is huge (like 50,000+ people) and you’re not managing it well. Or when you’re obviously leaving money on the table but don’t have the skills internally to fix it. Maybe you’re too busy running other parts of your business and email keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the priority list. Or you need complex stuff like advanced testing protocols and sophisticated automation that’s beyond your current capabilities.

 

Good agencies pay for themselves by improving your results. A 20% increase in email revenue easily covers their fees. Just make sure they understand ecommerce specifically. B2B email strategies are different from ecommerce. You need someone who gets online retail and consumer behavior.

 

Ask to see case studies from similar businesses. Talk to their current clients if possible. Make sure they’re using platforms you want to use (no point hiring an agency that’s experts in a platform you don’t want to switch to). And be clear about expectations and reporting. You should get regular updates on what they’re doing and what results they’re getting.

 

Some well-regarded agencies specializing in ecommerce email include PrimFlex Digital, Klaviyo’s partner network, which lists certified experts, and agencies that focus specifically on Shopify stores. Do your research and don’t just go with the cheapest option. You get what you pay for with agency work.

 

Common Email Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

 

Let me save you some pain by pointing out the mistakes I see over and over again.

 

Buying Email Lists

 

Never do this. Ever. I don’t care how tempting it seems or how “high quality” the seller claims the list is. You’ll destroy your sender reputation, get terrible results, and possibly break laws. Email marketing only works with permission. People who didn’t choose to hear from you won’t engage, and email providers will notice. Build your list organically. It takes longer but it’s the only way that actually works.

 

Ignoring Mobile

 

This one drives me crazy because it’s so easy to fix. Test every single email on a phone before you send it. No exceptions. What looks perfect in Gmail on your desktop might be completely broken on an iPhone. Images might not load right. Buttons might be too small to tap. Text might be unreadable. If your emails don’t work on mobile, you’re losing more than half your potential opens and clicks.

 

Not Testing Before Sending

 

Send test emails to yourself and your team before you send to your whole list. Check all the links to make sure they work. Make sure the discount code actually applies correctly. Verify that images load. Look for typos. I’ve seen campaigns go out with broken links or wrong discount codes, and it’s embarrassing and costs you money. Spend five extra minutes testing and save yourself the headache.

 

Ignoring Unsubscribe Requests

 

It’s illegal and wrong. Honor unsubscribes immediately. Within 24 hours is the legal requirement but most platforms do it instantly. Don’t try to make it hard to unsubscribe. Don’t send “are you sure?” emails. Don’t keep emailing them “one last time.” Just let them go. People who don’t want your emails aren’t going to buy anyway. Keeping them on your list only hurts your deliverability.

 

Sending Too Much

 

There’s no magic number for frequency, but if people start unsubscribing a lot, you’re probably overdoing it. Watch your metrics. If unsubscribe rates spike after you increased send frequency, that’s your answer. Better to send less and have people actually engage than to flood their inbox and train them to ignore you. Quality beats quantity every time.

 

Being Generic and Boring

 

If your emails could be from any brand in your industry, they’re not good enough. Your personality should come through. Your voice should be recognizable. Tell stories that only you can tell. Share perspectives that are uniquely yours. Generic, corporate-sounding emails get ignored. Emails with personality get opened and remembered.

 

Weak Calls-to-Action

 

Every email needs to tell people exactly what to do next and make it easy. Your call-to-action buttons should be big and obvious. The copy should be clear. “Shop Now” is fine but “Get Your Winter Coat” is more specific and compelling. Don’t bury your CTA at the bottom of a long email. Make it prominent and make it multiple times if the email is long.

 

How Often Should You Actually Send Emails?

 

Everyone asks me this. “How often should I email my list?” And honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

 

It depends on your industry. Fashion brands can email more often than furniture stores. It depends on your audience. Younger audiences might tolerate more emails. It depends on your content quality. If every email provides real value, people want to hear from you more often. It depends on what type of emails you’re sending. Promotional emails should be less frequent than newsletters.

