Email Deliverability Playbook for a Shopify Brands

Why deliverability matters for lifetime value

Email is how you teach, support, and retain customers. If inbox providers mistrust your program, you’ll see fewer opens, fewer clicks, and long-term damage to repeat purchase. Deliverability is not a “technical” side quest—it’s a profit system that protects loyalty and lifetime value.

Foundations: domains, authentication, and list hygiene

Before you send more, ensure the basics are clean. These are day-one essentials for a Shopify brand:

• Custom sending domain (not a shared pool). Use a subdomain like mail.yourbrand.com.
• SPF, DKIM, DMARC aligned. Set a DMARC policy (start relaxed, then tighten once stable).
• Consistent “From:” identity customers recognize: same name, same address, human tone.
• Consent first: clear sign-up copy; no pre-checked boxes; double opt-in optional but ideal for sensitive categories.
• Clean imports: never upload bought lists; tag the source for each contact.

Warmup & ramp rules for new or cold programs

Mailbox providers watch how new senders behave. Earn trust with a quiet ramp:

1. Start narrow: send to your most engaged subscribers (opened or clicked in the last 30 days).
2. Increase slowly: expand the engaged window week by week (30 → 60 → 90 days) if signals stay healthy.
3. One clear message type at a time: pick a simple, value-forward newsletter or a helpful post-purchase series first.
4. Watch for friction: if complaints or bounces spike, pause expansion and fix the cause before sending more.

Ongoing list hygiene that doesn’t nuke growth

Healthy lists are a habit, not a quarterly cleanup. Keep this gentle and continual:

• Engagement windows: keep campaign sends focused on those active in the last 90 days; test 120 if your cycle is long.
• Re-permission gracefully: for older segments, run a short “still want to hear from us?” series; remove those who do not engage.
• Hard bounces and spam traps: remove hard bounces weekly; monitor sudden bounce increases after a list import.
• Source tagging: track where signups come from; poor sources get tightened or turned off.

Smart sending: cadence, segmentation, and quiet

More volume is not more value. Aim for messages that help customers act, learn, or feel seen.

• Cadence by audience: high-intent and recent buyers can get more; long-inactive should get fewer and gentler messages.
• Respect quiet periods: suppress campaign sends for customers in sensitive flows (immediately post-purchase or support-related sequences).
• Segment by behavior: category affinity, purchase history, and recent browsing should guide message selection.
• Set a weekly cap: choose a reasonable per-person limit; allow exemptions for time-bound events.

Content that IS inbox-friendly (and what to avoid)

Email providers look at how people react to your messages. Content that earns positive actions builds trust.

• Promise → proof → path: say what changes for them, show a small reason to believe, give one clear next step.
• Mobile first: test on real phones; large fonts, clear buttons, minimal choices, scannable copy.
• Accessible by default: strong color contrast, meaningful link text, alt text for images.
• Avoid: shouty subject lines, bait-and-switch, heavy image-only layouts, repeated deep discounts that train complaints.
• Preference center: offer control—topics, frequency, pause—so unsubscribes aren’t your only outlet.

Deliverability in automations (set-and-forget, without regret)

Automations run daily. A small mistake repeats for months. Protect them:

• Entry & exit rules written clearly in the flow description: who enters, who is excluded, when they leave.
• Mutual exclusions to stop collisions (for example, suppress “abandon” while in early post-purchase).
• Safe versions marked: keep a last-known-good version named and easy to roll back to.
• Guardrail checks on welcome and abandon: watch complaint and unsubscribe rates; dial back quickly if they rise.

Weekly & monthly health checks

Weekly (15–30 minutes)

• Opens/clicks for recent campaigns by provider (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
• Unsubscribe and complaint rates for welcome and abandon.
• Hard bounces and link errors; fix one thing each week.

Monthly (45–60 minutes)

• 90-day revenue per subscriber by segment.
• Growth vs. churn of the list, by source.
• Inbox placement proxies: engagement by provider, trend of spam folder complaints if you have that signal.
• One improvement to ship (message, timing, or segment rule).

If you’re in trouble: a calm rescue plan

If performance drops or you suspect spam-foldering, do not blast your way out. Triage:

1. Stop expansion: send only to the most recent engaged segment (last 15–30 days).
2. Fix the cause: check links, image weights, and any sudden content or sending-pattern change.
3. Rebuild trust: run 2–3 value-heavy sends to recent engagers (education, how-to, simple offers) with clean subject lines.
4. Ramp slowly: widen the active window only if complaints are low and positive engagement returns.

Testing changes safely (and reading results)

Test one small change at a time and read two things: your primary goal and your guardrails.

• Hypothesis: “A shorter subject line improves engagement without raising complaints.”
• One change: do not mix multiple changes in the same test.
• Primary + guardrail: engagement lift with stable or lower complaints and unsubscribes.
• Decision date: set it in advance and make the call on that date. If it’s a draw, keep the simpler version.

Want a deeper how-to on safe testing? See our approach to retention & LTV experiments here: Retention & LTV Testing Services.

FAQ

How many emails per week is “too many”?

It depends on your audience and product cycle. Start with a per-person cap (for example, 2–3 campaign emails) and loosen only for high-intent segments.

Do I need double opt-in?

It reduces bad signups and spam complaints. If growth slows too much, use it selectively on high-risk sources rather than everywhere.

What’s a healthy unsubscribe rate?

Low and steady. Spikes signal a mismatch in cadence, relevance, or expectation. Fix the cause, don’t hide the number.

Should I prune inactive people aggressively?

Yes, gently. Run re-permission first; remove those who don’t respond. Protecting list health protects revenue.

What to do next

1. Confirm your domain setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and a recognizable “From:” identity.
2. Set a weekly health checklist and a monthly improvement habit.
3. Choose one fix to ship this week (for example, engaged-only send and a lighter, value-first message).

Need help building an inbox-safe program that still moves revenue? Our testing and automation work is built for that balance: Retention & LTV Testing Services.

Great creative means nothing if it never reaches the inbox. This playbook shows exactly how a Shopify brand keeps email healthy, respected, and revenue-positive—without guesswork or heroics.