Klaviyo Flows: The Essential Guide for Beginners
Klaviyo flows are where email revenue happens while you focus on other things.
Campaigns get the attention. You write them, design them, schedule them, hit send, watch the results roll in. But they are also time-intensive. Every campaign is a new project that requires starting from scratch.
Flows are different. You build them once, then they run forever sending the right message to the right person at the right moment based on what that person just did. No manual scheduling. No "what should we send this week?" meetings.
Most ecommerce brands generate 25-40% of their total email revenue from flows. That's not a typo. A quarter to nearly half of all email revenue, running on autopilot.
This guide covers everything you need to get your first flows running in Klaviyo. The five essential sequences, the timing that works, the mistakes to avoid. No fluff, no theory. Just the practical setup.
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Key Takeaways
Klaviyo flows are automated email/SMS sequences triggered by customer behavior. They run 24/7 without manual scheduling.
Start with five essential flows: welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, browse abandonment, and winback. These cover the customer journey moments that matter most.
Timing beats volume. A welcome email at 10 minutes outperforms one at 24 hours. An abandoned cart reminder at 1 hour beats one at 4 hours.
The difference between flows and campaigns: campaigns are scheduled sends, flows are triggered sends. Use campaigns for announcements, flows for behavioral responses.
Most flow problems come from set-and-forget mentality. Review performance monthly, test subject lines, and adjust timing based on your data.
What Are Klaviyo Flows?
Klaviyo flows are automated email or SMS sequences that trigger based on customer actions. Someone signs up for your list, that triggers your welcome flow. Someone abandons a cart, that triggers your abandoned cart flow. Someone makes a purchase, post-purchase flow.
You define the trigger once. Klaviyo handles the rest.
Every time someone meets your trigger conditions, they enter the flow and receive your pre-built sequence automatically. Day or night. Weekend or holiday. You could be on vacation and your flows keep sending.
This is fundamentally different from campaigns, which require you to write, schedule, and send each time. Flows are automated. Campaigns are manual.
Flows vs Campaigns: What's the Difference?
This confuses a lot of Klaviyo beginners, so let's be clear.
Campaigns are one-time sends tied to your calendar. You decide to send an email on Tuesday at 10am, you write it, you schedule it, it goes out to your list. Done. If you want to send another email, you create another campaign.
Examples: Product launches, sale announcements, newsletters, holiday promotions.
Flows are ongoing sequences tied to customer behavior. You build the sequence once, define the trigger, and it runs automatically for every person who meets that trigger. Forever, until you turn it off.
Examples: Welcome series, abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase follow-ups, winback sequences.
Here's the mental model: If you're sending an email because you decided to (calendar-driven), it's a campaign. If you're sending an email because the customer did something (behavior-driven), it's a flow.
The 5 Essential Flows Every Store Needs
You could build dozens of flows in Klaviyo. Don't. Start with five. Get these working well before adding complexity.
1. Welcome Flow
Trigger: Someone subscribes to your email list
This is your highest-engagement window. These people just raised their hand. They want to hear from you. Open rates above 50% are normal. Click rates 3-4x your campaign averages.
Don't waste this attention on a single "thanks for subscribing" email.
Basic welcome flow structure:
Email 1 (immediate): Deliver the signup offer if you promised one. Welcome them. Keep it short.
Email 2 (day 1-2): Your brand story. Why you exist. What makes you different from competitors.
Email 3 (day 3-4): Social proof. Customer reviews, testimonials, user photos. Build trust.
Email 4 (day 5-7): Product education. Bestsellers, how to choose, category overview.
Timing note: Send Email 1 immediately or within 10 minutes. People expect a fast response after signing up. Waiting 24 hours kills engagement.
2. Abandoned Cart Flow
Trigger: Someone adds items to cart but doesn't complete checkout
These are your highest-intent prospects. They were ready to buy. Something stopped them. Your job is to bring them back.
Timing matters more here than anywhere else. Purchase intent decays fast. The data is clear: emails sent within 1 hour of abandonment outperform those sent later.
Basic abandoned cart structure:
Email 1 (1 hour): Simple reminder. Show the cart contents. Link straight to checkout.
Email 2 (24 hours): Address common objections. Shipping costs, return policy, payment security.
Email 3 (48-72 hours): Urgency or incentive. Low stock warning, limited-time discount if you offer them.
Don't overdo it. Three emails is plenty. Four or five and you're annoying people. Watch your unsubscribe rates in this flow closely.
3. Post-Purchase Flow
Trigger: Someone completes an order
Most brands treat post-purchase as purely transactional. Order confirmed. Package shipped. Done.
That's a mistake. Customers just gave you money. They're paying attention. They want to feel good about their decision. This is prime time for relationship building.
