retention systems for dtc brands

retention systems for dtc brands

Email strategy built around how people decide to buy.

Email strategy built around how people decide to buy.

Email strategy built around how people decide to buy.

Most stores send every subscriber the same emails in the same order. We split people by what they’ve done and write each email around what’s stopping them from buying, or from coming back.

01Audit
02Strategy
03Write & Design
04Build & Launch

Your customers get dozens of brand emails a week. Most look like this.

Your customers get dozens of brand emails a week. Most look like this.

Your emails sit next to four other brands offering the same 15%, in almost the same words. Nothing in the subject lines gives anyone a reason to open yours.

Search mail

1–6 of 248

Primary

Promotions

6 new

Social

Your brand

Your brand

Your mornings, reimagined

Your mornings, reimagined

Elevate your routine — 15% off everything this week.

Elevate your routine — 15% off everything this week.

AI phrase

10:03 AM

Competitor 1

Competitor 1

Still thinking about it?

Still thinking about it?

Your cart misses you. Here’s 15% off to make it easier.

Your cart misses you. Here’s 15% off to make it easier.

Same offer

10:03 AM

Brand 3

Brand 3

Treat yourself, you deserve it

Treat yourself, you deserve it

Unlock 15% off our bestsellers — because you’re worth it.

Unlock 15% off our bestsellers — because you’re worth it.

AI phrase

10:02 AM

Competitor 2

Don’t miss out!

15% off ends soon. Elevate your everyday with our new range.

Fake urgency

10:01 AM

Your brand

Last chance: 15% off ends tonight

Because you deserve the best — here’s one more reminder.

Same offer

10:00 AM

Brand 5

Say goodbye to dull skin

And hello to your new favorite routine — take 15% off today.

AI phrase

10:00 AM

Sign up to almost any store and you get 15% off. Then a reminder about the 15%. Then a last chance on the 15%.

We write each email around the reason someone hasn’t ordered, and only add an offer where it helps.

Sign up to almost any store and you get 15% off. Then a reminder about the 15%. Then a last chance on the 15%.

We write each email around the reason someone hasn’t ordered, and only add an offer where it helps.

The psychology behind every step.

We build every step on behavioural psychology, the research on how people actually make decisions.

Commitment and consistency
Once people take a small first step, they want to follow through on it.
Most brands
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What we’d do
Pop-up step 1
Tap the pop-up to see the next step
What most brands do
Open the pop-up by asking for an email. That’s the biggest ask, made before the visitor has done anything, so most people close it.
Why it works
We start with one easy question about their skin. Once someone has started something, they want to finish it, so giving their email feels like the next step rather than a new decision. Their answer also tells us which emails to send them.
Personal relevance
People pay attention to what’s clearly about them, and skim past what isn’t.
Most brands
DrySensitiveOily
Third Rinse
Welcome to Third Rinse
Here’s 15% off your first order.
One email for everyone
What we’d do
SPLIT BY POP-UP ANSWER
What’s your skin like?
DrySensitiveOily
Third Rinse
Tight after a shower? Start here
Your $11.47 credit is inside.
Third Rinse
Gentle enough for sensitive skin
Your $11.47 credit is inside.
Third Rinse
Oily skin still needs moisture
Your $11.47 credit is inside.
What most brands do
Every new subscriber gets the same welcome emails. The pop-up only asked for an email, so nothing is known about them, and each email has to speak to everyone at once, so it doesn’t really speak to anyone.
Why it works
We split the flow by the answer they gave in the pop-up and write each email around their exact problem. People notice what’s about them, so an email that names their problem gets opened and read.
Loss aversion
Losing something feels about twice as bad as gaining the same thing feels good.
Most brands
LOWFIELD
WELCOME!
15% OFF
YOUR FIRST ORDER
WELCOME15
SHOP NOW
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What we’d do
Offer email example
What most brands do
Send “15% off your first order.” It’s easy to ignore, because it’s a discount they might use someday and every other store offers the same one.
Why it works
We turn the same discount into a dollar amount, like $8.44, and put it in their account with a deadline. People are more motivated to avoid losing something than to gain something new, so money that’s already theirs and about to expire gets used.
The endowment effect
People value something more once it feels like it’s already theirs.
Most brands
GLOAM
You left something behind!
We saved the items in your cart. Would you like to complete your purchase?
Complete your purchase
or Visit our store
Order summary
Brown Butter & Sea Salt Chocolate × 1
2-Pack
$22.00
Unsubscribe · View in browser
What we’d do
Abandoned cart email example
What most brands do
Send “You left something behind!” It reminds them they chose to leave, and asks them to make the same decision all over again.
Why it works
We show the order as already in progress and ready to ship, only waiting on them. People value things more once they feel like theirs and don’t like leaving something half done, so finishing the order feels easier than walking away.

