Click to Open Rate: The Formula and How to Read It After Apple Privacy
Click to open rate is unique clicks divided by unique opens. Here's the formula, a worked example, and how Apple privacy opens drag it down.
10 min read
Hayes Media
The eCommerce growth blog
Direct response creative, Meta media buying, and email & SMS playbooks from the team behind 57+ eCommerce brands.
What's a Good Email Open Rate for eCommerce, and Can You Still Trust It?
There's no single good open rate, and Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates the one you see. Here's what Hayes Media reads instead and how to benchmark it.
10 min read
Winback Email Flows: When a Customer Is Actually Lapsed, and What to Send
Set your winback email flow from your own time-between-orders data, not a platform default. When a customer is lapsed, what to send, and how to measure it.
11 min read
Post-Purchase Survey Questions That Actually Change What You Do
The post-purchase survey questions worth asking, the decision each one feeds, what to skip, and how to read "how did you hear about us" honestly.
10 min read
Back in Stock Emails and Texts: How to Turn a Waitlist Into Orders
A back in stock email and SMS setup that converts a waitlist: how to capture requests, what to send at restock, and how to read it in gross profit.
9 min read
Review Request Emails: When to Ask and What to Say
Time your review request email to first real use, not the order date. What to say, who to skip, FTC rules on incentives, and two example emails.
11 min read
How to Increase Your Sales Call Show Rate: The Sequence Between Booking and the Call
Show rate is calls attended divided by calls booked. Here's the email and SMS sequence between booking and the call, with reminder templates for coaches.
10 min read
Klaviyo vs Omnisend: Which One Fits Your Store?
Klaviyo vs Omnisend from an operator: pricing, billing, automation, segmentation, SMS, and when each one fits your Shopify store, with sources.
13 min read
Browse Abandonment Emails: The Flow That Catches Shoppers Before the Cart
How to build a browse abandonment email flow that recovers orders without feeling creepy: who gets it, when it sends, what it says, and how to measure it.
11 min read
SMS vs Email Marketing: Which Channel Gets Which Job
SMS vs email marketing, flow by flow: which channel leads welcome, cart, checkout, shipping, winback and VIP, what to build first, and how to measure each.
11 min read
Email Marketing for Coaches and Course Creators: The Backend System That Sells After the Opt-In
The email and SMS sequences a coaching or course business needs to turn opt-ins into booked calls and sales, and which three to build first.
11 min read
Repeat Purchase Rate: The Formula, What Good Looks Like, and How to Move It
How to calculate repeat purchase rate, what published benchmarks actually say, how it differs from retention rate, and the changes that move it durably.
11 min read
Klaviyo Pricing in 2026: How Your Monthly Bill Is Worked Out
How Klaviyo pricing works in 2026: active profiles, SMS pricing, the free plan, why bills grow faster than lists, and how to judge the cost against profit.
12 min read
Email Marketing Agency Pricing: What eCommerce Brands Actually Pay in 2026
What eCommerce brands actually pay an email marketing agency in 2026, the four pricing models, hidden costs, and Hayes Media's published floor.
12 min read
Black Friday Email Strategy: What to Send Before, During, and After
A Black Friday email strategy for 2026: what to send before, during, and after BFCM, with example emails, subject lines, and how to protect your list.
12 min read
Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for eCommerce: Which One Should Your Brand Run On?
An operator's comparison of Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for DTC brands: data model, pricing model, deliverability, SMS, and how to migrate without losing reputation.
12 min read
How to Improve LTV to CAC for a DTC Brand (Both Sides of the Ratio)
LTV to CAC improves from two ends: lowering what a customer costs and raising what they return in gross profit. How to measure and work both sides.
11 min read
What a UGC Ads Agency Actually Does (And How to Pick One)
A UGC ads agency sources creators, scripts from real objections, edits variations, and tests them. Here is what to check before you sign one.
9 min read
The Best Klaviyo Agencies for eCommerce in 2026 (Ranked)
Ten Klaviyo agencies ranked for eCommerce brands, judged on flow depth, published proof, pricing and third-party reviews. Hayes Media wrote this list.
13 min read
Cohort Analysis for eCommerce: How to Read What Your Customers Are Really Worth
How to run cohort analysis for your eCommerce brand: the four numbers per cohort, how to build the grid from Shopify, and what it says about max CAC.
11 min read
Meta ROAS Dropping? Why It Happens and Who Can Actually Fix It
Why your Meta ROAS is falling, how to diagnose it in 20 minutes with your own numbers, and an honest comparison of who can actually fix it.
12 min read
Ad Creative
Meta Ad Creative Fatigue: How to Diagnose It and Fix It
How to diagnose Meta ad creative fatigue from the numbers in your account, and why the fix is creative supply rather than another settings change.
