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Ollie Aplin
3 x Founder | Fractional Head of Growth for DTC & Shopify Brands
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My Quick Fix Email Strategy
Most brands are still leaving serious money on the table with their email.
They think it’s complicated.
They think it’s time-consuming.
They think spending more on ads will always outperform it.
That thinking is costly.
Email scales relative to your spend and your growth.
As traffic increases, email revenue compounds. Ads do not.
Your benchmark as a DTC brand should be at least 30% of your total revenue from email.
Not hitting that? Here’s how to achieve it in the next 30 days.
1. Fix your pop-ups first
You need two pop-ups only:
- Welcome pop-up with an offer (max 10%)
- Exit intent pop-up with a lead magnet
For the welcome pop-up:
- Trigger at 25% scroll, optimised for mobile
- Use unique, one-time codes
- Do not show the code in the pop-up, send it via email
- Collect email only, no first name
I’ve tested this hundreds of times. Asking for SMS typically reduces opt-ins by ~50%. Unless SMS is already a core channel for you, skip it here. Thinking SMS is just email but via text message is a mistake. It needs its own strategy, and now is not the time.
The goal is volume and quality, not friction.
2. Build a simple 4-email welcome flow
This is your highest-revenue flow. Keep it focused and short.
Email 1:
Welcome message from the founder, deliver the code, and link directly to your bestseller.
Email 2:
Founder story or community success stories, with loads of social proof. Build trust.
Email 3:
Bestsellers or bundles with a reminder that the code exists but is expiring in 24 hours.
Email 4:
Plain text for maximum inbox delivery sent from your community or customer support manager. Offer help, answer questions, or extend the discount if needed.
No fluff. No brand waffle. Just move people from interest to first purchase.
3. Abandon checkout, not cart
If you’re still running abandoned cart instead of abandoned checkout, fix that now.
Make sure you are on a 3-page checkout and collecting email at checkout.
Before you touch the flow itself, go into your Shopify backend and check your marketing options. This is where most brands go wrong.
Step 1: Check your marketing settings
You can find this in Shopify settings > checkout
Step 2: Change the marketing checkbox label
You can find this in Shopify Online store > themes > click three dots on your active theme > select 'Edit default theme content'
Step 3: Run these 4 emails for your abandon checkout flow
Email 1:
“You forgot something”
No discount. Direct link back to checkout, not cart.
Email 2:
Add reviews and social proof with 10% discount. Link to checkout.
Email 3:
Last chance. Cart saved for a limited time. Discount expires in 24 hours.
Email 4:
Plain text from customer support.
“How can I help?” Understand what’s holding them back.
Pro-level tip: Use conditional splits by market (UK, US, EU) and match currency and pricing to the customer’s original checkout. Mismatched prices kill conversion.
4. Add a short lead magnet flow using your exit-intent pop-up
If you’re collecting emails via a guide, swipe-file, or resource, don’t stop at delivery.
At MindJournal, our free guidebook flow was consistently one of our best performers. The guide itself included an introduction to the flagship product, example pages, and FAQs, so subscribers understood the value before they were ever sold to.
From there, we ran 2 emails:
Email 1: Deliver the lead magnet
Email 2: Sent 3 days later, introduce the product with a small discount
This converts passive subscribers into buyers quickly, without being pushy.
5. Send more campaigns than you’re comfortable with
Most brands don't send enough emails.
Aim for 16–20 campaigns per month using this cadence:
- Monday: Newsletter or founder update
- Tuesday: Product benefits or features
- Wednesday: Blog post, guide or tutorial
- Friday: Something for the weekend. Reads, thoughts, or ideas
- Sunday: Morning read or tips linked to product
Not every email needs to sell. But every email should justify the interruption and give value.
6. Earn the inbox
Yes, timing, subject lines, and copy matter. But consistency matters more.
The goal is not discounts.
The goal is value.
Give people something to enjoy. Something useful. Something they look forward to. That’s what builds list growth, improves deliverability, and creates reliable, recurring revenue.
Fix these basics first. Then optimise.
Email isn’t complicated. It’s just been neglected.
Respect the inbox, and people will welcome you into it.
Need help with your email? Book a quick 30-min call with me, and I'll tell you what to fix and how.
