Summary
When launching Klaviyo for a young company with no email history, the primary challenge is establishing a new sender reputation. Unlike migrating an existing ESP (email service provider), there is no historical engagement data to leverage for warming up. The focus shifts to strategic list segmentation, integrating essential e-commerce data, and setting up core email flows to build trust with internet service providers (ISPs) from the ground up.
Key findings
- Custom Domain Authentication: Fully implement a custom sending domain to ensure mail authenticates as your brand, not Klaviyo's, which is crucial for controlling your sending identity and improving deliverability.
- Gradual Volume Increase: Even on shared IPs, gradually increase sending volume, avoiding sudden large sends to build a positive reputation.
- Prioritize Flows: Immediately set up foundational email flows such as welcome series, abandoned cart, and post-purchase sequences, as these are highly engaging and build positive sender reputation.
- Leverage Existing Data: Utilize any available purchase history or transactional SMS engagement data to segment initial sends, focusing on the most engaged audience first.
- Monitor Reputation: Actively monitor deliverability performance and sender feedback loops through tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
Key considerations
- Domain Age: Consider the age of your domain; very young domains might face initial deliverability challenges, suggesting caution with immediate dedicated IP setup.
- Initial Campaigns: Start with highly engaged segments (e.g., recent customers) to build positive engagement signals.
- Permission Reminders: Include clear permission reminders and prominent opt-out options in early emails to ensure compliance and manage expectations.
- Integration First: Integrating e-commerce data into Klaviyo should be a top priority to enable personalized and relevant flows.
- Long-Term Strategy: While immediate sending is important, plan for eventual custom domain setup and ongoing deliverability monitoring as your email program matures.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often emphasize the importance of getting started quickly with Klaviyo, even without a deep email history. Their advice centers on leveraging any existing customer data, setting up automated flows, and focusing on initial engagement to build a foundation for future email efforts.
Key opinions
- Start Sending Immediately: Get campaigns going and avoid delays, as every minute without sending is a missed opportunity for engagement.
- Focus on Flows: Prioritize setting up automated email flows like abandoned cart and post-purchase sequences, as these are critical for nurturing subscribers.
- Utilize Existing Data: Even limited data, like purchase history, can be used to create initial segments for targeted email sends.
- Gradual List Expansion: Begin with a highly engaged, segmented list (e.g., recent customers) for the first few weeks, then gradually expand to broader segments.
- Simple Opt-in Emails: For early communications, send plain opt-in or permission reminder emails with clear opt-out options.
Key considerations
- No Overthinking: Don't let the lack of historical email engagement deter immediate action; organic reputation building is possible with shared IPs.
- Parallel Integration: Work on website integration with Klaviyo in parallel with launching initial campaigns and flows.
- Engagement Focus: The primary goal in the early stages is to generate positive engagement signals, which naturally improves sender reputation.
- Scalability: While starting simple is key, anticipate the need for more sophisticated strategies, like custom domain setup, as the program scales.
- User Experience: Ensure early emails provide a clear and easy way for recipients to manage their subscriptions, fostering trust.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if it is a strategic question, a company can simply begin sending emails and observe the outcomes. For shared IPs and existing clients, building a sending reputation occurs organically, making it less of a primary concern.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Tavano Team explains that their guide walks you through the comprehensive process of getting started with Klaviyo, from initial account setup to successfully launching your very first email campaign.
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts highlight critical technical configurations and strategic sending practices for launching Klaviyo without prior email history. Their advice often focuses on foundational elements like custom domain authentication and careful warming, even on shared infrastructure.
Key opinions
- Custom Domain Authentication: Fully implementing a custom sending domain is paramount for ensuring email authenticates as your brand, boosting deliverability and avoiding issues like those described in articles on basic email authentication.
- Volume Warming, Even Shared: Despite using shared IPs, it is important to gradually increase sending volume to build a positive reputation and avoid immediate large sends, which can lead to problems like those discussed in guides on warming up new domains.
