How We Helped This Activewear Brand Get 30% Extra Store Revenue Leveraging A New Email Flow And Popup Strategy

How We Helped This Activewear Brand Build a 70K+ Email List and Generate 30% Extra Revenue from Email Marketing

30%

More revenue from email marketing

70x

Growth in email subscribers

Be our next success story

The Challenge

When this activewear brand came to us in 2021, they had a solid product line and a loyal following – but their email marketing was barely scratching the surface.

Their list sat at around 1,000 subscribers. They had basic email flows in place, but nothing sophisticated. No segmentation. No strategy for turning one-time buyers into repeat customers. And certainly no plan for building a community around their brand.

They needed more than just “better emails.” They needed a full-funnel retention system that could scale with them as they grew.

That’s where we came in.

Before Working With Budai Media (2021):

After Working With Budai Media (2024):

Our Strategy: Building a 5-Year Email Growth Engine

Over the past five years, we've transformed their email program from a basic setup into a sophisticated revenue-generating machine.

Here's how we did it:

1. Growing and Nurturing the Email List

From 1,000 to 70,501 subscribers.

We didn't just grow their list - we built it strategically. Every subscriber captured through optimized popups, checkout flows, and on-site touchpoints was immediately funneled into a nurture sequence designed to turn them into buyers.

But volume alone doesn't win. So we focused on segmentation.

We created targeted segments based on behavior:

VIPs - Early access to new drops and exclusive sales
Non-purchasers - Targeted campaigns designed to convert browsers into buyers
Engaged subscribers - Content-heavy emails with cross-sell opportunities
30-day inactive - Re-engagement campaigns to win them back
Never purchased - Conversion-focused messaging

This segmentation allowed us to send the right message to the right person at the right time - maximizing engagement and revenue per send.

By targeting subscribers based on behavior, we were able to:

Convert non-purchasers with tailored messaging
Reward VIPs with early access and exclusivity
Re-engage inactive subscribers before they churned
Maximize LTV with cross-sell and upsell campaigns to engaged buyers

2. Expanding Email Flows Beyond the Basics

In 2021, they had a welcome series and abandoned cart flow. That was it.

Over the past five years, we’ve built out a complete lifecycle flow system:

Winback Flow – Re-engaging lapsed customers before they churn
Browse Abandonment Flow – Capturing revenue from users who didn’t add to cart
Feedback Flow – Collecting reviews and social proof post-purchase
Post-Purchase Flow – Turning one-time buyers into repeat customers

Each flow was optimized for their audience, tested, and refined over time. This resulted in a system that runs 24/7, generating revenue without needing constant manual campaigns.

Our automated flows consistently delivered high engagement and revenue. The addition of winback, browse abandonment, and feedback flows over the years compounded their email program’s effectiveness.

3. Moving Beyond Promotional Emails

Most activewear brands blast their list with sales and discounts. We took a different approach.

Yes, we ran seasonal promotions and BFCM campaigns. But we also built a wellness-focused content strategy that positioned the brand as more than just clothing – they became a community.

Here’s what we introduced:

Weekly product spotlights – Highlighting key products with storytelling
Activity-based campaigns – “Perfect outfits for barre class,” “What to wear for pilates,” “Winter running essentials”
Trust-based UGC campaigns – Heavy use of customer reviews and testimonials
Seasonal lookbooks – Curated outfit collections (not just individual products)
AOV-boosting discount structures – Buy 2 Get 1 Free, tiered discounts

We sent 6 emails per month consistently since 2021. The key wasn’t frequency – it was relevance.

Their emails became highly visual, on-brand, and centered around the lifestyle their customers were living, not just the products they were selling.

4. Preparing for Seasonal Peaks

Every year, we prepped their list months in advance for Q4.

In September, we’d start warming up segments, testing creative, and building anticipation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By the time BFCM hit, their list was primed and ready to convert.

We also expanded beyond BFCM, running strategic seasonal campaigns throughout the year – spring launches, summer sales, back-to-school activewear pushes – ensuring revenue wasn’t just concentrated in Q4.

The Results: 5 Years of Consistent Growth

Email List Growth

Started: ~1,000 subscribers (2021)
Now: 70,501 subscribers (2026)
Growth: 70x increase

2024 Snapshot:

The email program continued its strong trajectory, with $2M in total business revenue and over $388K in Klaviyo attributed revenue.

Beyond the revenue numbers, engagement metrics remained exceptionally strong across the board.

Open rates above 51%, click-through rates reaching 11%, and revenue per recipient staying consistently high across all flows – proof that the segmentation and personalization strategies were delivering real results.

2025 Full-Year Performance Summary - Sustained Growth:

Key Metrics:

Total Revenue Generated (2025): $2.2M
Email Revenue Generated (2025): $285.9k
Open Rate: 52%+ (well above industry average)
Click Rate: 9%+
Average Order Value: $98 (which means on average email customers are buying 2+ items)

Note: 2025 revenue was impacted by email flows being accidentally turned off post-Black Friday from the previous account manager. Despite this, the program still delivered strong performance across engagement and AOV metrics.

Key Takeaways: What Made This Work

1. Long-term thinking beats short-term wins

We didn’t just optimize for the next campaign. We built a system that compounds over time – flows, segments, and content strategies that grow more valuable as the list grows.

2. Segmentation is everything

A 70K email list is worthless if you’re sending the same message to everyone. By segmenting based on behavior, we turned a large list into a profitable one.

3. Email isn’t just for promotions

The brands that win with email don’t just blast sales. They build community, tell stories, and position their products within a lifestyle. That’s what drives long-term engagement and repeat purchases.

4. Flows are your 24/7 revenue engine

Manual campaigns are great. But flows, when done right, work around the clock. Winback, browse abandonment, post-purchase… these are the systems that keep revenue flowing even when you’re not actively sending.

5. Consistency compounds

Six emails per month. Every month. For five years. That consistency, paired with strategic evolution, is what turns email into a revenue machine.

The Bottom Line

Over the past five years, we’ve helped this activewear brand grow their email list 70x, build a sophisticated segmentation and flow strategy, and generate well over 6-figures annually in email revenue.

More importantly, we helped them build a community around their brand – turning email into more than just a sales channel, but a key driver of customer loyalty and lifetime value.

If your brand is ready to stop treating email like an afterthought and start building a real retention engine, let’s talk about how we can deliver similar results for you.

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