🛡️ Run a Deliverability Health Check Today

Hey, it’s Ray.

You can write the sharpest copy, design the most beautiful email, and craft the perfect offer…

…but if your message doesn’t land in the inbox, none of that work pays off.

Deliverability is the silent revenue killer. It creeps up slowly, lower opens, fewer clicks, and a drop in revenue. And by the time you notice, your sender reputation has already taken a hit.

Let me walk you through how to spot them, along with some examples we’ve seen brands struggle with.

1. List Hygiene & Bounce Management

Keep your list clean so you’re not sending to invalid or inactive addresses. Bounces (failed deliveries) signal to inbox providers that you’re careless with your list.

Example: An apparel brand continued emailing old subscribers who hadn’t engaged in years. Bounce rates went up, and Gmail started pushing emails into spam. Once they cleaned the list, inbox placement recovered.

Best practices:

• Regularly remove invalid or inactive addresses from your list.

• Use double opt-in or confirmed opt-ins to keep new signups clean.

• Monitor bounces closely; high bounce rates are a sign your acquisition channels may be pulling in low-quality leads.

2. Spam Complaints

When subscribers click “Mark as spam,” providers treat it as a serious red flag. Even a small number of complaints can hurt your sender reputation.

Example: A lifestyle brand sent daily emails during a holiday sale. Even engaged customers flagged them as spam because the frequency felt overwhelming. Adjusting to fewer, more targeted sends reduced complaints.

Best practices:

• Be mindful of the frequency. Don’t over-email your audience.

• Make unsubscribe links easy to find so people can opt out instead of complaining.

• Give subscribers preference options (like weekly vs. daily emails).

  
  

3. Email Delivery Isn’t the Same as Email Deliverability 

“Delivered” doesn’t always mean inbox. Messages might land in promotions or spam folders. Inbox placement gives a truer picture of visibility.

Example: A SaaS brand noticed a drop in opens, but their ESP still showed 99% delivery. After running inbox placement tests, they found Gmail was filtering most messages into promotions. Optimizing subject lines and simplifying templates improved inbox rates.

Best practices:

• Keep subject lines aligned with email content (no clickbait).

• Balance text and images, for too many images can trigger filters.

• Test your emails before sending using inbox placement tools.

4. Domain Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

These records prove you’re a legitimate sender. Without them, providers may flag you as suspicious, even if you’re sending to opt-in subscribers.

Example: A DTC skincare brand launched with a new sending domain but skipped authentication. Yahoo and Outlook flagged emails as spoofed. After setting up SPF/DKIM via their DNS, their inbox placement improved.

Best practices:

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain.

• Always send from a branded domain (not Gmail, Yahoo, or other free domains).

• Monitor authentication status regularly to ensure nothing breaks after DNS changes.

5. Engagement Segmentation

Inbox providers reward senders who focus on engaged subscribers. Sending to people who never open or click signals low relevance and hurts your reputation.

Example: A coffee subscription brand kept blasting newsletters to everyone, including dormant subscribers. Their reputation dipped. By focusing on “engaged last 90 days” segments and running re-engagement campaigns, deliverability improved.

How to check in Klaviyo:

• Build “engaged only” segments (e.g., clicked or opened in the last 30–90 days).

• Run re-engagement campaigns for dormant subscribers before removing them.

• Suppress or sunset inactive profiles if they don’t respond.

Your Next Step

If you’re sending emails without checking deliverability, you might think your campaigns are underperforming, when in reality, they’re just not reaching the inbox.

That “delivered” number in your dashboard might look reassuring, but it doesn’t tell you if customers actually saw your message, opened it, or acted on it.

When you start monitoring things like bounce management, spam complaints, authentication, and engagement segmentation, you’ll uncover the real levers that keep your emails visible and profitable.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need advanced tools or a deliverability expert on staff. You just need to build a routine for checking these essentials and adjust before small problems become big ones.

Protect your inbox placement, protect your revenue. A healthy sender reputation is one of the strongest assets a DTC brand can have.

Cheers,
Raymond Chen
Founder & CEO, 11 Agency

More Ways to Level Up Your Email Game

If this sounds like a lot to manage, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

There’s a lot that goes into building a high-converting email strategy. 

If you’re serious about optimizing your email marketing, let’s talk. 

Here’s what we can do:

✅ Done-for-You Email Strategy: If you’re ready to scale but don’t have the time, we’ll build out a full email system that maximizes your revenue. You can book a call with me here. 

✅ Or, if you just want to grab a free resource, get a FREE 10-page KPI audit and a 128-point health scorecard to optimize your email marketing. 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:

📺 Watch My YouTube 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.