- Ageing Domains: For very young domains, experts advise against immediately setting up a dedicated domain, suggesting it should age a bit to avoid potential spam issues.
- Essential Integrations: Integrating e-commerce platforms to feed data into Klaviyo is a fundamental step for effective email automation.
- Strategic Flow Setup: Setting up a comprehensive suite of flows (abandoned cart, welcome, post-purchase, win-back, browse abandonment) is crucial for subscriber nurturing.
- Google Postmaster Tools: Utilizing Google Postmaster Tools is recommended to monitor domain feedback loops and overall sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Avoid Overwhelm: While technical setup is important, a phased approach can prevent overwhelm, focusing on immediate impact first.
- Reputation Building: Understand that sender reputation builds over time, even with shared resources, through consistent positive engagement.
- Data-Driven Segments: Leverage transactional data to segment and target early sends, ensuring high engagement from the outset.
- Proactive Monitoring: Regular monitoring of deliverability metrics is vital to detect and address any emerging issues promptly.
- Long-Term Outlook: Building a robust email program is a gradual process, often taking around 90 days to become fully operational and effective.
Expert view
Email expert from Email Geeks explains that the most crucial actions for successful Klaviyo mail delivery include fully implementing a custom sending domain, ensuring mail authenticates as the sender, not Klaviyo. Additionally, even with shared IPs, it is essential to warm up sending volume gradually, avoiding sudden large sends.
Expert view
Email expert from Spam Resource notes that implementing Klaviyo's 'mail_domain' feature is a simple yet effective way to significantly improve deliverability success when sending emails through the platform.
What the documentation says
Official and authoritative documentation on Klaviyo, alongside general email marketing guides, provides structured steps for beginners. These resources typically cover the basics of account setup, e-commerce integration, and the initial steps for launching email campaigns and automated flows.
Key findings
- Account Setup: The initial step involves visiting the Klaviyo website and signing up for an account, which is often free and easy.
- Platform Integration: Integrating Klaviyo with your e-commerce platform or CRM is a foundational requirement to begin collecting data and building email lists effectively.
- Campaign Creation: Documentation provides high-level steps for creating email campaigns, which typically involve audience segmentation, content creation, and scheduling.
- Flow Configuration: Guides often detail how to set up automated flows, explaining how to choose from a library of pre-built flows or create custom ones tailored to specific needs.
- Strategy Refinement: Documentation encourages users to continuously refine their email strategies based on campaign performance and engagement metrics for optimal results.
Key considerations
- Beginner-Friendly Approach: Resources are designed to guide users from no prior experience through the initial setup and campaign launch phases, making the process accessible.
- E-commerce Focus: Much of the guidance is tailored for e-commerce businesses, emphasizing the importance of sales and customer data for effective email marketing.
- Step-by-Step Process: Tutorials typically break down the process into manageable, sequential steps, ensuring a clear path for new users to follow.
- Optimization Emphasis: Beyond initial setup, documentation often stresses the importance of optimizing campaigns and flows for better engagement and conversion rates.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Documentation aims to cover a wide range of topics, from basic account access to more advanced email automation strategies.
Technical article
Documentation from Klaviyo's blog provides a high-level list of seven essential email campaign creation steps that must be addressed for every email campaign you plan to launch.
Technical article
Documentation from Tavano Team outlines the entire process of getting started with Klaviyo, from the initial account setup to the successful launch of your very first email campaign.
Related resources
9 resources
Related pages
What is the best practice for warming up a new client's email list in Klaviyo?
Is IP warming required when launching a new email program with a zero-based list on a shared IP?
Why your emails are going to spam in 2024 and how to fix it
Ultimate Guide to Google Postmaster Tools V2
A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM
How to warm up a new domain for 6k active contacts when moving from a shared domain to a private domain?
How do you warm up a new dedicated sending domain for automated email flows with a welcome series?
What is the best approach for sending marketing emails from a new domain for an existing company?
Email Deliverability Issues: Getting Your Messages to the Inbox in 2025
A practical guide to understanding your email domain reputation
