How to test consumer data deliverability and engagement

Poor email deliverability creates an invisible wall between you and your customers. We see this scenario play out too often: → A marketing team creates amazing content → The brand sends it out → Emails go to spam or bounce → Sales opportunities vanish That’s why you *must* make email deliverability your top priority. Here’s how: ↓ 1. Track key metrics daily Leverage your ESP to monitor: → Unsubscribe rates → Bounces → Domain health When numbers spike, find out why— Was it a specific campaign? A particular segment? Pinpoint the issue and fix it. 2. Segment strategically Ditch the “one size fits all” approach— Break your list into targeted groups: → New subscribers → Frequent buyers → People who browse but don’t buy → Fans of certain products → Engagement tracks based on varying levels of engagement …then write emails that fit each one. A skincare brand we work with split their list by skin type— Oily skin folks got different product recs than dry skin types… …and opens jumped 25% in just one month. 3. Keep your list clean Get rid of… → People who never open emails → Emails that bounce → Inactive contacts A small, engaged list beats a big, quiet one— This helps you avoid the dreaded Gmail promotions tab (once you get in, it’s hard to get out!). 4. Make it personal Use what you know about each subscriber to… → Recommend products they’ll like → Send emails when they’re likely to read → Create content based on their likes and needs Make your emails feel like they’re just for them. These elements work together: → Segmentation boosts relevance → Monitoring catches issues early → A clean list helps emails get through → Personal touches keep people reading The goal isn't more emails— It’s *better* emails that actually get in the hands of consumers when they are most likely to buy Quality content + the right consumers + engaged readers… …that's the formula for turning emails into revenue.

Klaviyo Deliverability Cheat Sheet For 7-8 Figure DTC Brands: Most eComm brands don’t have an email content problem, they have an inbox placement problem. Fixing it unlocks higher open rates, better click-throughs, and more predictable revenue. This cheat sheet breaks down the exact deliverability framework we implement for clients doing $1M-$20M/year in revenue. 1. Email Authentication Setup ✅ The foundation of deliverability. You need to: 👉 Set up a dedicated sending domain 👉 Add SPF + DKIM to DNS 👉 Add a DMARC record 👉 Never send from free email addresses (eg. Gmail, Yahoo) 👉 Test your setup using tools like MXToolbox or GlockApps 2. 4-Week Klaviyo Warm-Up Plan 🔥 When launching or resetting a Klaviyo account, avoid blasting your whole list. Start only with your most engaged subscribers and scale gradually: 👉 Week 1: Activate high-engagement flows 👉 Week 2: Send campaigns to highly-engaged segments (1-2 per week) 👉 Week 3: Gradually increase volume & frequency if metrics look healthy 👉 Week 4: Scale campaign segments and build out remainder core flows 3. Segmentation for Inbox Placement 🧠 Stop sending to your whole list. Use these filters instead: 👉 Opened in last 30-90 days 👉 Clicked in last 60 days 👉 Recent purchasers And sunset cold leads automatically. 4. Deliverability Definitions That Actually Matter 📊 Know your numbers: 👉 Open Rate 👉 Click Rate 👉 Bounce Rate 👉 Unsubscribe Rate 👉 Spam Complaint Rate 5. Metrics to Monitor 📈 Benchmarks we use to assess account health: 👉 Open rate: >33% 👉 Bounce rate: <1% 👉 Spam complaint rate: <0.01% 👉 Unsubscribe rate: <0.3% 👉 Click rate: >1% Most brands only think about deliverability when it’s already costing them tens of thousands. The ones scaling past $10M? They build it in before it's a problem. Follow me for more retention systems, Klaviyo strategy, and real-world breakdowns that actually drive revenue. P.S: Get our free Popup & Flows Playbook - https://lnkd.in/gxBJA8MC