Basic post-purchase structure:
Email 1 (immediate): Order confirmation. But make it feel personal, not just a receipt.
Email 2 (day 2-3): Thank you message. Set delivery expectations.
Email 3 (after delivery): Product tips. How to use it, care instructions, creative ideas.
Email 4 (7-14 days after delivery): Review request.
Email 5 (21-30 days): Related products or replenishment reminder.
Pro tip: Trigger your review request email off delivery confirmation, not a fixed number of days after purchase. Shipping times vary. Asking for a review before the product arrives looks careless.
4. Browse Abandonment Flow
Trigger: Someone views product pages but doesn't add to cart
Lower intent than cart abandonment, but still valuable. These people showed interest. They just didn't commit.
Be careful here. Browse abandonment flows can feel invasive if overdone. "We noticed you looking at..." once is fine. Three times in a week feels like stalking.
Basic browse abandonment structure:
Email 1 (4-6 hours): Show the products they viewed. Use soft copy. "Still thinking about these?"
Email 2 (24-48 hours): Broader recommendations from the same category.
Set frequency caps. One browse abandonment email per person per week, maximum. More than that hurts more than it helps.
5. Winback Flow
Trigger: A customer hasn't purchased in a defined period
How long depends on your product. Coffee beans might be 45 days. Furniture might be 18 months. Look at your repeat purchase data to set the right threshold.
The goal is re-engagement before they forget you entirely.
Basic winback structure:
Email 1 (at lapse threshold): We miss you. Here's what's new since your last purchase.
Email 2 (1 week later): Incentive if you offer them. Discount, free shipping, bonus gift.
Email 3 (2 weeks later): Last chance. Then suppress them from regular campaigns for a while.
If someone doesn't respond to three winback emails, stop emailing them. Continuing to send just hurts your deliverability.
Flow Timing That Actually Works
Default Klaviyo timing isn't optimized for your business. These starting points work for most ecommerce brands, but testing and making adjustments is vital here.
Flow | Email 1 | Email 2 | Email 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
Welcome | Immediate | Day 1-2 | Day 3-4 |
Abandoned Cart | 1 hour | 24 hours | 48-72 hours |
Post-Purchase | Immediate | Day 2-3 | After delivery |
Browse Abandon | 4-6 hours | 24-48 hours | - |
Winback | At lapse | +7 days | +14 days |
The most common mistake: waiting too long for the first email. Welcome emails should fire immediately. Abandoned cart should fire within an hour. Every delay costs conversions.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Copying templates without customization. Klaviyo's templates are starting points, not finished products. The copy needs to sound like your brand, not generic placeholder text.
Too many emails, too fast. Your welcome flow doesn't need 10 emails. Three to five is usually right. Watch unsubscribe rates to know if you're overdoing it.
Forgetting mobile. Over 60% of emails open on phones. If your flow emails don't render well on small screens, they don't work.
No exclusions. If someone just bought, exclude them from abandoned cart reminders for that item. If someone unsubscribed, exclude them from everything. Obvious, but often missed.
Set and forget. Flows are automated, not self-optimizing. Review performance monthly. Test subject lines. Adjust timing based on what you see.
Sending review requests before delivery. This happens more than you'd think. Make sure your review request triggers off delivery confirmation, not just a date delay after purchase.
What's Next: Advanced Flow Optimization
Once your essential flows are running, the next step is optimization. Segmentation within flows, A/B testing subject lines, conditional splits based on customer data, and personalization that goes beyond "Hi {first_name}."
For the strategies that separate good flows from great flows, read our guide on advanced Klaviyo flow optimization.
FAQs
What are Klaviyo flows?
Klaviyo flows are automated email or SMS sequences that send based on customer behavior. When someone signs up, abandons a cart, makes a purchase, or meets other trigger conditions, the flow automatically sends your pre-built messages. Unlike campaigns that you schedule manually, flows run continuously in the background.
What is the difference between Klaviyo flows and campaigns?
Campaigns are one-time sends you schedule for a specific date. You write, schedule, send. Flows are automated sequences triggered by customer actions, running 24/7. Use campaigns for time-sensitive announcements like sales or launches. Use flows for behavioral responses like welcome series, cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups.
How many emails should be in a Klaviyo flow?
It depends on the flow. Welcome series typically have 4-5 emails. Abandoned cart flows work well with 2-3 emails. Post-purchase might have 4-5 emails spread over several weeks. More isn't always better. Watch unsubscribe rates to know if you're sending too many.
How long does it take to set up Klaviyo flows?
A basic five-flow setup takes most people 2-4 hours if you're working from templates. Writing custom copy takes longer. The setup itself is straightforward once you understand triggers and timing. Most beginners can have their core flows running within a day.