The 3-step system I use to fix broken email deliverability

Hey, Michael from AdSumo Digital here.

Yesterday I told you about the client who was losing 67% of their email reach to spam folders.

A few people replied asking: "How do you actually fix something like that?"

Fair question. And the exact reason why later this week I'll be dropping the full deliverability guide. (I dropped this once before, but there's several hundred of you new to the list that haven't seen it yet. And I've also went and refreshed it for 2025.)

Here's the exact 3-step system I use with clients (normally part of our $1,000 deliverability service):

Step 1: The "Smokescreen" Protocol

Most brands try to fix deliverability by changing their subject lines or tweaking their content. That's like trying to fix a broken leg with a band-aid.

The real issue? Sender reputation.

Think of it like your email list's credit score. Every time someone opens, clicks, or buys, you get points.

Every time they don't engage (or worse, mark you as spam), you lose points.

The smokescreen works like this: Create a segment of only your most engaged subscribers (opened/clicked in the last 14 days).

Send your next 8-12 campaigns to ONLY this group.

Yes, you'll reach fewer people temporarily. But you'll inflate your engagement metrics, which tells Gmail and Yahoo: "Hey, people actually want these emails."

One client saw their open rates jump from 31% to 52% in just 3 weeks using this method, resulting in an extra $1800 per campaign send.

Step 2: Fix Your Technical Foundation

Google and Yahoo changed their rules in February. Most brands ignored it.

You need three things set up correctly:

• Branded sending domain (not Klaviyo's shared one)

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records

• Proper authentication across all your flows

Skip this and you're fighting an uphill battle, that you’re guaranteed to lose.

Fix it once and you're golden.

Step 3: The Secret Content Ratio Trick

Here's something almost nobody knows:

Gmail scans your emails for "promotional vs. non-promotional" text ratio.

The fix? Stay tuned for the guide dropping this week ;)

Get one piece wrong and you're still stuck in spam. Get it all right and you can see 60%+ increases in email revenue within 60 days.

I'm putting together a complete guide that walks through every step of this process—the same system I use for our $1,500 deliverability audits.

Should be ready in the next day or two.

Talk soon,
Michael

P.S. Want a quick deliverability test? Log into your Klaviyo account and check your bounce rate. If it's above 2%, you definitely have deliverability issues. If it's above 5%, you're in serious trouble. Also check your average open rates. Yes, I always talk about how they're typically a vanity metric, but if you are consistently getting under 30% open rates, you have an issue that is only going to get worse. And if you're lucky, it's just because you're segmenting to the wrong people.

P.P.S - If you run an Ecom brand and want to have a 15 minute strategy session with me, book a call here »

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