Sales & Conversion
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
I was working on a complete website revamp for a Shopify e-commerce client when something unexpected happened. What started as a simple task—updating their abandoned cart emails to match new brand guidelines—turned into a discovery that doubled their email reply rates.
Most marketers obsess over the "perfect" confirmation message length. They A/B test subject lines, debate button colors, and follow templated best practices. But here's what I learned: the length of your confirmation message matters far less than making it feel human.
After accidentally breaking every email marketing "rule" and seeing incredible results, I realized we're approaching confirmation messages completely wrong. Instead of optimizing for brevity, we should optimize for connection.
Here's what you'll learn from my experiment:
Why longer, conversational confirmation messages often outperform short ones
The specific approach that turned transactional emails into customer service touchpoints
How addressing real customer pain points beats templated "best practices"
The counterintuitive strategy that increased both conversions and customer engagement
When to break the rules (and when to follow them)
This isn't another theory about email marketing optimization—it's what actually happened when I stopped following the playbook.
Industry Reality
What every email marketer has been taught
Walk into any email marketing course or read any "conversion optimization" blog, and you'll hear the same advice repeated like gospel:
"Keep confirmation messages short and sweet." The industry has convinced us that customers want minimal, functional communication. Here's what every expert recommends:
Brevity is king: "Get to the point quickly—customers don't want to read novels"
Template everything: Use proven email structures with clear headers, minimal copy, and prominent CTAs
Focus on the action: "Confirm your order," "Complete your purchase," "Try again"
Avoid personalization overload: Keep it professional and generic to maintain consistency
Don't add friction: Every word should drive toward one specific action
This conventional wisdom exists for a reason. Most confirmation emails are transactional—order confirmations, password resets, account updates. They serve a functional purpose, and customers expect efficiency.
The problem? This approach treats every confirmation message the same way. Whether it's a successful purchase or an abandoned cart, the industry defaults to the same minimalist, corporate template.
But here's where conventional wisdom falls short: when someone abandons their cart, they're not looking for efficiency—they're experiencing friction, doubt, or confusion. A robotic "You forgot something!" email doesn't address the human experience behind that abandoned session.
Most businesses miss this distinction entirely. They optimize for email deliverability and click-through rates while ignoring the opportunity to actually solve customer problems. The result? Generic emails that feel like everyone else's, fighting for attention in already-crowded inboxes.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
I was deep into a website revamp project for a Shopify client when the confirmation message question came up. They sold higher-priced items (think $200-500 range), and their abandoned cart recovery was... standard. Professional. Forgettable.
My original brief was simple: update their abandoned checkout emails to match the new brand colors and fonts. Classic templated approach—product grid, discount code, "COMPLETE YOUR ORDER NOW" button. It looked exactly like every other e-commerce store's abandoned cart email.
But as I opened their old template, something felt off. This was exactly what every other e-commerce store was sending. In a world where customers receive dozens of similar emails daily, we were adding to the noise, not cutting through it.
Instead of just updating colors, I found myself questioning the entire approach. Why were we treating cart abandonment like a simple "forgot to complete" issue when the reality is much more complex?
Through conversations with the client, I discovered a critical pain point their data revealed: customers were struggling with payment validation, especially with double authentication requirements. Many abandonment weren't about price or hesitation—they were about technical friction during checkout.
The existing email completely ignored this reality. It assumed people simply "forgot" to complete their purchase, when many had actually tried and failed due to payment processing issues.
This disconnect between the email message and the actual customer experience was the real problem. We weren't just fighting against other abandoned cart emails—we were fighting against customer frustration with a message that didn't acknowledge their actual experience.
That's when I decided to throw the "best practices" playbook out the window and try something completely different.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of following the standard abandoned cart email template, I completely reimagined the approach. Here's exactly what I did:
Step 1: Changed the entire format from corporate template to personal note
I ditched the traditional e-commerce template entirely. No product grids, no corporate headers, no "COMPLETE YOUR ORDER" buttons. Instead, I created a newsletter-style design that felt like a personal note from the business owner.
Step 2: Rewrote everything in first person
The subject line went from "You forgot something!" to "You had started your order..." More importantly, the entire email was written as if the business owner was personally reaching out. It felt human, not automated.
Step 3: Addressed the real problem directly
Instead of ignoring checkout friction, I added a troubleshooting section that acknowledged common payment issues. The key addition was a simple 3-point list:
Payment authentication timing out? Try again with your bank app already open
Card declined? Double-check your billing ZIP code matches exactly
Still having issues? Just reply to this email—I'll help you personally
Step 4: Made it conversational, not sales-focused
The tone shifted from "Please complete your purchase" to "I noticed you started an order and wanted to make sure everything was working okay." It became a customer service touchpoint, not just a sales recovery tool.
Step 5: Included a genuine offer to help
The most important change: "Just reply to this email—I'll help you personally." This wasn't hidden in fine print—it was prominently featured as a real solution.
The message ended up being about 3x longer than the original template. By conventional standards, it should have performed worse. Instead, something unexpected happened.
Customers started replying to the email. Not just clicking through—actually responding with questions, sharing their specific checkout issues, and asking for help. Some completed purchases after getting personalized assistance. Others shared feedback that helped improve the checkout process for everyone.
The confirmation message had transformed from a transaction recovery tool into a customer relationship builder.
Conversation Starter
The email became a two-way conversation, not a one-way sales pitch
Personal Touch
Written in first person as if from the business owner directly
Problem Solving
Addressed real checkout friction instead of assuming simple forgetfulness
Reply-Friendly
Encouraged responses and offered genuine help rather than just pushing completion
The results went beyond just recovered carts. Here's what actually happened:
Customer Engagement Transformed: Instead of standard 2-3% click-through rates, we saw 15-20% reply rates. Customers were actually responding to the emails, creating genuine conversations.
Conversion Improved, But Not How Expected: Some customers completed purchases after getting personalized help with payment issues. Others provided feedback that led to checkout improvements benefiting all future customers.
Customer Service Integration: The email became a customer service touchpoint. Support tickets decreased because customers could get help directly through email reply.
Unexpected Business Intelligence: Customer replies revealed specific pain points in the checkout process that data alone hadn't identified—like which banks' authentication systems caused the most issues.
The most surprising result: customers thanked us for the email. Instead of feeling pressured to complete a purchase, they felt supported through a frustrating experience. This shift from transaction-focused to relationship-focused communication changed how customers perceived the brand entirely.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons learned from breaking the "short confirmation message" rule:
Context beats length: A longer message that addresses real problems will always outperform a short message that ignores customer reality
Conversation trumps conversion: Sometimes the best way to recover a sale is to start a conversation, not push for immediate completion
Human beats template: Personal, first-person communication stands out in a world of automated corporate messages
Address friction directly: If customers are experiencing problems, acknowledge them rather than pretending they don't exist
Make replies welcome: Most confirmation emails are designed to prevent responses. Making responses easy and welcomed can transform customer relationships
Test against your assumptions: The "best practices" that work for Amazon might not work for your unique customer base and product mix
Customer service is marketing: Helpful communication can be more effective than persuasive communication
The biggest takeaway: in a world of templated, automated communications, being human is your competitive advantage. Sometimes the best strategy is being the brand that actually helps instead of just sells.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS applications:
Address specific technical issues users face during trial signup
Offer personal onboarding help through email replies
Write confirmation emails from your founder's perspective
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores:
Include troubleshooting for common checkout issues
Make abandoned cart emails feel like customer service, not sales pressure
Encourage email replies to build customer relationships