11 min read
Media Buying
The Best eCommerce Growth Agencies in 2026 (Ranked)
The best eCommerce growth agencies, ranked on scope, client band, published proof, pricing, and reviews. Every entry carries one honest limit.
13 min read
Media Buying
The Best Meta Ads Agencies for eCommerce in 2026 (Ranked)
The best Meta ads agencies for eCommerce, ranked on creative and buying scope, published proof, pricing, and reviews. Every entry carries one honest limit.
12 min read
Retention & Email
What an eCommerce Email Marketing Agency Does, and How to Pick One
What an eCommerce email marketing agency does, what Hayes Media runs, how an engagement works, and the checklist to judge any agency before you sign.
11 min read
Retention & Email
SMS Marketing for eCommerce: Where It Beats Email (And Where It Doesn't)
SMS marketing for eCommerce: where SMS beats email, where it doesn't, the flow map, the US consent rules, and the math that decides if a text pays.
11 min read
Retention & Email
The Welcome Series That Turns Subscribers Into First Orders
A welcome series email build, send by send: what each one says, where the incentive belongs, the discount math, and how to measure the flow honestly.
11 min read
Media Buying
Scaling Meta Ads Without Killing Your Margins
Scaling Meta ads without killing margins: the preconditions checklist, vertical vs horizontal scaling, budget mechanics, and when to pull back.
12 min read
Retention & Email
Retention Marketing for eCommerce: The Whole-Business Playbook
The retention playbook for eCommerce: the flow engine, behavior-split messaging, and the economics that make repeat customers your biggest acquisition advantage.
2 min read
Unit Economics
eCommerce Agency vs In-House: How to Actually Decide
eCommerce agency vs in-house for Meta ads and retention: the real cost of each, the alternatives to hiring, and the hybrid model most brands land on.
11 min read
What an eCommerce Growth Agency Does, and What Done-For-You Actually Includes
What an eCommerce growth agency does, what done-for-you actually includes, who it fits, and the checklist to judge any agency before you sign.
11 min read
Ad Creative
A Shopify Marketing Strategy Built on Unit Economics
A Shopify marketing strategy that runs on profit instead of channel dashboards: the acquisition engine, the retention engine, and the monthly numbers that steer both.
2 min read
Ad Creative
What Actually Works in Meta Ad Creative (From Real Accounts)
The Meta ad creative practices that hold up across real eCommerce accounts: native formats, hooks that name problems, proof before claims, and volume over polish.
2 min read
Ad Creative
How an eCommerce Brand Breaks Through Its Revenue Ceiling
Why eCommerce brands plateau at the same revenue levels, the three engines that break the ceiling, and the order to fix them in.
2 min read
Retention & Email
The Email Marketing Audit We Run Before Taking Any Client
The five-part email marketing audit we run before taking any eCommerce client: deliverability, flow coverage, campaign balance, list health, and honest attribution.
2 min read
Retention & Email
Abandoned Cart Emails That Recover Revenue (Real Sequences)
Three abandoned cart email sequences you can adapt: the timing, the message each send carries, and why discount discipline decides whether the flow builds or erodes profit.
2 min read
Media Buying
What a Meta Ads Agency Does, and How to Choose One
What a Meta ads agency does, what Hayes Media runs, how an engagement works, and the checklist to judge any agency before you sign.
11 min read
Retention & Email
The Best Email Marketing Agencies for eCommerce in 2026 (Ranked)
The best email marketing agencies for eCommerce, ranked from their own sites: services, platforms, published pricing, reviews, and each one's limit.
12 min read
Retention & Email
The Klaviyo Flows Every Store Needs (And What Each One's Job Is)
The core Klaviyo flows every eCommerce store needs, what each one's job is, when it triggers, and how to judge the set by repeat revenue instead of open rates.
4 min read
Ad Creative
Our Creative Testing Framework for Meta Ads
Our creative testing framework for Facebook and Meta ads: the stage by stage table, the numbers we read, iteration trees, and how we pick winners.
11 min read
Unit Economics
The Unit Economics That Decide Whether Your Marketing Works
Why lifetime gross profit to CAC is the only marketing scoreboard that matters, the three levers that move it, and the decisions it unlocks for eCommerce brands.
4 min read
Retention & Email
Post-Purchase Email Flows That Drive Repeat Orders
The six post-purchase emails that turn a first order into a second one: what each sends, when it lands, and how to judge the flow by repeat revenue, not opens.
4 min read
Ad Creative
UGC Ads for eCommerce: What Separates the Ones That Convert
What separates UGC ads that convert from the ones that burn budget: the four-part anatomy, real testing cadence, and how to judge them by profit, not clicks.
5 min read