🔒 Deliverability Guardrails: How to Stay Out of Spam During BFCM

Hey, it’s Ray.

Here’s a reality check before BFCM hits: It doesn’t matter how good your offer is if your emails never reach the inbox.

Every year, I see brands panic when their biggest sales weekend tanks, not because their product flopped, but because Gmail or Yahoo silently buried their campaigns in the spam folder.

The fix?

Setting up deliverability guardrails that keep your emails visible, trusted, and profitable,  even when send volume spikes during BFCM.

Here are the 4 essential guardrails to keep your emails out of trouble 👇

1. Warm Up Early, Stay Consistent

If you’ve been quiet all year, ISPs won’t trust you when you suddenly start blasting thousands of emails in November.

What to do:

• Start sending at least 4-6 weeks before BFCM.

• Begin with small, engaged segments and gradually increase your send volume.

• Keep campaigns consistent, even after the holidays.

Why it matters:
Deliverability is built on trust, not traffic. Slow, steady warming shows inbox providers that you’re reliable, not a spammer waking up for Black Friday.

2. Segment for Engagement, Not Just Size

One of the biggest deliverability killers? Sending to your entire list “just in case.”

Instead:

• Focus on subscribers who’ve opened, clicked, or engaged within the last 90–120 days.

• Exclude cold subscribers (no activity in 6+ months).

• Use Klaviyo’s engagement tiers to send different campaigns based on activity.
  

A smaller, active list = higher opens, fewer complaints, and stronger reputation.

3. Mix Campaigns with Flows

A healthy sending pattern isn’t just about how much you send,  but what you send.

Keep a balance between:

• Campaigns: BFCM promos, product drops, and sale announcements.

• Flows: Welcomes, post-purchase, and browse abandonment emails that maintain regular engagement.

Why it matters:
Automations keep engagement steady year-round, so when you ramp up for BFCM, your sender reputation is already strong.

4. Authenticate and Monitor

Your emails need digital ID badges to prove they’re legitimate.

Set up:
 ✅ SPF
✅ DKIM
✅ DMARC

Then, monitor inbox placement using tools like Postmark, GlockApps, or Mail-Tester before you scale.

Why it matters:
Authentication tells inbox providers, “I’m a trusted sender.” Monitoring helps you catch problems before they cost you revenue.

BFCM Success Is Built on Trust

You can’t buy your way into the inbox.

You earn it with consistency, engagement, and technical foundations that build deliverability long before the sale goes live.

We help brands stay out of spam by building airtight deliverability systems: domain warm-ups, authentication, engagement-based sending, and Klaviyo optimization that keep your campaigns profitable when it matters most.

Want me to review your deliverability setup before BFCM? Just hit reply.

Talk soon,
Raymond Chen
Founder & CEO, 11 Agency

More Ways to Level Up Your Email Game 

Q4 is here, and with BFCM and the holidays right around the corner, your email marketing has to be dialed in. 

Every click, every open, and every flow can mean the difference between hitting record revenue or leaving money on the table. 

Here’s how I can help you maximize Q4: 

Done-for-You Email Strategy: If you’re ready to scale but don’t have the time, I’ll build out a complete email system designed to capture more revenue, convert more customers, and keep sales flowing through the holidays. Book a call with me here. 

Free Resource: Not ready to commit just yet? Grab my FREE 10-page KPI audit and 128-point health scorecard, a proven toolkit to quickly optimize your email performance before BFCM. Get it here!

Take Your Email Marketing Even Further

If you’re up for boosting your email game, I’ve got a few more gems for you:

📺 New Video: 2x Your Ecommerce Sales in 6 Minutes

Serious about growing your ecommerce brand? In this quick tutorial, I’ll show you how to:

• Build a winning Klaviyo flow

• Improve email deliverability

• Drive more sales with a smarter email strategy

Whether you're starting out or scaling, this video gives you the exact steps to make email marketing work. 👉 Watch now:

🎯 Fix Your CTA, Fix Your Clicks
Still seeing low click rates even with solid subject lines and great content?

Chances are, your email CTA needs work. We asked Lawrence Soliman, our Lead Copy Strategist, to break down how to write email calls to action that actually get clicks—plus 5 high-performing examples you can swipe.

👉 Read the blog: How to Write an Irresistible Email Call to Action (Plus 5 Examples!)

💡 Let’s Connect on LinkedIn
I share daily email marketing tips, behind-the-scenes insights, and strategies that actually work. If you’re looking for extra value beyond this newsletter, let’s connect!👉  Follow me here.