How do you make this happen? Alright, so you’ve already got your email marketing strategy planned out. Let’s now incorporate SMS and make it flow nicely and smoothly. The experts we interviewed (Account Managers at Hustler Marketing, of course) told us that SMS marketing is all about creating urgency and sparking quick action from your customers.

Here are the ins and outs of what it takes to get that sale. 

Incorporating SMS Into Your Strategy

The best practice is to launch your email campaigns first. 

Why? Because email is your stage. It’s where you can stretch out a little, tell a story, show off visuals, stack multiple CTAs, and guide your customer through the full experience of your offer. Think of it as setting the scene: you’ve got the spotlight, the script, and the time to really sell it.

SMS is all about urgency and immediacy. You’ve already done the storytelling in email, so now you just need the mic-drop moment. Try sending your launch email in the morning to set the tone for the day, then follow up with a short, punchy SMS around midday. That little reminder shows up right in their pocket and nudges them to click. Keep it simple: A strong CTA, a clean link, and you’re golden.

It’s All About Timing

Now, when it comes to how often we should be sending SMS, think high impact, low volume. 

For example, take a look at this structure one of our experts cooked up:

• Pre-Black Friday SMS (1–2 sends for VIP/Early Birds) → This is where you make your VIPs feel like actual VIPs. A little “psst, you’re getting in before everyone else” never fails. It builds excitement, rewards your most loyal customers, and warms up your list before the big day.
• Black Friday (1 morning launch SMS + 1 evening last call SMS) → The morning launch sets the tone. People wake up to a deal, and that’s prime scroll-and-click time. Then, the evening last call campaign is the closer. It catches the procrastinators, the forgetful ones, or the ones who just need that final nudge before bed.
• Saturday/Sunday (optional, or only for highly engaged subscribers) → By this point, inboxes and phones are full of noise. The trick? Keep it light and strategic. Only send to your most engaged subscribers (like those people who clicked/opened any of your other campaigns in the last 30 days). That way, you’re not spamming, but you are keeping the conversation alive with the ones who are clearly interested.
• Cyber Monday (same as Friday: AM launch + PM last call) → Round two! Cyber Monday deserves the same two-part structure. A morning launch to set the pace, and a last call in the evening to lock in sales and catch customers who haven’t shopped yet.

That’s a total of 4 to 5 carefully segmented SMS across the weekend. 

Segmenting Done Right

We need to be cautious with our segmentation, as SMS marketing can be perceived as somewhat intrusive, and we don’t want to scare off your customers.

You can always just send it to your full list. However, the experts at Hustler Marketing mentioned that they tend to keep their SMS segmentation tighter, first sending the offer launch to the whole list and then offering a higher discount to these categories:

• VIP customers and repeat buyers → They already love your brand, so giving them early access or an exclusive discount feels less like “marketing” and more like a thank-you. It builds loyalty, increases repeat purchases, and makes them feel special.
• Highly engaged SMS subscribers (last 30–60 day clickers) → They’ve clicked recently, so they’re ready to make a purchase. Sending them one extra SMS works because they’re less likely to get annoyed and more likely to convert. It’s all about maximizing your effort on the people who are most likely to take action.

Okay, But What Types of SMS Offers Work Best?

The winners are usually short, urgent offers with an exclusive angle. 

Think SMS-only perks, like an extra 10% off or a free gift. You can also try the “more time to save” angle, giving SMS subscribers that extra cushion you would typically reserve for your most valued customers. Don’t be afraid of a little drama! Sending one of those “4 hours only” or “last chance to save” SMS does wonders, and these campaigns are guaranteed to boost your sales.

Make Sure to Play By The Rules

When handling SMS compliance during high-volume periods, always double-check that every SMS has an opt-out language (“Reply STOP to opt out” and such). It never hurts to run tests to confirm that the STOP and HELP responses work perfectly.

Clean out your SMS list regularly, but keep a special lookout during November to suppress invalid numbers. This equals high deliverability and helps you avoid useless spending. This isn’t just good housekeeping, since it’s also part of staying compliant. A clean, accurate list means you’re only messaging people who actually want to hear from you, which keeps your brand reputation safe and regulators off your back.

What About Automations During BFCM?

Duplicate your already existing flows, but remove the offers and update them with your BFCM ones. 

If it applies, optimize the copy (that’s where copywriters come in!) by using more urgent language. You can also add small images or GIFS that highlight the details of your biggest sale. 

Wrapping it Up

To keep it brief, here’s what to do: Keep those lists clean, avoid overwhelming your clients, and be strategic when segmenting. Your SMS should be punchy, short, and straight to the point.

Ready to get that 30%+ revenue? You’ve got this, but of course, you can always have us take care of it.  

Book a call with us to get started. 

Here, we’re sharing some expert insights on what the pricing changes mean for you, and how to get the most out of the (early) spring cleaning you’ll need to do before the changes land.

So What’s Changing, and Why Does It Matter?

