A free guide for businesses under $1M in revenue
Gold Standard Marketing
You own the email list. You don't own your social following, and ad costs keep rising. Email lets you talk to people who already know you.
Most small businesses send one-off blasts when they remember. The money is in automations: emails that send themselves when a customer does something. Set them up once and they work every day.
Trigger: someone joins your list.
Why: new subscribers are most interested right now.
| Timing | Goal | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Immediately | Deliver what you promised (discount, guide). Say who you are in 3 sentences. |
| 2 | Day 2 | Your story and best-sellers or top services. One link. |
| 3 | Day 5 | Social proof (a review or result) plus a gentle nudge to buy or book. |
How to set it up:
Tip: one clear button per email.
Trigger: a shopper adds to cart and doesn't buy. (Online stores only.)
Why: these people nearly bought.
Set up: in Klaviyo or Mailchimp, connect your store, enable the abandoned cart flow, replace the template copy with your voice, and exit anyone who has purchased.
Trigger: someone views a product and leaves without adding to cart.
Send 1 email 4-24 hours later: "Still thinking about it?" with the product they viewed. Keep it lighter than a cart email, with no discount at first. Service businesses can adapt this: follow up with people who visited a pricing or booking page.
Trigger: order placed.
This is the most neglected flow and the most loved by customers. It cuts "where's my order?" support questions.
Trigger: 10-21 days after delivery (adjust to how long your product takes to show its value).
Ask one specific question: "How did we do?" with a direct review link. A second email can invite them to refer a friend with a simple reward. Reviews feed your welcome and cart emails, so the system compounds.
Trigger: a customer who hasn't bought in a set window (for example 90 days for consumables, 180-365 for other goods).
Once automations run, add a simple rhythm: 2-4 emails a month. Mix value (tips, stories, how-tos) with offers, roughly 3 value emails to 1 pure promotion. Be consistent, because a reliable schedule beats a perfect one. Check opens, clicks and revenue per email. Opens are less reliable since Apple Mail Privacy Protection, so focus on clicks and sales.
Week 1: choose a platform, connect your store or forms, authenticate your domain, and add a sign-up form.
Week 2: build the welcome series and post-purchase flows.
Week 3: build abandoned cart and browse abandonment.
Week 4: build review request and win-back. Send your first newsletter.
Ongoing: check flows monthly, and fix any email with low clicks.
Setting all this up properly takes real time, including the tech and the copywriting. If you'd rather spend that time running your business, we'll build the whole system for you in Mailchimp or Klaviyo: all the flows above, written in your voice, connected, tested and live. It's a one-time $989.
Learn how the done-for-you setup works
No pressure. Everything in this guide works if you do it yourself.