Most course creators I work with fall into one of two camps: either they don’t have an abandoned cart flow at all or they technically do — but it’s just the default email their platform sends. The one that says something along the lines of “Looks like you left something behind” and includes a link back to checkout.

That default email is better than nothing, but it barely scratches the surface.

So, if you're looking for a way to increase conversions, abandoned cart emails might just be a good start. You'll learn more in this blog post.

Abandoned cart does not necessarily mean “not interested.”

In many cases, it means interrupted.

Think about your buying behavior: doesn't life get in the way? Maybe a meeting that starts a kid/dog/cat that needs attention.

Maybe someone opens your checkout on their phone while waiting in line to get coffee and plans to “finish later.” This alone accounts for a meaningful percentage of abandoned carts, which is why even a simple reminder converts.

But distraction isn’t the only reason.

Sometimes people get confused. Maybe the checkout feels like a bigger commitment than they expected, maybe they’re missing information they need to feel confident or maybe they want to compare options — either inside your ecosystem or outside of it.

And other times, a real objection pops up right at the moment of purchase.

• Will I actually have time for this?
• Is this really for someone at my level?
• What if I buy it and don’t follow through?

None of these thoughts mean “no.", they mean not yet and abandoned cart emails exist to hold that space.

In ecommerce, abandoned cart flows are standard.

Everyone expects them. People abandon carts all the time because they’re browsing, comparing, or price-checking, but courses are different.

Buying a course is a psychological commitment. You’re not just buying content, you’re buying into a version of yourself who follows through. That’s a harder decision, and harder decisions create more hesitation, which is exactly why follow-up matters.

If someone made it all the way to your checkout, they were interested enough to imagine themselves on the other side of your offer. Abandoned cart emails allow you to continue that conversation, rather than letting it die in silence.

Abandoned cart emails for courses are rare — and I get why

If you go looking for abandoned cart email examples specifically for courses, you’ll notice something fast: there isn’t much out there. Even Teachable’s own content about abandoned cart emails tends to lean on ecommerce-style examples (physical products, coupon codes, “you left something behind”). 

As a course creator you probably think:

• “I can’t use inventory as urgency. My course isn’t going to sell out.”
• “I can’t offer free shipping.”
• “And I don’t want to throw a discount at the problem just to get the sale.”

Yes. All valid.

But here’s the shift: cart recovery emails aren’t about inventing incentives, they’re about removing friction. They work because someone who reached checkout is already in a high-intent moment—and your job is to help them finish a decision that got interrupted, confused, or emotionally heavier than expected.

Klaviyo’s benchmark data consistently shows abandoned cart flows as some of the highest-performing automations in terms of conversion and revenue per recipient. In their 2024 abandoned cart benchmark report, they report abandoned cart flows have the highest average revenue per recipient and a high placed order rate compared to other flows. 

How is the email address collected?

For abandoned cart emails to work, you need an email address before the purchase is completed.

There are a few common ways course creators collect it, and you’ll usually use more than one:

• The most direct way is the checkout itself. Most course platforms (including Teachable) can capture an email when someone starts checkout or enters their details, then trigger an abandoned cart email if they don’t finish. 
• You can also capture emails earlier in the funnel—through a lead magnet, webinar registration, waitlist, or quiz—so even if someone abandons checkout, you’re not starting from zero. This is especially helpful for course creators because it gives you more context: you know what they opted in for, what they were interested in, and what problem they’re trying to solve.

And there’s a very practical bonus here: even if they don’t buy from the abandoned cart emails, you now know they showed buying intent. That’s valuable segmentation for future promos. 

How many abandoned cart emails should you send (and why)?

Most creators either send one email (the default) or avoid the sequence entirely because they don’t want to annoy people, but the data points to a simple middle ground: 2–3 messages is usually the sweet spot.

Klaviyo’s guidance, based on their ecommerce customer research and benchmarking, is that sending 2–3 abandoned cart messages tends to lead to optimal performance. 

Why does that work so well?

Because those emails don’t all do the same job.

• The first message mainly catches the distracted people—the “I’ll finish later” crowd.
• The second message tends to do the real conversion work—clarifying the offer, answering the quiet objection that showed up at checkout, rebuilding confidence.
• And the third message is optional, but it can help when the hesitation is emotional: fear of wasting money, fear of not following through, uncertainty about fit.

The point isn’t volume, but coverage: different people abandon for different reasons, and one email can’t realistically solve all of them.

Will this really work?

The data suggests, yes, but in practice, you'll have to put it to the test. There are multiple variables that influence whether a cart recovery flow converts or not, and most of them have nothing to do with discounts or urgency.

• Message frequency matters: some audiences respond better to two emails. Others need three. Too few and you miss people. Too many and you create resistance.
• Send time matters: An email sent two hours after abandonment might catch someone while the intent is still fresh. An email sent the next morning might land when they’re calmer and more receptive.
• The delay between messages matters: Space them too close and it feels pushy. Space them too far apart and the momentum is gone.
• Subject lines matter: They need to sound interesting enough, but keep the intent clear. Whenever the SL goes into curiosity, open rate increases, but conversion rate doesn't.
• Copy matters. This is where most flows fall apart. If the email only repeats “complete your purchase,” it assumes motivation was the problem. Often, it wasn’t.
• Images can matter too, especially if they help re-anchor the outcome or reduce uncertainty.

And then there’s the bigger picture: your traffic source, your price point, your audience’s level of problem awareness, and how well your sales page did its job in the first place.

That’s why it's best to treat abandoned cart flows as experiments.

You make a hypothesis.

You test it.

You learn.

You adjust.

Over time, those small improvements stack up in recovered revenue, in understanding how your audience actually thinks when they’re this close to buying.

If you’re a course creator reading this and thinking, “We don’t have this in place,” or “Our abandoned cart emails feel generic and disconnected from how we actually sell,” you don’t have to figure it out alone.

I work with course creators as a strategist, conversion copywriter, and business coach, helping them design funnels and email flows that reflect how people really think and buy — including abandoned cart, post-purchase, and long-term retention flows.

If you’d like help reviewing your current setup or building a cart recovery flow that fits your audience and your values, feel free to reach out. I’m just one message away.