Grow your ecommerce store · Email marketing · 3 min read
Should You Hire an Email Marketer for Your Shopify Store?
Short answer
Hire an email marketer when your store has steady traffic and sales, a list worth emailing, and email is underperforming because you lack time or skill, not because the product or offer is weak. If you are pre-revenue or have a tiny list, set up the basic flows yourself first.
Email is one of the few marketing channels a store owns outright. No algorithm decides who sees your message, and there is no cost per click. Yet many Shopify stores barely use it, sending an occasional discount blast and little else. Hiring someone can change that. It can also waste money if the timing is wrong.
What an email marketer actually does
A good ecommerce email marketer handles:
- Automated flows: welcome series, abandoned checkout, browse abandonment, post-purchase, replenishment, winback, VIP
- Campaigns: regular newsletters, launches, promotions and seasonal sends
- Segmentation: separate messaging for new subscribers, first-time buyers, repeat customers and lapsed customers
- List growth: signup forms, popups and offers
- Deliverability: domain authentication, list hygiene, avoiding spam folders
- Copy and design: on-brand templates and messages
- Reporting: revenue per recipient, flow performance, list health
Some also handle SMS.
Signs you are ready to hire
- You have consistent monthly sales and traffic
- Your list has a meaningful number of subscribers and grows every week
- You have no flows or only Shopify's default abandoned checkout email
- You send campaigns irregularly because you never have time
- Email's share of revenue is low compared with stores in your category
- You know your margins and can judge return on the investment
Signs you should wait
- You have not launched or are still validating the product
- Your list is very small
- Conversion rate on the site is poor (email cannot fix a broken product page)
- You cannot afford a few months of fees before results compound
In those cases, set up the basics yourself. A welcome email, an abandoned checkout reminder and a monthly newsletter go a long way. Our guide to email marketing for Shopify shows how.
DIY vs freelancer vs agency
| Option | Best for | Tradeoffs |
|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | Early stores, tight budgets | Time, learning curve |
| Freelancer | Small to mid stores, focused projects | Capacity limits, varies in quality |
| Agency | Larger stores, full-service needs | Higher fees, may be less personal |
| In-house hire | Email is a major revenue channel | Salary and management time |
Costs to think about
Pricing varies widely by region, experience and scope. Common models:
- One-time flow build: a fixed fee to set up core automations
- Monthly retainer: ongoing campaigns and optimization
- Performance-based: a share of email revenue, often combined with a base fee
Do not forget platform costs. Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp and Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email) all charge based on list size or sends. Our breakdown of how much to charge for email marketing shows the range from the provider's side.
How to vet candidates
- Ask for examples of flows they built and the metrics they tracked
- Ask how they handle deliverability
- Request a short audit of your current setup before committing
- Check references from stores your size
- Avoid guaranteed results and long lock-in contracts
- Make sure the email platform account is in your name
What to prepare
- Access to Shopify and your email platform
- Brand guidelines, fonts, photos
- Product priorities and margins
- Your promotional calendar
- Any past campaign data
What results look like
Flows are usually the fastest win because they work automatically. Campaign revenue grows as the list grows and segmentation improves. Judge results over a few months, looking at total email revenue, revenue per recipient, unsubscribe and spam complaint rates and list growth.
If you have decided to hire, the next question is timing and preparation. Read when to hire an email marketing expert for your Shopify store and how to hire the best ecommerce email marketing agency.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Shopify email marketer do?
They plan and build automated flows, write and design campaigns, manage segmentation, grow the list with signup forms, maintain deliverability and report on revenue from email.
Is it better to hire a freelancer or an agency?
Freelancers suit smaller stores with one clear need. Agencies suit larger stores needing strategy, design, copy and SMS together. Ask both for examples and references.
How long before email marketing shows results?
Flows like welcome and abandoned cart often start producing revenue within weeks. Building a strong campaign program and list usually takes a few months.
Platform features, prices and policies change. Check the official help pages linked above before you act on a detail that matters to your store.