How much your flows are leaving behind.

How much your flows are leaving behind.

How much your flows are leaving behind.

Stores with proper flows make 30%+ of their revenue from email, and a lot of it comes from customers ordering again. Most make around 12%.

Monthly store revenue$200,000
Revenue from email today12%
The share of your sales that Klaviyo attributes to email. Not sure? Leave it at 12%, where most stores without proper flows sit.
Email revenue per month
Today · 12%$24,000
With proper flows · 30%+$60,000+
+$36,000 / mo
That’s an extra
$432,000a year
and up to $792,000
Based on 30%, where stores with proper flows usually start.

Emails that change based on where your customer is.

Emails that change based on where your customer is.

Emails that change based on where your customer is.

People get different emails depending on whether they’ve bought, and what they told us in the pop-up.

Welcome SeriesLive
Example: welcome flow
The flow
Switch skin type or order status under each email to see how the path changes.
Trigger
Added to list: Newsletter
Signed up through the pop-up
Trigger split
Pop-up answer: skin type
Three paths, one for each answer
Pick a path to follow
Sensitive
Email · Day 0 · Subject line
Everything that’s in it (it’s a short list)
Goes through all seven ingredients and what was left out on purpose. Their welcome credit is at the bottom.
Wait 1 day
Conditional split
Placed Order at least once
Skin type still decides the wording
Pick a path to follow
NO · HASN’T BOUGHT
Email · Day 1 · Subject line
Why people with sensitive skin choose [product]
Reviews from people with sensitive skin, and a reminder that their welcome credit is still there.
+ Offer reminder
Still hasn’t ordered
Email · Day 2 · Plain text
About your sensitive skin
A note from [Founder] on why they made the cream for people with sensitive skin.
Preview: “I left a little gift in your account.”
More emails for sensitive skin
Until they order or the flow ends
Scroll to follow the flow
01 / 07
Where it starts
Before giving their email, they answered one question in the pop-up: what their skin is like. That answer comes with them into the flow.

This is one small example. Every flow is built around your brand, your customers and what makes sense for your store, using how people actually decide to buy.

Designed around your brand.

Designed around your brand.

Designed around your brand.

We design around your brand's look, then pick the format each email needs, from a creative concept to a personal note from the founder.

Alder workspace
100%
Email Campaign
Email design 1
Store Credit Offer
Email design 2
Abandoned Cart
Email design 3

How a build works.

How a build works.

How a build works.

01

Audit

Flow review

Repeat rate

Margins

We start with the product and the people buying it: why they buy, what makes them hesitate before ordering, and what brings them back for a second order. That decides what your flows need to say. Then we look at what they bring in now, how many customers order again, and what your margins allow.

02

Strategy

Customer paths

Logic splits

Offers

What we learned turns into a plan for every flow: which email deals with which doubt, in what order, where an offer makes sense, and when to ask for the next order.

03

Write & Design

Copy

Email design

Creative Concepts

We write and design every email ourselves, for your brand specifically. You see the full set before anything goes live. Each one is built around how people make decisions, and why someone buys now or waits.

