How to Start Email Marketing for Your E-Commerce Store in 2025
Email Marketing is one of the most powerful tools for an e-commerce store however with so many social media platforms now available, emails tend to take a back seat when you are running a one (wo)man show.
Often, e-commerce store owners don’t know WHY they need one or WHAT they will do when they have an email list and that’s why don’t get started. But before we dive into the how(s) & where. . . let’s talk about What is email marketing and why you need it for your online boutique.
What is Email Marketing?
Email Marketing is a form of communicating with your audience via e-mails; it’s not just randomly sending emails to your audience but being strategic about building relationships with them, sharing valuable content, gaining their trust and promoting your products via exclusive offers and personalised messages. For e-commerce stores, email marketing is an essential strategy to drive traffic, recover abandoned carts, and build loyalty.
You need email marketing because -
It’s a personal way of interacting with your audience - Unlike social media, where you click a button to follow or unfollow someone, you are putting more effort when subscribing to someone’s email, and all of a sudden that changes the impact it has on your audience. It also allows you to get more personal & have a bigger impact on your readers. They can save your email for later, print it out if you share something valuable, and also it never gets lost amongst the 100s of accounts they are following on social media.
Not everyone is active on social media - I have friends who are moms and an ideal customer for some of my boutique clients but they have zero idea the boutique exists because they are NOT on social media. No facebook, no instagram. So if you’ve got to reach such people you need to get inside their inbox instead.
Email is immediate - With email marketing, you have complete control over when you want your email to be delivered to your tribe’s inbox vs posting on social media when your tribe’s online & waiting for them to check it out. This is also where knowing your tribe’s routine comes in handy. If you know the first thing your customer does is check their emails, you want to be in their INBOX when they doing it. Even if they don’t see it then, they will eventually do when they get back to see the unread emails vs. waiting for them to go to social media & scroll in the hope of them seeing it.
It requires permission - As I mentioned in the first point, people just don’t sign up for email marketing with just one click; they have to enter their email addresses to receive whatever you are sending them in return. . . .this not only increases their trust in you but also keeps them keen on what’s coming to their INBOX hence getting their undivided attention to your email where you can use the opportunity to add a CALL TO ACTION.
You don’t lose access to your accounts - With horror stories of getting “Facebook shadow-banned” or losing access to your Instagram account or Twitter floating all around the internet, it’s a better idea to have an email marketing list to reach your tribe & spread your message. Imagine running a big sale or promotion & not having your tribe. . . it’s quite risky & dangerous.
Increase Customer Retention: E-mail marketing also allows you to stay connected with your audience who’ve already purchased from you and encourage them to buy again through thoughtful and engaging campaigns.
As much as it’s great to form connections on social media, it’s equally important to have an email list to interact 1:1 with your tribe. Nothing can prevent you from reaching them & the fact that whenever you post, it WILL reach your user is incredible.
You won’t lose the long list of subscribers you built with so much effort if Facebook decides to change the algorithm, ban you from your Facebook page, or worse delete your account!
Now that you know why you need email marketing, let’s talk about - How to Build Your Email List.
Building your email list is the first step in your ecommerce email marketing strategy. A few ways to build your email list are -
Lead Magnet - Offering free resources like checklists, e-books, printables, planner, templates, or step-by-step guides to your audience in exchange for their email address. These can be related to your online store like - “How to Style our Best-seller Top 5 Ways” or complement your store products like - “5 Must Have Crystals to Have as a Beginner” for a store selling crystal jewelry.
Discount Codes - Provide a discount code as an incentive for your audience to subscribe to your email list. A simple “20% Off Your First Order” can work wonders. You can add a simple pop-up on the website that shows up after 15secs of customers landing on your store or make it fun by adding Spin-the-wheel pop-ups offering rewards like discounts or free gifts to make it fun.
Embed Sign-Up Forms - Place email sign-up forms strategically on your website to encourage your audience to sign up. Popular locations include the homepage, footer, and checkout page.
What Platforms to Use for Email Marketing?
Let’s talk about the platforms you can use to get started with email marketing. Choosing the right platform is essential because you need to ensure it easily integrates with your store, is easy to use and design emails, and fits your budget.
