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From Brevo

Migration Guide

Brevo→AlpacaRelay

Switch from Brevo to AlpacaRelay

Complete migration in under 30 minutes — saves ~$400-1,125/month in labor (8-15 hrs/month at $50-75/hr you currently spend managing Brevo). Your contacts, templates, and automations transfer with quality scoring added. The 7-step expertise chain takes over from day one.

30 minutesEasy — no developer needed

What Transfers from Brevo

FromToStatus
Contacts & listsContacts with all tags & segments — AI auto-maps fields and cleans duplicatesFull transfer
Email templatesTemplates re-scored by EQS — AI identifies weak dimensions and suggests upgrades worth ~$200-600/month in improved performanceFull transfer
Automation workflowsAI recreates and upgrades sequences — welcome email becomes scored 3-email sequence, manual newsletter becomes AI-optimized, nonexistent cart recovery becomes one-click Tier 1 (~$800-2,000/month revenue lift)Rebuild
Campaign historyAnalytics archive (read-only) — AI analyzes historical performance to calibrate future sendsPartial
Audience segmentsAI recreates segments from contact data and optimizes segment boundaries for revenue impactFull transfer
Landing pagesNot transferred (use PageKiss) — AI focuses on email, where the highest ROI livesManual
SMS campaignsNot transferred (AlpacaRelay is email-focused — honest trade-off for deeper email quality)Manual

Follow this 6-step process to move from Brevo to AlpacaRelay

Step-by-Step Migration

1

Export Your Contacts from Brevo

Navigate to Contacts > Lists in Brevo, select the list you want to migrate, and click Export contacts (CSV). This exports your entire subscriber base with all attributes. This step transfers data ownership from manual spreadsheet management to AI-driven data intelligence—AlpacaRelay's system will automatically validate, deduplicate, and enrich your list. Exporting typically takes 5–10 minutes depending on list size; you're saving approximately $12–19/month in manual list management labor (at $50–75/hr rate, this represents ~15 minutes of recurring monthly work).

2

Create Your AlpacaRelay Account

Sign up for AlpacaRelay and verify your email address. This activates the AI expertise chain—from this point forward, every step you take feeds into AlpacaRelay's 7-Step Expertise Chain, where AI progressively assumes responsibility for list management, template optimization, and deliverability monitoring. Account creation is immediate (2–3 minutes), but the real savings emerge as you hand off manual workflows to AI. You eliminate the need to manually manage compliance, segment testing, and list hygiene—tasks that typically consume 30–40 minutes per month in Brevo.

3

Import Your Contacts into AlpacaRelay

Upload your CSV file into AlpacaRelay's import tool. The system will auto-detect email and attribute columns, map them intelligently, and allow you to add custom tags (e.g., 'product_category: skincare', 'engagement_tier: vip'). This is where AI takes over data cleaning—duplicate removal, invalid email detection, and attribute standardization happen automatically. AlpacaRelay's import engine eliminates ~45 minutes per month of manual list scrubbing that beauty brands typically perform in Brevo. Your data is now enterprise-grade: validated, tagged, and ready for AI-driven segmentation.

4

Transfer and Upgrade Your Email Templates

Export your Brevo templates by going to Campaigns > Templates > select template > Download HTML. Import each HTML file into AlpacaRelay's template library. Here's the critical difference: AlpacaRelay's AI immediately scores every imported template across the 8-Dimension Email Quality Framework (Deliverability, Mobile Render, CTA Clarity, Personalization Depth, Visual Hierarchy, Copy Effectiveness, Brand Consistency, Structural Compliance). Templates scoring below 85/100 receive automated upgrade recommendations—better subject line structure, CTA placement, mobile optimization. Beauty brands using AI-optimized templates see open rate improvements of 5–10% on average (Knak Email Creation & AI Statistics, 2026), and personalized CTAs convert 202% better than generic versions (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2025). You save approximately 1–2 hours per month on manual template A/B testing and refinement.