Starting February, Klaviyo’s pricing model is getting a major overhaul. Here’s the scoop:

• Email Plans: Pricing is shifting to a profile-based system. That means instead of being charged based on how many emails you send, you’ll pay for the number of active profiles in your account. For larger lists, this translates to higher costs with smaller volume discounts for email sends.
• SMS Plans: Prices for SMS are increasing too, reflecting rising carrier costs. However, Klaviyo has simplified the system. You won’t pay extra for SMS-consented profiles. Instead, you’ll choose an SMS package based on the credits you need, offering more clarity and flexibility.

What do Klaviyo pricing changes mean for your business? Simply put:

• Your costs now depend on list size, not activity levels.

• Paying for disengaged or inactive subscribers could drain your budget fast.

• The stakes are higher for maintaining a clean, engaged list.

But here’s the silver lining: these changes are the perfect excuse to do the list cleaning you probably should have done months ago. Here’s how we’re helping our clients win with smarter, leaner email marketing.

Tip 1: Don’t Panic and Mass Delete

The worst thing you can do right now is go scorched earth on your email list. If you overdelete, you’ll cut costs. But you could also cut potential (and even real) revenue. Because there are many reasons for a profile to be inactive. Inactive right now doesn’t necessarily mean gone for good. We all get this: 

• You see an email from a brand  you love.
• Now isn’t the time, but you’ll definitely buy again in future.
• The brand has stayed top of mind (or thereabouts), so you’re ready to buy next time.

If you mass unsubscribe profiles like this, you could be robbing them of the chance to re-engage (and robbing yourself of $).

So sure, there will be cuts. But don’t make those cuts too hastily. Dig into your data to figure out 

Tip 2: Do Clean Your List 

Not all subscribers are equal. Some may have signed up during a one-off promotion but never opened another email. Others may have used a fake or temporary email address to access a freebie. And then there are those who clicked “unsubscribe in spirit” months ago by ghosting your emails entirely.

Here’s how to clean your list without throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Step 1: Understand Your Audience

Before you start pruning, get to know your subscribers:

Purchase Behavior: Who’s buying, and who’s just browsing? Prioritize keeping your buyers engaged.

Engagement Level: Segment low-engagers (occasional opens) from zero-engagers (no opens).

Active Interest: Don’t write off subscribers who ignore your emails but still visit your site.

Lifetime Value (LTV): A quiet but high-value customer might be worth re-engaging before you say goodbye.

Step 2: Make List Hygiene a Habit

Cleaning your list isn’t a one-time chore. It should be a habit – especially now that list size will mean pretty much everything if you’re on Klaviyo.

• Set a Schedule: Commit to reviewing your list every 3–6 months.
• Use Verification Tools: Platforms like NeverBounce and ZeroBounce can help identify invalid or risky emails.
• Handle Bounces: Automatically remove hard bounces and frequent soft bounces.
• Suppress the Detractors: If someone’s complaining or marking you as spam, let them go.

Pro Tip: Before deleting anyone, create a “to-be-removed” segment and export it. That way, you’ll have the data if you ever need it again. But in the meantime, these profiles won’t be bloating your bill.

Step 3: Re-Engage Before You Remove

Consider this scenario: a subscriber hasn’t opened an email in six months, but their lifetime value is off the charts. Maybe they’ve purchased five times in the past but are now taking a breather. They could be traveling, raising a newborn, or just waiting for the right product or promotion.

The key is to analyze their behavior holistically:

• Are they browsing your site or adding products to their cart?
• Have they made purchases in the past?
• Is there a pattern to their engagement, such as seasonal spikes?

Instead of cutting them loose immediately, give them a nudge. Sometimes, all it takes is a re-engagement email with a tailored offer or a witty subject line like, “Are we breaking up? Let’s fix this.”

1: Revamp Your Re-Engagement Flow

• First Email: A friendly “We miss you!” reminder.
• Second Email: Offer an incentive, like a discount or exclusive content.
• Final Email: Give a clear ultimatum: “Stay or unsubscribe.”

By the way, you can learn more about the nuts and bolts of re-engagement email flows here.

2: Explore Behavior-Based Personalization

Reference their last product viewed or category engaged for a personal touch.

3: Create Fresh, Exciting Content

Sneak peeks, exclusive previews, and new releases can reignite interest.

4: Be Transparent

Explain why they’re receiving these emails and the benefits of staying on your list.

Tip 3: Consider Alternatives

The Email Service Provider (ESP) market is still growing healthily, and it’s getting more competitive.

That’s great for buyers (like you). Vendors are competing on features and pricing, so you can afford to shop around for the best fit.

If Klaviyo pricing plans aren’t working out for you, here are some of the most popular alternatives for 2025:`

Multi-channel automation without the Klaviyo price tag. Omnisend combines email, SMS, and push notifications into a single platform, with an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, pre-built workflows, and deep Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce integrations. 

Originally an SMS-first platform, Attentive has rapidly expanded into email marketing. AI-powered automation, interactive text messaging, and predictive personalization make it an excellent choice for brands that want to double down on SMS while keeping email in the mix. 

