Analysing Email Automation and Flow Performance

Campaigns are one-time broadcasts to a segment. Flows (or automations) are triggered by subscriber behaviour and run continuously. Because flows run 24/7 and often represent your highest-RPE emails, they deserve separate, dedicated analysis.

In AskBiz, go to Email → Flows to see all flows separately from broadcast campaigns.

The welcome series is typically the highest-RPE flow. Benchmarks:

• Open rate: 50–70% (subscribers are most engaged immediately after sign-up)
• Click rate: 15–25%
• Conversion rate (to first purchase): 5–15% depending on incentive offered

Optimisation levers:

1. Timing of first email: send within 5 minutes of sign-up (not hours later)

2. Discount offer: offering 10–15% off in the first email consistently increases conversion by 30–50%

3. Series length: 3–5 emails over 10–14 days typically maximises revenue without list fatigue

In AskBiz, the welcome series analysis is under Email → Flows → Welcome → Step Performance.

Abandoned cart is the highest-converting flow for e-commerce. Benchmarks:

• Recovery rate: 5–15% of abandoned carts recovered
• Revenue per recipient: £2–£8 (highest of any email type)
• Optimal send timing: first email 1 hour after abandonment, second at 24 hours, third at 72 hours

Key optimisation: personalise the email with the specific items left in cart. Generic 'you left something behind' emails convert at roughly half the rate of product-specific emails.

Check your recovery rate in Email → Flows → Abandoned Cart → Recovery Rate.

Post-purchase flows serve two goals: driving repeat purchase and building loyalty. Key emails:

1. Order confirmation + upsell (immediate): include a cross-sell recommendation based on what was bought

2. Product education (3–7 days after delivery): helps with satisfaction and reduces returns

3. Review request (7–14 days post-delivery): drives reviews which feed into organic acquisition

4. Repeat purchase nudge (timed to product replenishment cycle)

Benchmark: post-purchase flows typically generate 15–25% of total email revenue for subscription-adjacent products.

Win-back targets subscribers who have not engaged or purchased in 90–180 days. Benchmarks:

• Re-engagement rate: 5–15% of lapsed subscribers take action
• Recovery rate (to purchase): 2–5%

If win-back emails get no response after 2–3 attempts, suppress the subscriber. Continuing to email them damages deliverability for everyone else.

In AskBiz, Email → Flows → Win-back → Segment Breakdown shows recovery rates by how long ago the subscriber last engaged.

Flows inflate ROI figures because they target already-engaged customers who may have purchased anyway. To assess true incrementality:

1. Run a holdout test: suppress 10% of your flow audience and compare purchase rates

2. Compare flow conversion rate against a matched control group from your overall subscriber list

AskBiz supports holdout group analysis under Email → Flows → [Flow] → Holdout Test for Business plan subscribers.