DIY Email Marketing: The First Klaviyo Flows Every Ecommerce Brand Should Set Up
If you're just getting started with email marketing and hiring an agency isn't in the budget yet, this guide is for you.
At VESS-IO, we don't believe in gatekeeping. Every successful email marketing programme started somewhere, and if you're willing to put in a bit of time, you can absolutely build a solid foundation yourself.
Will it be perfect? Probably not.
Will it start generating revenue while you learn? Absolutely.
The biggest mistake we see isn't businesses using Klaviyo incorrectly—it's businesses never setting it up in the first place. Every day your store goes without these automations is another day you're leaving potential revenue on the table.
So before you start worrying about advanced segmentation, AI personalisation or complex customer journeys, get these core flows live first. They form the backbone of almost every high-performing ecommerce email strategy.
Before You Build Anything
Before creating a single flow, make sure your Klaviyo account is connected to your ecommerce platform and is successfully collecting customer data.
Klaviyo has excellent setup documentation that walks you through connecting your store, installing tracking and checking that everything is working as it should.
You can follow Klaviyo's official getting started guide here: https://www.klaviyo.com/uk/customer-resources/getting-started
Once your account is connected, it's time to build the flows that will work for your business around the clock.
1. Sign-up Form + Welcome Series
If your email list isn't growing, neither is your future revenue.
Your sign-up form is where that growth begins. It's often the very first interaction someone has with your brand, so don't treat it as an afterthought.
Offer a genuine reason for someone to subscribe, whether that's a first-order discount, early access to new products or valuable content. Whatever you do, grow your list organically. Buying email lists might seem like a shortcut, but it almost always leads to poor engagement, damaged sender reputation and unhappy subscribers.
Once someone joins your list, your Welcome Series takes over. This is your opportunity to introduce your brand, explain what makes you different, build trust and encourage that first purchase.
Think of it as your digital first impression. Make it count.
2. Abandoned Cart
Someone has added products to their cart but left before heading to checkout.
They're interested, but something interrupted the buying process.
Instead of immediately offering a discount, remind them why they chose your products in the first place. Highlight your unique selling points, answer common objections, reinforce your guarantees and help them feel confident about buying from you rather than one of your competitors.
Sometimes a gentle reminder is all it takes.
3. Abandoned Checkout
This customer was even closer to purchasing.
They entered checkout, started the payment process and then left before completing their order.
That's a high-intent customer, which means timing matters.
Your abandoned checkout emails should be sent relatively quickly while your brand is still fresh in their mind. Keep the messaging simple, remind them what they're about to miss and remove any last-minute doubts they may have.
4. Browse Abandonment
Also known as Product Abandonment, this flow works especially well for stores with larger product catalogues.
If someone spends time looking at a specific product before leaving your website, it's a pretty good indication they're interested—they just weren't ready to buy.
This is your opportunity to bring that product back to their attention, explain its key benefits, showcase customer reviews and answer the questions they may still have before purchasing.
Social proof goes a long way here.
5. Site Abandonment
They visited your website but didn't even look at a product.
Rude? Maybe.
More likely, they simply couldn't find what they were looking for or became overwhelmed by too many choices.
Rather than trying to sell immediately, help guide them. Introduce your bestselling products, explain your product categories, reinforce your guarantees and remind them why they visited your site in the first place.
Sometimes people don't need convincing—they just need direction.
6. Post Purchase Thank You
The sale isn't the finish line.
It's the beginning of your relationship with that customer.
Your thank you email should do more than confirm an order. Thank them genuinely for supporting your business, explain what happens next, provide shipping or delivery information and reassure them they've made the right decision.
Every purchase comes with a small amount of buyer's remorse, and this flow is designed to replace that uncertainty with confidence.
A happy customer is far more likely to become a repeat customer.
7. Replenishment
If you sell products that naturally run out, this flow is one of the easiest ways to generate repeat purchases.
Instead of waiting for customers to remember they need you again, remind them before they run out.
Depending on your products, you can also recommend complementary items, introduce product bundles, promote subscriptions or invite them to join your loyalty programme.
Retention is almost always more cost-effective than constantly finding new customers.
8. Review Collection
This is probably the most overlooked flow in ecommerce.
Reviews build trust, reduce purchase hesitation and give future customers confidence that your products actually deliver on their promises.
Once a customer has had enough time to receive and use their purchase, send a simple review request. Keep it easy, thank them for their support and explain how much their feedback helps both your business and future customers.
The reviews you collect today will help drive tomorrow's sales.
Start Simple, Then Improve
One of the biggest misconceptions about email marketing is that everything needs to be perfect before you switch it on.
It doesn't.
A simple welcome flow that's live is far more valuable than a sophisticated automation that's still sitting in draft six months from now.
Get the foundations in place, learn what your customers respond to, review your performance regularly and improve each flow over time. Email marketing isn't something you build once and forget—it's an ongoing process of testing, refining and learning.
The important thing is getting started.
And if you reach the point where you'd rather spend your time growing your business than building automations, that's exactly where we come in.
Need a hand?
If you've set up the basics but want to turn your email marketing into a real revenue channel, we'd love to help. At VESS-IO, we build lifecycle strategies that go beyond simply sending emails—we create customer journeys designed to increase revenue, improve retention and help ecommerce brands grow sustainably.
