Upsell (flow or campaign): best practices

Why in-email upsells?

In-email upsells are only for subscription-based customers and "swap" a SKU or selling plan to a SKU or selling plan that is more valuable. Some example uses include:

• Upselling from monthly to quarterly plans

• Offering bundles that include items a customer is already subscribed to

The specific use cases other than the upcoming order email will be highly brand-dependent, but as a general rule, high-performing offers see between a 1% - 2% take rate.

What you'll be building:

Need ideas?

Examples of the swap-up block

How to set up and use the swap-up block

1. Create your non-interactive template in Klaviyo

   1. This template will be used as a fallback for customers who aren't able to view interactive emails

2. Identify opportunities throughout your customer journeys

   1. Zaymo is built to work across flows and campaigns, with a focus on re-engaging current and past subscribers since they can complete actions 100% in-email

   2. Purchase actions do not need to be attached to an upcoming order email

3. Build in Zaymo

   1. Open the flow or campaign in Zaymo and click Convert with Zaymo. In a flow, click the email you want to make interactive first.

   2. Add the Zaymo block(s) into the email

      1. The 📄 Swap upblock allows for multiple swap options to be configured. The first swap option in the list which applies to a given customer will be the one shown to them

      2. How to set up swap options

      3. If none of the swap options apply to the customer, the block will not be shown unless an "empty state" is configured. You have several approaches to handle unmapped subscriptions:

         • Use the same image from your fallback as the empty state (simplest approach)

         • Add a separate "static" product/grid section as a fallback and configure it to show only when no mapped offer applies

         • Create a product feed on the swap block with rules to display certain products, then configure a list of default products to display if none of the rules are met

   3. Delete any repetitive or non-applicable elements

   4. Customize the block to match your brand

4. Check it and send it to Klaviyo

   1. Zaymo syncs your changes to Klaviyo on its own, about 10 seconds after you stop editing. You'll see a small "Syncing" note while changes are saving, and it goes away once they're in Klaviyo.

   2. In a flow, click the three dots on the email's card and choose Preview to check it. To send yourself a test, click the card to open the email's details panel and click Send test.

   3. If you'd like to run an A/B test on a flow email, check Zaymo A/B test in the email's details panel in the flow. More info here: 📄 How to use a Zaymo in-template A/B test

5. If you converted the email from a flow or campaign, it's already there. Just set it live when you're ready.

Examples & best practices

Annotated example

Well-timed offers drive results: prompting a quarterly upgrade once a customer hits that milestone reinforces the value and savings they’re missing Keep your CTA singular and focused

For some brands, upselling can be more effective than cross-selling on upcoming order emails When offering bundles, highlight the fact that the bundle includes the customer's current subscription item(s) Applying a discount to your upsell can make it seem like a 'no-brainer' for customers

Advanced use case: Tiered renewal offers

You can create tiered renewal offers for monthly and prepaid subscription plans using the Swap up block. For example, offer X% off + a free gift to customers renewing their 3-month plan.

1. Create a discount (in Zaymo or Shopify/subscription provider) that applies to the desired products and add it to the Swap up block

2. Point the Swap up block from the current plan to the new discounted plan

3. To add a free gift (like a mystery box): highlight the block, go to Content, select Additional actions, then add the free gift there

4. Leave the toggle for "maintain sales variant" ON so customers stay on the same plan duration (e.g., 3-month to 3-month)

Advanced use case: One-time flavor swaps for limited-time offers

You can implement one-time flavor swaps for subscribers using the Swap up block for limited-time promotional campaigns.

1. Use the Swap up block to initiate the flavor swap for your limited-time offer

2. Since it's a limited-time offer, you'll need to swap everyone back once the offer ends. This can be handled through:

   • Your subscription platform's journey feature (like Skio Journey)

   • Mass-swapping everyone back with custom code