Make one legitimate send work before migrating everything
Connect the right Shopify store, verify who is subscribed, and confirm your sender before building the first campaign. A successful connection isn't permission to market to every address that appears in the contact list.
This is an initial setup guide, checked against official information on September 14, 2026. It isn't an account of campaigns we've sent to customers. We cover a regular email campaign here; detailed welcome automation, segmentation, and domain authentication have separate guides.
Our suggested first milestone is deliberately concrete: the correct store is connected, the intended recipients are eligible, and one message displays and links correctly.
Inventory the account and the messages already running
Check for an existing Omnisend account before creating another one. Use the store's Shopify-managed myshopify.com address when connecting, not its custom domain. You can install through Shopify or connect through an existing Omnisend account. Shopify connection guide
The general connection guide lists a public store, at least three products, and a configured payment gateway among prerequisites. Check these before connecting a development or password-protected storefront. Store prerequisites
Our planning note would contain the store URL, account owner, current email provider, and active automated messages. Keep a record of any existing signup greeting or post-purchase email. Connecting a new tool shouldn't make customers receive two copies of the same message.
You don't need to replace every automation during initial setup. Confirm the first regular campaign, then handle existing workflows as a separate migration decision.
Connect Shopify and verify the data path
Installation and working tracking are separate checks. Use the official Shopify app listing, select the right store, and review the requested permissions. Use the existing-account path when appropriate.
Shopify 2.0 themes require enabling the Omnisend app embed and saving it. Check the connected-store entry in Omnisend and the installed app in Shopify. The guide allows up to 24 hours for a full historical sync. Connection and app embeds
Don't verify solely by a large contact count. Check the store name, a known product, and a contact's subscription status. If products belong to the wrong store, investigate the connection before creating a campaign.
Avoid repeated manual imports while an initial sync is still running. Distinguish delayed data from a failed connection, and contact support if the documented window passes without progress. Keep customer-level details in the appropriate private support and account channels.
Separate stored contacts from email subscribers
A purchase doesn't automatically establish marketing subscription. Shopify sync includes contacts who did not opt into promotional email. Keep their status rather than changing the whole imported list to subscribed. Shopify contact synchronization
| Status | Initial check |
|---|---|
| Subscribed | Verify email status and the signup source |
| Non-subscribed | Don't include a stored checkout address in a regular marketing campaign |
| Unsubscribed | Preserve the opt-out when migrating or importing |
Subscription status is channel-specific. Regular email campaigns go to email subscribers. Non-subscribed contacts · Campaign requirements
If the list contains 300 people, don't assume 300 eligible recipients. Check the source and status before choosing the audience. A mass invitation to subscribe isn't a substitute for establishing whether the promotional send is appropriate.
Check the sending allowance and sender identity
Have a recipient count, a monthly send count, and a verified sender. The Free plan provides up to 500 monthly emails to a maximum of 250 contacts, without a credit card. Five hundred emails doesn't mean five hundred recipients. Official pricing · Plan explanation
For example, two sends to the same 200 people use 400 emails before considering automated messages. This is a planning calculation, not your account balance. Check actual allowances and billable contacts in the account; use our pricing guide when deciding whether to upgrade.
Sender email verification and domain authentication are separate. Decide the displayed name, sending address, and reply address, including who receives replies. Sender configuration
For a first message, our recommendation is one useful announcement with one destination. A fictional homewares store could explain one use for a product and link to its live page. Check current price and stock information instead of copying stale text from a template.
Test the appearance, then a tightly limited real send
A preview isn't the same as a delivered campaign. The official workflow starts from Campaigns and Email Campaign, then covers sender details, content, recipients, and final review. A test email doesn't reproduce every recipient-specific behavior. Campaign creation guide
Our first-send checklist is practical:
- Read the product name, image, button, and unsubscribe notice on a phone.
- Open links to confirm the correct published destination.
- Check personalization when a name or other value is missing.
- Distinguish the limited test audience from the eventual marketing audience.
The help center also suggests a live campaign to a segment containing only your own address to inspect actual behavior. That is a real send: verify the restricted audience before approving it.
When scheduling, check the date, time, and time zone; afterward, inspect delivery status. Early clicks and orders may be too limited to support conclusions about sales impact. First establish that the message arrives and its destination works.
Troubleshoot the incomplete step
Separate connection, recipient, and sender problems. Broadening the audience won't fix an unverified sender or an incomplete store connection.
Why are there more contacts than in Shopify?
Other import sources and differences in synchronization can explain the counts. Review sources and subscription states before deleting records merely to make totals match. Contact sync explanation
Do I need AI send-time optimization on day one?
No. It isn't a connection prerequisite. The August update describes it as included with the current Pro plan and available as a Standard add-on. Decide on it separately from a Free-plan setup. August product update
What remains account-specific?
Your exact validation and sync completion time, consent records, applied price, and store configuration remain unverified here. Official instructions establish the process; your account supplies the final evidence that it worked.
Start with the Free plan and one checked campaign
Once the store, email subscribers, and sender are clear, use the Free plan to complete your first-send checks. Keep existing automation changes separate until their triggers and recipients are understood. A reliable starting point makes later welcome and post-purchase workflows easier to assess.