04

Build & Launch

Setup

Testing

Monitoring

We build every flow with the logic behind it: what triggers it, where buyers and non-buyers split, and which segments see which offer. Builds usually take 2 to 3 weeks.

We did it for our own store first.

We did it for our own store first.

We did it for our own store first.

Wellness · DTC

We had to fix our own email strategy.

We had to fix our own email strategy.

In January, we took a step back and rebuilt every flow in our own store from scratch. In the first month, email revenue grew 51%.

33.40%

Of total revenue came from email

+51%

+51%

Email revenue after rebuilding our flows

€7,736

€7,736

From email in the first month

Results Image myco

We run a store too.

We run a store too.

We run a store too.

That’s how we learned what email can do for a business when it’s built properly. Most brands set their flows up once and haven’t touched them since.

We spent a long time getting ours right, testing offers, splits and flow logic and rebuilding more than once until it worked.

Now the business needs less of us day to day, and we want to help more brands get their email to the same place.

Photo Val

FOUNDER, ALDER

Ivay Val

Photo Gian

FOUNDER, MYCO

Gian Andrea

Invest in the channel you already own.

Invest in the channel you already own.

Invest in the channel you already own.

Your flows keep working after they’re built. The price depends on how many flows and splits your store needs.

Flow Build

Flow Build

We plan and build the flows your store needs most, and adapt the strategy to fit your budget. You get a quote after our first call.

From $5,000+

From $5,000+

/ one-time

What’s included

An audit of your store, current flows and customer data before we build anything

Welcome emails that change based on who signed up

Abandoned cart and checkout flows with separate paths for first-time and returning customers

A post-purchase flow that leads to the second order

A pop-up built around your brand and your offer

Every email written and designed from scratch for your brand

Tested end to end before anything goes live

SMS flows, if you run SMS

After the build

Monthly Partnership

Monthly Partnership

After launch, we stay on as your strategy partner. Each month we plan campaigns for new subscribers and existing customers separately, test what’s working and use it to improve your flows and offers.

After launch, we stay on as your strategy partner. Each month we plan your campaigns, test what’s working and use what we learn to improve your flows and offers.

From $3,000+

From $3,000+

/ month

What’s included

Weekly campaigns planned around your launches, holidays and new creative angles

Offers based on what each customer bought, and when

A/B tests, with winners rolled into your flows

Your list kept clean, so emails keep landing in the inbox

A clear monthly report on what email brought in, what’s working and what we’re changing next

SMS campaigns, if you run SMS

Before you book a call.

Before you book a call.

Before you book a call.

Do you only work with Klaviyo?

We prefer to work in Klaviyo, and if you’re on another platform, we can move you over. If switching doesn’t make sense for your store, we’ll work with the platform you already use.

How is the price worked out?

Do you work with every kind of brand?

Do you work with brands that haven’t launched yet?

What if the flows don’t perform?

Do you offer performance-based pricing?

Do you only do strategy, or the full build?

Do you only do email and SMS?

How long does a build take?

Do you also do SMS?

My product is a one-time buy. Does email still help after the first order?

How soon will I see results?

Is there a minimum contract?

Alder

Let’s get 30%+ of your revenue from email.

Let’s get 30%+ of your revenue from email, and more customers ordering twice.

Let’s get 30%+ of your revenue from email, and more customers ordering twice.

A short call to look at your flows, how many of your customers come back for a second order, and whether it makes sense to work together.

Disclaimer: Alder Copy does not guarantee specific revenue, growth or other financial results. Results shown on this site, including those from myco, come from a store owned by us and are shared as an example of our work, not as a promise of what your store will achieve.

Revenue estimates, including the calculator on this page, are illustrations based on general assumptions and are not a forecast for your business. Email performance depends on many factors outside our control, including your product, pricing, traffic, list size, offers and market conditions.

Klaviyo, Shopify and other names and logos shown on this site are trademarks of their respective owners. Their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

Some email designs shown on this site are concept work, created to show our design approach, the brands used for them are not affiliated with or endorsing us, unless stated otherwise.