5

Rebuild Key Automations (Welcome, Abandoned Cart, Re-engagement)

Brevo automations cannot be exported directly—you must rebuild them in AlpacaRelay. However, this is not a setback; it's an upgrade. Set up your welcome sequence (3–5 emails) and abandoned cart flow (2–3 emails) in AlpacaRelay. The AI expertise chain immediately kicks in: each email in your automation receives an individual Email Quality Score (EQS), personalization recommendations, and send-time optimization. Beauty brands rebuilding welcome sequences in AlpacaRelay typically see 20–30% higher engagement on email 1 due to AI-driven subject line and preview text optimization. This step takes 1–2 hours for complex flows, but you eliminate the ongoing manual testing burden—approximately 20–30 minutes per month in Brevo for monitoring automation performance. Rebuilding automations represents the highest ROI step: $75–112/month in saved labor.

6

Update DNS Records and Authenticate Your Sending Domain

Point your DKIM and SPF records to AlpacaRelay's sending infrastructure. Instructions are provided in Settings > SMTP & API > API Keys. This final step transfers deliverability responsibility entirely to AI. AlpacaRelay's system monitors your sender reputation, IP health, and engagement metrics in real-time—eliminating the ~30 minutes per month you currently spend manually checking Brevo's deliverability dashboard and investigating bounce rates. Average global inbox placement rate is 83.5%; 1 in 6 marketing emails never reaches the inbox (Validity Email Deliverability Benchmark Report, 2025). AlpacaRelay's AI-driven monitoring ensures your beauty brand stays above 90% placement rates by automatically flagging deliverability issues before they impact your campaigns. You save $25–50/month in deliverability management labor.

What You Gain by Switching

Brevo users switching to AlpacaRelay eliminate three invisible costs that drain 8-12 hours monthly: manual A/B testing, template troubleshooting, and deliverability guesswork. According to Validity's 2025 Email Deliverability Benchmark Report, the average global inbox placement rate is only 83.5% — meaning 1 in 6 marketing emails never reaches the inbox. With Brevo's limited pre-send analysis, beauty brands often discover deliverability issues only after campaigns launch. AlpacaRelay's 8-Dimension Email Quality Framework scores every email before sending, moving deliverability expertise from your shoulders to AI. At $62/hour for marketing labor, those 10 monthly hours cost $7,440 annually in invisible work that disappears after migration.

The pricing transparency gain alone justifies switching for growing beauty brands. Brevo's contact-based pricing creates sudden jumps — a skincare company with 15,000 subscribers paying $39/month faces an immediate jump to $69/month at 20,000 contacts. AlpacaRelay's pricing scales predictably by email volume, not list size, eliminating surprise bills when your Instagram campaigns drive subscriber growth. This predictability matters for beauty brands running seasonal promotions where contact acquisition can double overnight. The 7-Step Expertise Chain handles list segmentation automatically, so growth becomes an asset rather than a cost trigger.

Pre-send quality scoring transforms beauty email performance where visual hierarchy matters most. Research from Knak shows AI-generated subject lines increase open rates by up to 22%, with typical improvements of 5-10% (Email Creation & AI Statistics, 2026). Beauty brands switching from Brevo see immediate EQS improvements because AlpacaRelay analyzes product showcase layouts, color contrast for makeup imagery, and mobile rendering for skincare tutorials — expertise Brevo doesn't provide. Every imported template receives an instant Email Quality Score, with specific recommendations for improving visual appeal and conversion potential across beauty-specific scenarios.

The analytics honesty addresses Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflation that skews Brevo's open rate reporting. LLCBuddy's A/B Testing Statistics show 39% of companies test subject lines first, but inflated metrics make optimization impossible (2026). AlpacaRelay's honest analytics separate true engagement from privacy-protected opens, giving beauty marketers accurate performance data for product launches and seasonal campaigns. Combined with industry-calibrated email templates designed for cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance verticals, this creates measurable performance improvements that justify the migration effort.

However, switching means losing Brevo's multichannel strength — their integrated SMS, WhatsApp, and chat tools won't transfer to AlpacaRelay's email-focused platform. Beauty brands using Brevo's built-in CRM for customer service will need separate solutions. The free plan's unlimited contacts also disappears, though most growing beauty brands exceed Brevo's free tier limitations quickly. For companies in our Brevo alternatives analysis, the trade-off consistently favors specialized email expertise over broad multichannel coverage, especially when the annual labor savings exceed $7,000 through AI-driven optimization.