Deliverability will make or break your email marketing. Yet, most brands don't monitor it. Here's our DAM framework to save emails from spam: D - Diagnose: 1. Identify email domains with the worst reputation  ⤷ Inbox placement tests - GlockApps & Gmass 2. Check your sending infrastructure  ⤷ DMARC, DKIM & SPF records - EasyDMARC ⤷ Dedicated sending domain setup 3. Run blacklist checks ⤷ MXToolbox, GlockApps & MultiRBL 4. Sound segmentation strategy ⤷ Inclusion segment definitions ⤷ Exclusion segment definitions 5. List hygiene ⤷ How often are you removing unengaged contacts? A - Action: 1. Setup your dedicated sending domain  ⤷ Unique to each ESP (e.g. Klaviyo, Sendlane, Yotpo, etc.) 2. Established correct sending infrastructure ⤷ Unique to each DNS provider (e.g. GoDaddy, NameCheap, etc.) 3. Create & update inclusion segment definitions ⤷ Ensure correct engagement filters are being used 4. Create & update exclusion segment definitions ⤷ Ensure correct emails are being excluded 6. List scrubbing ⤷ Setup re-engagement flows ⤷ Suppress unengaged profiles ⤷ Run list through cleaning tool (e.g. MillionVerifier) 7. Reach out to blacklists ⤷ Submit a request for removal ⤷ If needed, email detailing steps taken to improve sending practices M - Monitor: The work doesn’t stop there. Deliverability is a never-ending game. Ideally, once a month you should: - Run an inbox placement test - Monitor blacklists  - Review deliverability on campaigns  - Review positive & negative engagement metrics for anomalies Then once a quarter you should scrub your list of unengaged contacts. A drop in deliverability can crush your brand. It’s the dark horse of email marketing and something that should never be overlooked. P.S. Want a free deliverability audit to save your emails from spam and generate more revenue? Send me a DM.

"Our open & click rates are way down... how do I figure out what is happening?" I used to get this message a couple times a month.  Post gmail and yahoo deliverability updates I get it about once a week. To get the right answers, you need to ask the right questions. So I put together this checklist to help you take back control of your program. 1. Is the issue universal or specific to a domain?  Break down your open and clicks report by domain. Often you'll find that a set of domains have lower engagement metrics than the others... maybe you'll find that those engagement metrics went off a cliff recently. 2. What are your spam complaint rates in google postmaster tools?  Yes, check your spam rates in Klaviyo… but the only source of truth for gmail is google postmaster tools. You’d be surprised by how often the two metrics don’t line up. If you’ve spiked above .3% spam complaint rates or you’re consistently above .1%, check your engagement metrics for gmail. There’s a chance a sizable percentage of your sends are landing in spam. 3. Is it a reputation issue or a content issue? Content is the other side of the deliverability coin. When you use inbox placement tools you can test whether the template and modules your sending are getting flagged as spam or busting their way through to the primary box. Engagement rates can dip because of a subtle change you made… or a subtle change to the inbox placement algorithms. The only way to know is to test. Bonus: Are you using retention.com or emailing users who are not opted in? There is a different level of deliverability risk in sourcing emails through third parties and sending to users who did not provide expressed consent. Know the risk you’re taking, and if you’re going to take it, do it intelligently by regularly cleaning your list. This audience can grow to be a large percentage of your targeting. Over time they will often engage at a lower rate than subscribers with expressed consent. Jimmy Kim recently coined 2024 as the year of email deliverability and he's right. Deliverability is not a box to check it is a series of metrics to monitor and optimize. If you're sending emails that don't land and you're seeing your engagement slip, all you're doing is losing ground on speeding treadmill. Put your detective hat on and follow these steps to get those numbers back in shape.

My agency sends thousands of eCommerce emails every month. 98% of them land in the primary inbox. Here's how we fix deliverability in 12 steps: STEP 1: Run a deliverability audit Use Glock Apps to scan your emails for spam flags and blacklisting issues. This shows you exactly what's broken. STEP 2: Clean your list Create an "Unengaged" segment in Klaviyo and stop sending to dead weight. STEP 3: Set up a branded sending domain Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. This authenticates your emails and builds trust with providers. STEP 4: Create engagement segments Build segments for: - 60-day engaged (opened/clicked recently) - Do Not Send (unengaged + bounced) - Recent purchasers (exclude from promos) And only email engaged subscribers. STEP 5: Fix your content ratio Stop selling in every email. A good ratio: - 30% sales (launches, promos) - 70% value (education, tips, stories) STEP 6: Use native Klaviyo blocks Email providers trust native elements over custom HTML. STEP 7: Add plain text emails Send 20% of emails as plain text. They have higher engagement, better deliverability, and feel personal. STEP 8: Ask subscribers to whitelist you In your welcome email, tell subscribers to: - Move to Primary (Gmail) - Add to contacts (Apple Mail) STEP 9: Set up a sunset flow Final re-engagement attempt for unengaged subscribers: Remove addresses with no response. STEP 10: Gradually increase send frequency Don't jump from 1 email/week to daily. Ramp up over 4-6 weeks while monitoring engagement. STEP 11: Monitor and adjust Check Klaviyo's deliverability dashboard weekly and adjust based on data.