Yotpo brings together Email and SMS in one powerful platform, allowing marketers to create personalized email & text communications that drive sales and boost customer lifetime value. With a 360° view into customer data and behavior and a consolidated approach to Email & SMS, Yotpo helps create smarter, more personalized messages. Yotpo’s platform also includes Loyalty & Reviews empowering brands to connect the dots and enhance their Email and SMS campaigns even further. For brands looking to unify and strengthen their direct marketing channels, Yotpo’s integrated approach makes it a great alternative to Klaviyo.

Spring Cleaning Starts Early This Year: Strategic Email List Hygiene

At Hustler Marketing, we don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions. Every brand’s audience is unique, and we approach list cleaning with the same tailored care as every other part of the email marketing workflow. From re-engagement flows to segmentation strategies, we help brands retain high-value subscribers while cutting the dead weight.

Remember, your email list is more than just numbers. It’s a living, breathing community. With regular maintenance, thoughtful strategies, and a dash of humor, you can keep that community thriving, ensuring that you’re getting maximum value from your Klaviyo account.

So, are you ready to Marie Kondo your list? Let’s get started.

1. Email and SMS Marketing: Do you need both for your eCommerce business?

Email and SMS marketing may seem similar, but they serve different purposes due to the nature of their messages. While email provides a platform for longer, more detailed communications, SMS is highly personal. Customers typically only share their phone numbers with brands they genuinely care about. So, when engaging with SMS subscribers, take a more personalized approach to show your appreciation for their interest and loyalty. Tailoring your SMS messages to the specific needs and preferences of your audience is crucial.

2. Build your SMS marketing list from scratch

Growing your SMS marketing list is essential, even if you don’t plan to send SMS messages immediately. But ensure that you adhere to SMS marketing compliance rules and laws to not overstep boundaries.

Start by implementing a few opt-in methods. Add an opt-in checkbox during the checkout process. Or use a pop-up on your website.  You can repurpose the same pop-up used for email subscriptions, but consider adding an extra incentive specific to SMS, such as a welcome gift or a higher discount. These channels are easy to integrate into your strategy. 

Additionally, you can include a QR code on your packaging, allowing customers to scan and access your SMS opt-in landing page. Implementing these tactics will help you build a solid SMS marketing list.

3. Ensure message delivery

A vital aspect to consider when starting SMS marketing is encouraging your audience to add your number to their contacts. By incentivizing this action in your initial messages, you can increase the chances of your texts reaching their intended recipients. Communicate to your customers the importance of adding your number to their contacts. Emphasize that they might miss out on valuable information or offers if they don’t do so. 

Nurturing your audience and building trust over time will enhance recognition and ensure that your messages are received and engaged with. Additionally, personalize your SMS flows based on your customer’s preferences, interests, and previous interactions to make the messages more relevant and valuable.

4. Build out the 5 basic SMS Flows for eCommerce Marketing

As in email marketing, building and optimizing basic and advanced flows are crucial even in the SMS world. If you’re new to SMS marketing, begin by implementing the five basic flows: the welcome flow, browse abandonment flow, checkout abandonment flow, post-purchase flow, and winback flow. While the winback and post-purchase flows may take some time to generate results, the welcome flow and abandonment flows bring immediate revenue. 

For established brands with existing data, it’s important to expand and refine your flows strategically. Avoid overwhelming your customers by being selective about whom you send messages to and what content you include. Each customer may trigger your flows multiple times, so personalization is key. Consider differentiating the treatment based on their level of interest or the type of product they were browsing. 

For example, BlendJet had already established SMS flows, but they needed to enhance personalization within those flows. It is super important to ensure that subscribers aren’t having the same experiences from your flows over and over again. For brands like this, you can provide different treatments to subscribers based on their level of interest or the specific products they were browsing. While BlendJet’s primary product was portable blenders, they also offered smoothies and accessories. It doesn’t make sense for these three distinct product categories with different customer journeys to follow the same generic flows.

To address this type of issue, eCommerce brands need to make a priority to personalize customer journeys within their flows. Implement strategies such as A/B testing offers, asking subscribers questions, and incorporating SMS conversational flows to tailor the subsequent texts based on their responses. 

5. Implement strong post-purchase SMS flows and turn first-time buyers into loyal customers

When done right, you can strengthen loyalty, improve customer retention and increase repeat sales through SMS marketing. 

The post-purchase flow is a great tool when it comes to converting first-time buyers into loyal customers. After a customer makes a purchase, focus on creating excitement and offering updates about their orders. Follow up with a survey via SMS to gauge their satisfaction, and use their feedback to tailor recommendations or provide additional discounts to encourage future purchases. This stage marks a crucial turning point where loyalty becomes the primary goal. Utilize personalized and valuable content to keep customers engaged with your brand. 

Another effective strategy is implementing a winback flow, targeting customers who have made a purchase but haven’t engaged with your brand for an extended period. By re-engaging them through SMS, you have an opportunity to reignite their interest and sell.

To dive deeper into these insights, listen to the full podcast episode featuring our SMS Marketing Specialist, Iveta Makedonska, on DTC Drive. If you’re ready to start boosting your sales through SMS marketing, book a free call with us to get started today.