Klaviyo Campaign Planning for Shopify: The Complete Guide to Sending More Revenue-Driving Emails

The Campaign Problem Nobody Talks About

Your Klaviyo flows are live. Your welcome series is humming along. Browse abandonment is recovering carts. Everything that's supposed to be automated is automated.

And yet, your email revenue has plateaued.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: flows are the floor, not the ceiling. They capture reactive revenue—people who were already going to buy, people who abandoned carts, people who signed up for a discount. That's important, but it's also limited.

The ceiling is campaigns. Proactive emails sent to your list that create demand rather than capture it. The problem? Campaigns require planning, creativity, and consistency—three things that are hard to maintain when you're running a business.

This guide will show you how to build a sustainable campaign planning system that turns sporadic sends into consistent revenue.

Why Campaigns (Not Flows) Drive Incremental Revenue

Let's be clear about what flows and campaigns actually do:

Flows capture existing intent

• Welcome series → someone signed up (they're already interested)
• Abandoned cart → someone almost bought (they're already interested)
• Browse abandonment → someone looked at products (they're already interested)
• Post-purchase → someone just bought (they're already a customer)

Flows are triggered by customer behavior. They're reactive. They're essential. But they only reach people who have already taken action.

Campaigns create new intent

• Product spotlight → "Here's why you need this thing you weren't thinking about"
• Educational content → "Here's something valuable that reminds you we exist"
• Sale announcement → "Here's a reason to buy today instead of later"
• New arrival → "Here's something you didn't know existed"

Campaigns are proactive. They reach your entire list (or targeted segments) whether they've taken action or not. They create demand. They drive revenue that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

The Math Behind Campaign ROI

Let's do some simple math. Assume:

• 50,000 email subscribers
• 25% open rate
• 2% click rate
• 3% conversion rate on clicks
• $80 average order value

One campaign generates approximately: 50,000 × 25% × 2% × 3% × $80 = $600 in revenue

That's conservative. Many stores see $1,000-3,000+ per campaign with engaged lists.

Now consider:

• Sending 2 campaigns/month: ~$1,200/month = $14,400/year
• Sending 8 campaigns/month: ~$4,800/month = $57,600/year

The difference between "we send email sometimes" and "we have a campaign system" is often $40,000+ per year in additional revenue.

The Campaign Planning Framework

Here's the system that actually works:

Step 1: Establish Your Campaign Calendar

Before you write a single subject line, you need a calendar. Not a vague intention to "send more email," but actual dates with actual campaigns assigned.

Start with frequency. For most Shopify stores, we recommend:

• Minimum: 2 campaigns per week
• Sweet spot: 3-4 campaigns per week
• Maximum: Daily (only if you have the content and engagement to support it)

Yes, that's more than you're probably sending now. Most brands under-send, and it's costing them money.

Step 2: Build Your Content Categories

Every campaign should fall into one of these categories:

1. Product-focused: Spotlights, new arrivals, restocks, best-sellers
2. Promotional: Sales, discounts, limited-time offers
3. Educational: How-to content, tips, guides related to your products
4. Social proof: Reviews, testimonials, user-generated content
5. Brand story: Behind-the-scenes, founder stories, mission-driven content

A healthy campaign mix might look like: 40% product, 20% promotional, 20% educational, 10% social proof, 10% brand story.

What to Send When You Don't Know What to Send

This is where most campaign planning falls apart. You have a slot on the calendar, but you're staring at a blank page with no idea what to write about.

Here's your fallback system:

Check your Shopify data first

• What's selling? Your best-selling product this week is automatic content.
• What's low stock? Scarcity creates urgency. "Almost gone" emails perform.
• What just restocked? If people wanted it before, tell them it's back.
• What's new? New products are automatic content for 2-3 campaigns.
• What's seasonal? Tie products to upcoming holidays, seasons, or events.

Segmentation: The Campaign Multiplier

Not every campaign should go to your entire list. Strategic segmentation lets you:

• Increase relevance: Show people products they're more likely to want
• Send more often: Different segments can receive different campaigns
• Protect deliverability: Avoid fatiguing your less engaged subscribers

Key segments to build:

1. Engagement tiers: 30-day active, 60-day active, 90-day dormant
2. Purchase history: Never purchased, one-time buyers, repeat buyers, VIPs
3. Category affinity: What product categories have they browsed/bought?
4. Lifecycle stage: New subscribers, recent customers, at-risk churners

Building Your System with Eltie

Everything in this guide works manually. You can absolutely build a campaign planning system with spreadsheets and discipline.

But if you want to accelerate the process, Eltie automates the hard parts:

• Data analysis: We pull from your Shopify store to identify what to feature
• Campaign calendar: We generate a monthly plan based on your data and goals
• Email drafts: We create ready-to-edit email content for each campaign
• Klaviyo export: We push directly to Klaviyo so you can review and send

The goal isn't to replace your judgment—it's to remove the friction that prevents consistent execution.

Next Steps

Start here:

1. Audit your current state: How many campaigns did you send last month?
2. Set a realistic goal: If you sent 4, aim for 8. If you sent 8, aim for 12.
3. Build your calendar: Block time for campaign creation, even if it's just 2 hours/week.
4. Create your content categories: Know what types of campaigns you'll send.
5. Start executing: The best campaign is the one you actually send.