7 Ways to Improve ROAS and Cut Klaviyo Costs with Our Ecommerce Flywheel

Improve ROAS and Cut Klaviyo Costs: The Email & SMS Flywheel for Ecommerce!

Making money from email & SMS is great.

But using email & SMS to reduce your paid media costs and boost ROAS?

That’s where things get really spicy.

Why This Matters:

As the VP of Retention for multiple 9-figure brands, I had two primary directives:

✅ Print revenue from retention channels like email & SMS
✅ Reduce ad spend, lower CAC, and increase profit per customer

But here’s the kicker…

Most ecom brands have no clue that email & SMS isn’t just about sending newsletters or promos — it’s the retention data flywheel your paid media team wishes they had.

So today, we break down exactly how 7-figure brands are saving thousands (even tens of thousands) on ad spend and Klaviyo costs, all while making more money per customer.

The Big Problem: You’re Running in Silos

Let me guess.

You’ve got a paid media team.
You’ve got a retention team.
And they NEVER talk to each other.

You’ve been trained to think in funnels — TOFU, MOFU, BOFU.
But the best brands? They run a flywheel:

1️⃣ Acquire leads through paid & organic
2️⃣ Convert leads via email & SMS
3️⃣ Nurture those customers into VIPs
4️⃣ Feed that VIP data back into paid to find more like them

The result?

💥 Lower CAC
💥 Higher LTV
💥 Better ROAS
💥 Lower Klaviyo sending costs
💥 Better segmentation for EVERY channel

Let’s Get Tactical: 7 Ways to Slash Ad Spend & Klaviyo Costs Using Email & SMS

1. Suppress Recent Buyers From Ad Spend

Why? Because running ads to people who just bought from you is like lighting $100 bills on fire.

Instead, give email & SMS the first shot at retention.

✅ Set up “Engaged Buyer” segments in Klaviyo
✅ Push those segments to Meta & Google daily
✅ Suppress them from retargeting and prospecting campaigns
✅ Let email & SMS handle upsells, cross-sells, and reviews

💡 Pro Tip: Once they cool off (say 60+ days post-purchase), you can reintroduce them into dormant/reactivation ads.

Savings: $5k–$50k+/month depending on your scale.

2. Retarget Non-Buying Subscribers with Paid Ads

That fresh lead magnet you launched? All those quiz leads?
They’re warm, but not hot.

They didn’t buy — yet. So hit them mid-funnel with laser-targeted ads.

✅ Build a “New Subscribers – Last 30 Days – Non-Buyers” segment
✅ Push it to Google/Meta
✅ Show social proof, comparison ads, reviews, and benefits
✅ Reinforce your brand with UGC or founder videos

This bridges the gap between retention and acquisition. You already paid for the lead. Double-tap with email/SMS and ads.

3. Build Lookalikes from VIP Customers

Most brands use “All Customers” to build lookalikes.
That’s basic.

Elite brands send VIP segments (3+ buyers, high AOV, high engagement) to Meta and Google.

✅ Create “VIP Customers” segment in Klaviyo
✅ Push to Meta/Google as a custom audience
✅ Build 1–2% lookalikes from it
✅ Target them with high-quality acquisition ads

What you’re really doing here is teaching the algorithm to find whales, not minnows.

Higher AOV.
Lower churn.
Better customer fit.

4. Use Suppression Lists to Cut Klaviyo Sending Costs

Klaviyo’s getting expensive. Especially when you’re sending to dead weight.

Start suppressing:

🚫 Inactives (90+ days no open/click)
🚫 Ghost profiles (no engagement, no purchase)
🚫 Spam traps and temp emails

✅ Build smart engaged segments for each campaign
✅ Trim the fat BEFORE you press send
✅ Use open/click predictive metrics (Klaviyo provides this now)

Bonus: Klaviyo bills based on profile count. You’re not just cutting cost per send — you’re cutting your monthly bill.

5. Turn Email & SMS Into Intelligence Tools for Ads

Stop sending email campaigns into the void.

Start testing ad angles through your email list.

✅ A/B test subject lines, hero images, hooks
✅ Use the winning variations in ads
✅ Run copy tests on VIP vs. New Buyer segments
✅ Let retention data shape acquisition creative

Your email list is the cheapest focus group you’ll ever get.

Learn fast. Iterate cheap. Scale smart.

6. Leverage Abandon Flows to “Preempt” Retargeting

Abandoned carts. Abandoned views. Product interest.

Most brands let Meta handle it.

But that’s expensive. And unnecessary.

Set up:

✅ Browse Abandon flows
✅ Cart Abandon flows
✅ Checkout Abandon flows

…and let email & SMS take first crack at the conversion.

You’ll catch 20–40% of those would-be retargeting buyers without spending a dime on ads.

After 1–3 days? THEN retarget with dynamic product ads.

7. Send Segment Data to Ad Platforms Daily

Data decay is real.

That “Engaged Buyer” audience from last week? It’s stale.

Winning brands push live, updated data daily:

✅ Use Klaviyo’s native Meta & Google integrations
✅ Automate daily sync of all your key segments:

• VIPs

• Engaged Buyers

• New Subscribers

• Dormant Users
  ✅ Build automations in Klaviyo that remove customers from paid segments when they convert via email/SMS

Live data = live optimization.

And more accurate suppression = less wasted spend.

Final Thoughts: Email & SMS = Your Secret Weapon for ROAS

If you only use email & SMS to send offers… you’re leaving millions on the table.

Retention is not just about revenue.

It’s about saving you money.
It’s about supercharging your acquisition engine.
It’s about turning customers into data assets that compound over time.

TL;DR – Here’s How You Save Big:

Quick Homework:

1. Are your email & SMS systems talking to your paid media team?

2. Are you suppressing buyers from ads?

3. Are you building lookalikes from your best customers?

4. Are you using flows to catch revenue before your ads do?

If you said “no” to any of those, you’re not just missing out on revenue — you’re overpaying for every customer you acquire.

We’re HiFlyer Digital.
And we don’t just “send emails.”
We engineer profit from retention and acquisition.

So if you want to slash your Klaviyo bill, double your ad ROAS, and turn your data into dollars…

👉 Schedule your free 108-point retention audit.

We’ll show you where your money is hiding.

You just have to say yes.

And if you want us to build the whole thing for you?

Book a 15-minute call and we’ll install the entire flow system in 30–45 days.

Need help monetizing your unsubscribes? Let’s talk.

Take action now:

Book a Free Email & SMS Audit & Discover The True Revenue Potential of Your List >