Here are 3 platforms I use and recommend to my clients -
Shopify Email - If your e-commerce store is built on Shopify, I’d recommend using Shopify Email. It’s easy to use, integrates seamlessly with your website, easy to grab the products you want to share, and most importantly FREE to use. While getting started, I understand that not everyone has a big budget to spend on email marketing and therefore Shopify Email ranks top on my list.
Klaviyo - Highly recommended for its robust integrations with e-commerce platforms, Klaviyo offers advanced segmentation and automation features, making it a top choice for scaling your email marketing efforts.
Mailerlite - Another platform that’s FREE to use up to 1000 subscribers, Mailerlite offers a great alternative if you use WordPress or Squarespace for your online store. It’s beginner-friendly with easy-to-customize templates and automation tools thereby making it a perfect choice for smaller stores.
Pick a platform of your choice, sign up, and connect your store to get started with your E-Mail Marketing.
Now you have the basics set up, let’s dive into Automations.
What Email Automations to Set Up for your e-commerce store?
Email Automation is essential to have a successful email marketing strategy. These automation help you send out relevant emails to your subscribers on time.
Here are 6 Email Automation to Set Up For Your E-Commerce Store -
Welcome Series - This series is set up to welcome new subscribers to your email list. You can include emails like -
Introduction - Introduce yourself, and your brand and share your story.
Give them a discount code as a Thank You for signing up to the list or provide the lead magnet they signed up for.
Pick one benefit of your product and talk about it, mention your best selling products, & share customer reviews.
Abandoned Cart Series - This series is set up for audience that left the products in cart. Remind them to complete their purchase before the product is gone. Don’t just send 1 email and be done with it. Have at least 5-7 emails spread out across 1-2 week’s time. These can be -
Gentle Reminder to complete your cart.
Highligh one feature of the product + encourage them to finish Checkout.
Talk about How to Use the product or what’s inside the product.
Offer Discount code or free shipping to encourage checkout.
Browse Abandonment - Target customers who browsed but didn’t add items to their cart. Send emails showcasing the products they viewed and suggest similar options. Add 2-3 emails in the series like -
Did you like _______?
Stock up before it’s Gone!
Discount code to encourage checkout.
Product Review Series - Encourage customers to share reviews or tag you online after purchase so you can use their testimonials to market and promote your products. You can create an automation that sends out multiple emails after 7 days of purchase to get your customers to leave a review.
Win-Back Series - Encourage old customers to come back and shop with you again. You can include emails like -
Here’s $X off your next purchase.
We’ve missed you, here’s X% off your next purchase.
Newsletter - Not really an automation to set up but sending out regular newsletters to your subscribers is a great way to stay connected with them and share about you, your brand and your story.
Promotional Emails - Use these emails to talk about your products, your exclusive offers, upcoming collection, what’s left in your inventory etc. Segmet people based on their behavior like purchase history so you can send out targeted emails.
So what next?
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of How to Start Email Marketing For Your E-Commerce Store in 2025 -
Set Clear Goals: Determine your goals with email marketing. Do you want to increase sales, increase your average order value, drive more traffic to the website, get rid of old inventory etc.
Choose a Platform: Select an email marketing app like Klaviyo, Mailerlite, or Shopify Email.
Build Your List: Use lead magnets, discount codes, and sign-up forms to grow your subscriber list.
Design Your Emails: Create visually appealing templates that reflect your brand.
Set Up Automations: Implement essential workflows like welcome series and abandoned cart reminders.
Test and Optimize: Monitor performance metrics and adjust your strategy as needed.
Need Help? Let Me Handle It for You
You don’t need to navigate the complexities of email marketing alone. If you’re not tech-savvy or simply don’t have the time or resources to set up your automation, I’m here to assist. Let’s work together to create an ecommerce email marketing strategy tailored to your business and your goals so you can focus on what you do best—running your store! Check out my E-Mail Marketing Services here.
Starting email marketing for your e-commerce store in 2025 doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right tools, strategies, and guidance, you can grow your business, engage your audience, and boost sales. Ready to get started? Reach out today to take the first step!