1. About the awkward divorce between Mailchimp and Shopify…

The split between Mailchimp and Shopify earlier this March deeply affected eCommerce stores relying on the platform for their Email Marketing campaigns.

For a year now, we’ve been prompting new and current clients to migrate away from Mailchimp and onto Klaviyo. Quite frankly, because the gap in performance is astonishing.

According to Klaviyo, customers who switched from Mailchimp see an average increase of 46% in total store revenue.

That’s because eCommerce businesses can take advantage of thorough segmentation and personalization options as well as integration, simply not available on Mailchimp. Shopify particularly has deep integration with Klaviyo. Which means dynamic data we can leverage. 

Things like, putting the customer’s name into a button or call to action ("John, Click Here"); or including the name of the product a customer left at checkout into a cart abandon email; or having a dedicated “recently viewed items” section that mimics what Amazon does successfully.

On Mailchimp, none of those things can be done.

2. If you’re just getting started with Email Marketing

Focus on setting up transactional emails first. Something I’ve learned when coached by Sir Email Marketing Majesty Austin Brawner (do yourself a favor and check out is podcast eCommerce Influence).

These are the flows and automations that are the highest revenue generators for an eCommerce business: Browse Abandonment, New Subscribers (“buy or die”), Cart Abandonment and Replenishment - which invites customers to buy again.

But always make sure you set a very defined voice and provide valuable incentives, stories and information. Specificity and value are key.

3. Ask yourself how content marketing fits into your strategy: use social proof to build trust

As I mentioned on a special feature published on performance content marketing blog, Matcha (10 Experts Share Their Best Email Marketing Tips), use social proof to build trust. Like Shauna Ward, at Matcha put it:

“Social proof is the phenomenon that makes us implicitly trust and subconsciously imitate others. In the crowded eCommerce landscape, social proof can come in the form of customer reviews, influencer photos, unboxing videos…the list goes on. And the results are powerful. 82% of people say product reviews have convinced them to make a purchase. Consider using reviews or another form of social proof in your emails to get your audience interested. “

Ask yourself the right questions and be generous about the content you share. Value doesn’t end with discounts.

How are other customers using your product?

Are you including aspirational content, like your product in real life context (images of the product in use, videos and tutorials, recipes, etc.)?

Are you leveraging blog posts to educate and inspire your potential customers about your products, highlighting its features, benefits and possible uses?

Are you validating your product and brand by featuring customer reviews, user generated content such as photos and videos shot by influencers or brand advocates?

4. The biggest misconception about Email Marketing is…

“Email Marketing is dead”. I’ve heard it SO MANY TIMES.

That’s just because, often times, it’s not done right, with the right strategy, platforms, copy, integrations… So much goes into a good Email flow.

Yet Email is exciting and incredibly profitable when it’s part of a larger ecosystem; in fact it’s more pivotal than ever before to diversify your marketing strategy. Use Facebook and Instagram advertising as tools of demand generation, for prospecting and retargeting. Use Google ads, Content Marketing and SEO as tools of demand capture, to engage, inspire, validate. Use Email Marketing to create an outstanding customer experience and increase lifetime value.

All these moving pieces, aligned together, will elevate your brand and help you convert to scale faster and gracefully.