In this episode of WP Legends, we sit down with Greg Zakowitz, a veteran in eCommerce, email, and SMS marketing, best known for his work at Omnisend. With over 20 years of marketing leadership and a decade specializing in email marketing, Greg has helped hundreds of brands scale through smart automation, storytelling, and customer-centric strategies.
From his early days in radio broadcasting to becoming a recognized voice in eCommerce, Greg shares how he’s built with empathy, execution, and insight, and where he sees the future of marketing in an AI-driven world.
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From Radio Broadcasting to Email Marketing Expert
Greg’s journey began in radio, where he studied broadcasting before transitioning into marketing. A role at a radio promotions company unexpectedly introduced him to email marketing, collecting emails at events, segmenting lists, and selling products online.
That hands-on learning sparked his passion, leading him into full-time email marketing at a publishing company, where he honed strategies through trial, error, and experimentation.
Joining Omnisend and Driving Growth
Today, Greg works as a Retail and eCommerce Advisor at Omnisend, where he’s been for over five years. He’s helped shape strategies for thousands of merchants, sending billions of emails annually and guiding brands through automation, SMS adoption, and personalized campaigns.
Omnisend stands out as a global marketing automation platform with deep integrations across Shopify, WooCommerce, and WordPress, making it a favorite for DTC brands and agencies alike.
Email Marketing in the AI Era
Despite new channels and trends, Greg believes email is more important than ever. With 26 billion emails sent in 2023 alone, he highlights how email remains the first step in the shopping journey, especially during major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Discussing Agentic AI, Greg explains how AI-powered shopping assistants may change discovery, retargeting, and consumer journeys. He argues this shift could make email the most reliable direct line of communication with customers in a fragmented marketing world.
SMS, Automation and Beyond
Alongside email, Greg emphasizes the growing importance of SMS marketing as a complement to automation. He points out that success comes from essential workflows like:
- Welcome series
- Cart abandonment
- Browse abandonment
These automations consistently drive revenue while freeing up time for brands to focus on growth.
Competing in a Fragmented Market
Greg also shares insights into how Omnisend compares with competitors like Brevo, Klaviyo, and Mailchimp. He notes Omnisend’s strengths in pricing, ease of migration, deep eCommerce integrations, and customer-first approach, all built without external investors.
The company listens closely to its users, shaping the platform based on feedback and making complex automations accessible even to small teams and solo founders.
Lessons and Looking Ahead
Reflecting on his career, Greg underscores the need for empathy-driven marketing, constant adaptation, and focusing on long-term customer relationships.
As AI, SMS, WhatsApp, and multi-channel commerce evolve, he sees Omnisend continuing to empower merchants with tools that combine automation, personalization, and ease of use.
For Greg, the core principle remains the same: great marketing is about building meaningful connections at scale.
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