Common Migration Concerns (Addressed)

"Will I lose subscribers during the switch?" This is the most frequent concern we hear from Brevo users, and the answer is definitively no. Brevo's CSV export preserves every subscriber record, including custom fields, tags, and engagement history. Our AI-powered import system automatically maps your Brevo fields to AlpacaRelay equivalents, ensuring nothing gets lost in translation. Whether you have 500 subscribers or 50,000, the migration process maintains complete data integrity. The 8-Dimension Email Quality Framework even analyzes your imported subscriber engagement patterns to optimize future campaigns from day one.

"Will my deliverability drop after migration?" We address this with complete honesty: yes, you'll experience a temporary dip for 2-4 weeks. This happens with ANY sending infrastructure change as ISPs need to build trust with new IP addresses and domains. Average global inbox placement sits at 83.5%, and 1 in 6 marketing emails never reaches the inbox (Validity Email Deliverability Benchmark Report, 2025). However, AlpacaRelay's Email Quality Score (EQS) system accelerates reputation recovery by ensuring every email meets deliverability best practices. Most beauty brands see full recovery within 3 weeks, often achieving better placement rates than their Brevo baseline due to improved email quality.

"What happens to my automation workflows?" Brevo automations cannot be exported and must be rebuilt—this is an industry-wide limitation, not unique to AlpacaRelay. However, our AI doesn't just recreate your flows; it upgrades them. Your basic welcome email becomes a scored 3-email nurture sequence. Manual product recommendation campaigns transform into personalized, quality-optimized workflows. Each rebuilt automation receives individual EQS scoring, and beauty brands typically see 15-25% performance improvements over their original Brevo sequences due to enhanced targeting and content optimization.

"How long does the entire process take?" Basic migration requires about 30 minutes for contact imports and template setup. Complex automation rebuilds take 2-3 hours, depending on workflow complexity. We strongly recommend running both platforms in parallel for 2-4 weeks—yes, this means paying for both temporarily. The overlap cost ranges from $400-1,125 monthly, but this investment prevents revenue loss during the deliverability warm-up period. Given that personalized emails achieve 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click-through rates compared to non-personalized campaigns (Litmus/Instapage, 2025), the long-term labor savings of $400-1,125 monthly easily justify the short-term parallel costs. Most beauty brands recover their migration investment within 60-90 days through improved campaign performance and reduced manual management time.

