Newsletter: Move your list from Klaviyo or Mailchimp and send more targeted emails

Many online stores still send their newsletters from a separate system like Klaviyo or Mailchimp. It works, but it’s one more system to keep track of. Shoporama’s built-in newsletter lives in the same system as your orders, products, and customers, so there’s a good reason to consolidate everything in one place.

The hard part is the migration. What about those who have unsubscribed? Can you document their consent afterward? And can you still send targeted emails? We’ve made six improvements that make the migration safer and your day-to-day operations more efficient afterward. They’re just as useful if you’re already using the newsletter in Shoporama.

1. The import doesn’t reactivate unsubscribed recipients

Previously, a new import could reactivate unsubscribed recipients without asking. That no longer happens. Unsubscribed recipients and addresses rejected by the recipient’s email server are skipped and remain unsubscribed. Duplicates in the file are imported only once, and an empty name cell does not delete a name the recipient already has.

Here’s how: Go to Newsletter → Recipients and click Import. Afterward, you’ll see how many were imported and how many were skipped.

There’s one thing you need to take care of yourself: the import does not carry over status information from the old system. New recipients in the file will become active, so only export those who are still subscribed.

2. Consent is carried over, along with the source and date

Before importing, you must check the box next to “I confirm that the recipients have given their consent to receive newsletters from us.” Without this, nothing will be imported. No confirmation email is sent to the imported recipients, even if you use double opt-in in your online store. You are personally responsible for verifying their consent.

The file can also include two new columns: “source” indicating where the recipient came from (e.g., Klaviyo), and “consent_date” indicating when the recipient subscribed (e.g., 2024-03-12). Both pieces of information are saved along with the time of the import and the user who performed the import. If you need to document consent, you’ll find it in the file under Customers → Downloads → Download Newsletter Subscriptions.

A helpful tip: Include the sign-up date if your old system can export it. Without it, the import date will be treated as the sign-up date, and if you have an active welcome email, all imported recipients will receive it. This is rarely the intended outcome for a customer who has been receiving your newsletter for three years.

3. Post-purchase emails for those who have purchased a specific item

The “After Purchase” trigger sends an email a set number of days after an order is placed. Previously, it was sent to all buyers, even those who had never subscribed to the newsletter. Now, it’s sent only to buyers who are subscribed, and you can limit it to orders containing specific items or items from specific categories.

Imagine a garden center. Customers who have bought roses receive an email about pruning and fertilizing two weeks after their purchase. Customers who have bought hedge plants receive pruning tips after one month. These kinds of emails get read because they’re useful, and they provide a natural opportunity to showcase rose fertilizer or a new hedge trimmer.

Here’s how to do it: Create a campaign for each email. Go to Newsletter → Campaigns, open the campaign, and select the Send tab. Under Automatic Trigger, click Configure and select After Purchase. Use the new fields “Only orders with these items” (optional) and “Only orders with items from these categories” (optional). If you select both, the order must meet both criteria.

The item must be directly in the selected category. If you select “Roses,” you must also select subcategories such as “Climbing Roses” and “Bouquet Roses.”

4. The welcome email skips those who have already made a purchase

A welcome email with an offer is meant to encourage a new subscriber to make their first purchase. If the customer has already made a purchase, the email is misdirected. The “Welcome (after sign-up)” trigger therefore has the “Skip if the recipient has made a purchase since signing up” option checked . If an order has been placed from the same email address since sign-up, the welcome email will not be sent.

This checkbox is enabled by default for new welcome triggers. If you already have one running, you’ll need to enable it yourself under “Configure.” It’s most effective when the welcome email is sent one day or more after sign-up.

5. Segment by opens and clicks to keep your list healthy

Recipients who never engage with your emails drag down your open rate, and email providers like Gmail look at whether recipients interact with your emails when deciding whether to deliver them to the inbox.

Here’s how: Go to Newsletter → Segments, click New Segment, and then Add Rule. Here are two new rule types: Days Since Last Open and Days Since Last Click. Two examples:

• Days Since Last Click > 180: those who have received your newsletters over the past six months without clicking. Send them a reactivation offer, and consider removing those who still don’t respond.
• Days since last open < 30: your most engaged readers, ideal for a sneak peek at the sale.

New subscribers are not included in a “haven’t clicked” segment. Only recipients who have been subscribed for the entire period and have received at least one newsletter during that time are counted.

Why clicks are more reliable than opens: An open is recorded when the email program loads an invisible image in the email. Apple Mail can load images automatically, even if the email is never read. Conversely, opens aren’t counted for those who block images. A click requires a person to have clicked on a link. If you need to clean up your data, use clicks.

6. Clicks per link in the statistics

Previously, you could see how many people clicked, but not what they clicked on. Now, the campaign’s statistics include the “Clicks per Link” card with the columns “Link,” “Clicks,” “Unique Clickers,” and “Percentage of Clicks.” That way, you’ll know whether it was the offer at the top or the products further down that worked.

Here’s how: Go to Newsletter → Campaigns and click the statistics icon next to the campaign. This also applies to automated emails. The card appears when the campaign receives clicks after the update, so campaigns sent before the update won’t have it.

Clicks on the same URL are counted together, even when the link appears on both the image and the button.

And a few minor fixes

Links with parameters in the address now work correctly in the newsletter, and “mailto” and “tel” links no longer send the recipient to the homepage. The “Inactive Customer” trigger now displays the “Minimum Number of Orders” field, which is the one it actually uses.

Before you switch

Each automatic trigger sends a single email, so there are no email series like in Klaviyo, and there are no emails sent to those who have viewed a product without purchasing it. If you primarily send newsletters, welcome emails, and post-purchase emails, the built-in features will serve you well.

If you haven’t used the newsletter feature before, you’ll first need to enable “Use internal newsletter list ” under Newsletter → Setup. Learn more about the newsletter module, recipients and imports, unsubscriptions, and customer groups and segmentation. If you have any questions, please email us at support@shoporama.dk.