Email Marketing for Small Businesses: What Tool Do You Really Need?
If you’ve spent any amount of time in ecommerce communities, you’ve probably heard it before:
“Just use Klaviyo. It’s the best.”
And here’s the thing — for big ecommerce brands, Klaviyo genuinely is incredible. I’ve seen firsthand how its advanced segmentation, its automations, and its deep Shopify integrations can drive serious revenue.
But here’s the part a lot of experts forget:
Most small businesses don’t need (or can’t justify) Klaviyo.
And that’s not a controversial take. It’s just reality.
Running a small business means every euro counts. Cash flow matters. And spending €60+ per month (or quickly more) for tooling you don’t fully benefit from yet? That can sting — especially when your email list is just a couple thousand people and your automations are still simple.
So let’s break it down honestly, without the hype, and look at what email tool actually makes sense depending on your size, budget, and goals.
Why Klaviyo Isn’t Always the Right Starting Point
Before anyone gets upset: Klaviyo is powerful.
It’s also the most expensive platform out there.
If you’re new, growing slowly, or still validating your product, it’s worth asking:
Is it really worth paying for Klaviyo for months (or even years) before you actually need its advanced features?
Often, the answer is no.
Many small businesses who start with Klaviyo don’t end up increasing revenue proportionally — they just increase expenses. I’ve even had clients get flooded with fancy reports and dashboards that claim their emails are performing better… yet the sales didn’t budge. The only number that climbed was the monthly bill.
Klaviyo is a beast — but beasts need feeding.
For early-stage stores, a workhorse outperforms a show pony every time.
“Shopify Email Has 90% of the Functionality” — Not Really
Shopify Email isn’t bad.
But let’s be real: it’s nowhere near a full email marketing platform.
If someone tells you Shopify Email covers “90%” of what you need… they’re probably forgetting what email marketers actually do.
A/B testing?
Nope.
Pop-ups?
Not built in — and paying for a good one alone can cost more than your email tool.
Advanced segmentation?
Forget it.
Robust automations (browse abandonment, post-purchase splits, predictive segments, multi-branch logic)?
Absolutely not.
Deliverability?
Fine for newsletters — questionable at scale.
Honestly, Shopify Email probably covers around 30%, not 90%.
If your list is tiny and you only send occasional newsletters, it’s fine.
But if email is going to be one of your biggest revenue channels — which it almost always becomes — you’ll outgrow it very fast.
And migrating later is not a minor detail…
A Hard Truth: Email Migration Almost Always Hurts Revenue
I’ve never seen a brand migrate email platforms without taking a revenue hit.
Not once.
You lose warm engagement.
You lose sending history.
You lose deliverability momentum.
You have to rebuild all your automations.
And the transition always takes longer than planned.
If you know you’ll outgrow Shopify Email soon, it’s worth choosing something scalable from the start.
Especially since…
It’s Not “Klaviyo or Nothing” — There Are Better Mid-Tier Options
This is the part most people overlook.
There’s a whole category between “Shopify Email” and “Klaviyo on steroids.”
And honestly?
These mid-tier platforms are perfect for small businesses.
Omnisend: The Sweet Spot for Small Stores
If I had to recommend only one platform for smaller shops, it’s Omnisend.
Why?
- Clean, simple UI
- Strong deliverability
- Solid automations out of the box
- Email + SMS combined
- Prebuilt segments
- Much cheaper than Klaviyo
- Scales well before you ever need to upgrade
For many stores making under $75M/year (yes, really), Omnisend is more than enough.
Mailchimp: Simple, Familiar, Affordable
Mailchimp is still an underrated workhorse.
Is it fancy? No.
Does it get the job done for small lists and simple workflows? Absolutely.
For example, my band uses Mailchimp — up to 1,500 subscribers — because it’s fast, easy, intuitive, and unbloated.
Mailchimp doesn’t try to impress you with 15 dashboards.
It just works.
And for many small businesses, working beats overengineering every single time.
Seguno: Shopify Email Plus
If you like the simplicity of Shopify Email but want:
- better automations
- better pop-ups
- better segmentation
- without breaking the bank
…Seguno is a great “Shopify Mail+” experience.
It’s built entirely for Shopify and fits right into the admin you already know.
What Should You Choose?
Let’s break it down:
If your list is under 1,500 and you want simple newsletters:
Mailchimp
Fast, affordable, easy.
If you’re a small Shopify store and want real automations without the Klaviyo bill:
Omnisend
Great value, strong features, scalable.
If you want a light version of Shopify Email on steroids:
Seguno
If you’re doing serious ecommerce volume, already scaling hard, or have complex segmentation needs:
Klaviyo (but only when you truly need it)
A Final Tip: Don’t Switch Right Before the Holidays
Your email platform is one of your biggest revenue generators — if not the biggest.
Switching just before Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the holiday season is a guaranteed hit to revenue.
Unless you’re migrating right now and can fully warm your domain, wait until January.
Your profit margins will thank you.
The Honest Conclusion
Email is one of the most profitable channels a business has.
So yes — investing properly is worth it.
But investing too early in the wrong tool is just as costly.
Most small businesses don’t need Klaviyo on day one.
They need consistency, simplicity, and affordability — tools that help them grow into sophisticated email marketing, not force them to pay for it up front.
Start small.
Start smart.
And upgrade when the pain of staying put is bigger than the price tag of moving up.
If you choose the right tool for your stage, your revenue — not your expenses — will scale with you.