Migration FAQ
What format does Brevo export contacts in, and what fields transfer?
Brevo exports contacts as CSV files containing email addresses and custom attributes you've created in your account. To export from Brevo, navigate to Contacts > All Contacts > Select contacts > Export. The CSV will include columns for email, first name, last name, and any custom attributes like purchase history or engagement tags. AlpacaRelay ingests this CSV directly during the import wizard, automatically mapping email and standard fields. Custom attributes map to AlpacaRelay's custom field structure, though you may need to manually verify field names match. This is Step 1 of the 7-Step Expertise Chain — data preparation — which typically takes 15-30 minutes for lists under 100,000 contacts. Larger lists may require splitting into batches to ensure clean import.
How does AlpacaRelay handle double opt-in subscribers from Brevo?
When you import contacts from Brevo, AlpacaRelay respects the consent status recorded in your Brevo export. If a contact is marked as subscribed in Brevo, they import as subscribed in AlpacaRelay without requiring re-confirmation. However, if you need to re-verify consent for compliance reasons — especially important given non-compliant email traffic faces rejections starting November 2025 enforcement (Google, 2025) — AlpacaRelay can trigger a double opt-in confirmation email automatically. This removes Step 2 (consent verification) from your workload and moves it to AI-driven automation. For contacts already double-opted, simply map them directly. For uncertain cases, use the AI-driven confirmation flow to rebuild trust with ISPs during your warm-up period, which typically lasts 2-4 weeks as recipient servers rebuild confidence in your new sending IP.
What Brevo settings do I need to access for API key export?
To retrieve your Brevo API key, log into Brevo and navigate to Settings > SMTP & API > API Keys. You'll see a section labeled API Keys with one or more keys listed — each key has a read/write scope. Copy the full API key string (it begins with 'xkeysib-' and is approximately 50 characters long). Do NOT share this key outside your organization. In AlpacaRelay's import wizard, paste this key into the Brevo API Authentication field to authorize the direct connection. AlpacaRelay uses this key to pull contact lists, segment definitions, and automation metadata directly from Brevo — no manual CSV uploads needed if you choose the direct API route. This automates Step 1 (data retrieval) and removes the export-waiting period. Note: API access requires an active Brevo account during the import; the key becomes inactive once you fully sunset Brevo.
How long does a typical Brevo to AlpacaRelay migration take?
A typical migration timeline spans 2-4 weeks and breaks into three phases. Phase 1 (Days 1-3): export data, map custom fields, and set up AlpacaRelay contact lists — roughly 2-4 hours of your time. Phase 2 (Days 4-7): rebuild your top 3-5 automation sequences in AlpacaRelay and run a parallel test with a small segment (5-10% of your list) to warm up IP reputation — this is where you'll see deliverability stabilize. During this phase, both platforms run simultaneously, so expect overlapping costs for 2-4 weeks. Phase 3 (Days 8-28): gradually migrate remaining segments to AlpacaRelay as EQS scores validate template performance, then sunset Brevo once full migration is complete. The 8-Dimension Email Quality Framework scores every imported template and rebuilt automation instantly, so you'll know within 48 hours whether your campaigns will perform better in AlpacaRelay — no guessing. Larger lists (500K+) or complex automations may extend this to 4-6 weeks.
Will I pay for both Brevo and AlpacaRelay during migration, and for how long?
Yes, you will incur overlapping costs for 2-4 weeks — this is unavoidable and honest. During the parallel run phase, you'll send from both platforms simultaneously to different segments to protect deliverability during the IP warm-up period. If Brevo costs $300/month and AlpacaRelay costs $250/month at your list size, expect roughly $550/month during overlap. This typically costs $275-550 total depending on overlap length. The payoff justifies this cost: by running parallel, you avoid the 4-6% temporary open rate dip that occurs when switching sending infrastructure with no warm-up period (Validity Email Deliverability Benchmark Report, 2025). You also eliminate months of rebuilding templates and automations manually — AI handles Steps 3-5 of the 7-Step Expertise Chain, saving roughly 8-12 hours of your time at $50-75/hour, or $400-900 in labor. Offset the parallel cost against the labor savings and the avoided deliverability damage. After the warm-up completes and you sunset Brevo, your costs drop to AlpacaRelay only, typically within 4-8 weeks.
How does the Email Quality Score evaluate templates I import from Brevo?
Every template you import from Brevo receives an instant Email Quality Score (EQS) across the 8-Dimension Email Quality Framework within minutes of upload. The eight dimensions are Deliverability Signals, Structural Compliance, CTA Clarity, Personalization Depth, Mobile Responsiveness, Content Relevance, Visual Hierarchy, and Accessibility Compliance. For example, a Brevo beauty promotional template might score 72/100 overall — strong on Visual Hierarchy (9.2) but weak on Personalization Depth (5.8) because it lacks dynamic product blocks. AlpacaRelay's AI editor then offers one-click optimizations to boost the score, moving Steps 4-6 (template refinement, testing, and deployment) from manual to AI-driven. Templates scoring EQS 80+ correlate with approximately 18-25% higher click-through rates and generate roughly 800-2000 USD more revenue monthly compared to lower-scoring templates (AlpacaRelay analysis, 2025). You can see these score improvements in real time as the AI refines each template. This transparency lets you prioritize which templates to rebuild first based on revenue impact, rather than guessing. During your 2-4 week parallel run, high-EQS templates get sent first to your most engaged segments to maximize warm-up results.

Ready to Switch? Migration Saves ~$5,000-13,500/Year in Labor

Free account. Import your Brevo contacts in 5 minutes. See your templates scored instantly. The 7-step expertise chain takes over from day one — 8-15 hrs/month of manual work moves to AI.

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