Open rate is a vanity metric; revenue per recipient is the one that matters. And the channel that quietly delivers the best ROI for most SMEs is still email — provided you stop sending the same newsletter to everyone and start sending the right message to the right person at the right moment.
From campaigns to flows
A campaign is a one-off blast. A flow is an automation that triggers on behaviour: someone signs up, abandons a cart, goes quiet, buys for the third time. Flows run 24/7 without you, and they consistently out-earn campaigns because they're relevant by design.
The five flows to build first
- Welcome — set expectations and make the first offer.
- Abandoned cart / browse — the single highest-ROI flow in e-commerce.
- Post-purchase — onboarding, cross-sell, review request.
- Win-back — re-engage subscribers going cold before you lose them.
- Replenishment / renewal — remind at exactly the right interval.
Where AI fits
AI now drafts variants, predicts the best send time per contact, and writes subject lines you can A/B test at scale. But it amplifies your strategy — it doesn't replace it. Segment first, automate second, personalise third.
Our advice
Start with one flow (abandoned cart if you sell online, welcome otherwise), measure the revenue attributed to it, then add the next. Three good flows beat ten half-built ones.