 

For ecommerce brands, two to four emails per week usually works well. A mix of promotional stuff, valuable content, and automated triggers. Some fashion brands send daily and it works for them because they’re constantly releasing new products and their audience expects it. Others do weekly and that’s perfectly fine too.

 

The real answer? Test it and watch your numbers. If open rates tank when you increase frequency, you’re sending too much. If unsubscribes spike, definitely too much. But if engagement stays strong or even improves, you might be able to send more.

 

Also remember that automated emails like cart abandonment and browse abandonment don’t count toward your regular frequency. Those are timely, expected messages that work differently than broadcast campaigns. Someone who gets three automated emails in one day because they abandoned their cart twice and signed up for your list isn’t being spammed. Those are contextually relevant.

 

Start conservative and increase gradually while watching your metrics. It’s easier to send more later than to win back trust after you’ve annoyed your list by sending too much too fast.

 

Can Combining SMS and Email Improve the Effectiveness of Welcome Sequences?

 

Short answer: yes, absolutely.

 

Here’s something interesting that not enough people take advantage of. SMS open rates hover around 98%, compared to email’s 20-30%. Text messages get read almost immediately usually within three minutes of being received. That’s insanely powerful.

 

Platforms like Brevo (used to be called Sendinblue) and Omnisend make it easy to combine both channels in your marketing. Here’s how to think about it strategically.

 

Use SMS for time-sensitive stuff. Flash sales that end in a few hours. Abandoned cart reminders when someone just left. Shipping updates when a package is out for delivery. Things where immediacy matters.

 

Use email for detailed content. Product education that needs more explanation. Your brand story with photos and formatting. Long-form guides or tips. Things where you need space to elaborate.

 

Don’t send the same message twice across both channels. That’s annoying and wastes the opportunity. If you send an SMS, the follow-up email should add more detail or context, not just repeat the same message.

 

A simple multi-channel welcome sequence might look like this. Send a welcome email immediately with the promised discount and introduction to your brand. Thirty minutes later, send a text message confirming their signup and giving them their discount code in a format that’s easy to use on mobile. Day two, send an email with your brand story and values. Day seven, send an email with social proof and customer reviews. Day ten, send a text with a limited-time offer that creates urgency. Day twelve, send an email with educational content and product recommendations.

 

The key is respecting that SMS is more intrusive and personal. Use it sparingly and only when you have explicit opt-in permission. Most platforms handle this automatically and won’t let you text people who didn’t opt in. But even with permission, don’t abuse it. Two to four texts per month is plenty for most brands. Save texts for when they’ll really make an impact.

 

When you coordinate email and SMS strategically, you can reach people on the channel that works best for them at that moment. Some people are email people. Some are text people. Give them both options and let their behavior tell you which they prefer.

 

The Future of Email Marketing: What’s Coming Next

 

Email’s not going anywhere. People have been predicting its death for like 20 years, and it’s still one of the best ROI channels you can use. But it is evolving.

 

What’s changing? 

Personalization is getting more sophisticated every year. We’re moving beyond basic segmentation into truly individualized experiences powered by AI and machine learning. Klaviyo and other platforms are getting better at predicting what each person wants to see.

 

Automation is getting smarter and more intuitive. Setting up complex flows that used to require technical skills is getting easier for regular people to do. Visual workflow builders keep improving.

 

Privacy rules are getting stricter, and that’s actually a good thing for legitimate marketers. It forces out the spammers and raises the bar for everyone. Brands that respect people’s time and data will have an advantage as regulations tighten.

 

Interactive emails are becoming more common. Things like in-email purchases where you can buy without even leaving your inbox. Gamification elements. More sophisticated animations and interactive elements. The technology is getting better at supporting this stuff.

 

The opportunity right now? Most brands still suck at email. They’re lazy about it. They blast their whole list with generic promotions and wonder why results are mediocre. If you commit to doing it right, building quality lists, creating valuable content, using segmentation and automation properly, and constantly testing and improving, you’ll have a real competitive advantage.

 

The brands winning with email aren’t lucky. They’re strategic. They respect their subscribers. They provide value consistently. And they understand that email marketing is a relationship channel, not just a sales channel.