Social Media Is Flashy. Email Is Profitable. Here’s the Data.
1. Likes Don’t Always Translate to Revenue
Instagram and TikTok can build buzz but don’t automatically drive profits. In contrast, email taps into owned audiences—people who want to hear from you.
A Klaviyo report found 76.9% of e-commerce brands credit email as a top 3 ROI source, compared to social’s often fleeting impact.
A 2013 study by Custora revealed customers from email were 11% more valuable over two years, while those from Twitter and Facebook underperformed.
🚨 The takeaway: social media may start relationships, but email builds them—and turns them into revenue.
2. Email ROI Outshines Social
💰 ROI Metrics:
Email brings in $36 in revenue for every $1 spent, according to Litmus and Klaviyo benchmarks
Average Revenue Per Recipient (RPR) for email flows is $1.94, with top-tier brands seeing nearly $17
Key flows—welcome series and abandoned cart—average RPRs of $2.65 and $3.65 respectively, with best-in-class hitting $21.18 and $28.89
📈 Engagement Rates:
Flow emails average 52% open rates, breaking 68% at the top
Campaigns see ~39.7% open rates and 1.47% click rates, going up to 56.3% and 5.06% in top brands
Social channels don’t offer this level of precision or ROI clarity.
3. Social and Email Are Complementary—not Competitors
What if social was the feeder and email was the finisher?
Social media is unmatched for discovery, brand awareness, and community.
Email excels in conversion: personalization, tracking, and exclusivity.
As summarized by Omnisend, “email excels at nurturing and sales; social shines at discovery”.
Smart brands direct social traffic to powerful pop-ups or landing pages—turning engagement into lasting relationships.
4. Why Email Wins in Control & Precision
Email has enduring advantages:
Ownership: You own your list, immune to algorithm changes (like Apple’s iOS updates)
Privacy Advantages: First-party data in email avoids social’s tracking constraints.
Personalization: Email lets you segment by behavior—social typically can’t match that precision
Measurement & Optimization: Track open, click, and revenue metrics to continuously optimize. Social only gives you impressions and engagement—less linked to revenue .
5. Real-World Success Stories
🧪 Case Studies from Klaviyo benchmarks:
Welcome flows deliver $2.65 RPR (top-tier $21.18)
Abandoned carts generate $3.65 RPR (up to $28.89)
Automated flows bring nearly 30x more revenue than campaigns: $0.10 vs $3.07 RPR
📊 Example: One Shopify brand added $390k in extra revenue in 12 months, a 15% sales lift, with no extra ad spend—all through email flows .
6. How to Leverage Email after Social
To maximize impact:
Use social to grow your list—drive traffic to opt-in forms tied to exclusive value.
Reward email subscribers—early access, subscriber-only promos, exclusive content.
Set up high-performing flows: welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, browse abandonment, etc.
Track key metrics: opt-in rate, flow RPR, campaign performance, attribution vs ad spend.
7. The Data-Driven Breakdown
If you want a revenue-focused strategy that starts converting social engagement into real sales, let’s talk.
The Profitable Inbox helps Shopify brands:
✅ Set up high-performing pop-ups and list-growth systems
✅ Build automated flows that drive consistent revenue
✅ Blend social and email for a scalable, reliable engine