The Pre-Send Checklist for Every Klaviyo Email

We've sent thousands of emails for clients through Klaviyo. And every time we skip the checklist, something goes wrong. A dead link that goes to a 404. A subject line with a typo. An email sent to the wrong segment. A discount code that expired yesterday. A dynamic product block showing out-of-stock items.

Each of these mistakes costs real money and brand trust. A dead link in your sale announcement means 5,000 people click, see a 404, and leave. That's potentially thousands in lost revenue from one sloppy mistake.

The fix isn't "be more careful." The fix is a checklist. A systematic quality assurance process that catches problems before they reach the inbox. We use this exact checklist for every campaign and flow email we send. Here it is.

The Pre-Send Checklist

Content and Copy

• Subject line is finalized, checked for typos, and under 50 characters
• Preview text is written (not left blank or defaulting to "View in browser")
• All body copy is proofread — no typos, no placeholder text, no lorem ipsum
• Discount codes are active and correctly entered (test them on the site)
• Product names and prices are accurate and current
• Dates and deadlines mentioned in the email are correct
• Any claims (sale percentage, savings amount) are mathematically correct
• CTA button text is clear and action-oriented

Links

• Every link in the email has been clicked and verified
• Links go to the correct destination (not a different product, not a 404)
• Links include correct UTM parameters
• Unsubscribe link is present and functional
• Social media links go to your active profiles
• Any coupon codes mentioned are linked to the correct collection or product page

Design and Layout

• Email renders correctly in the Klaviyo preview (desktop view)
• Email renders correctly on mobile (use Klaviyo's mobile preview)
• Images load correctly (no broken image icons)
• Image alt text is present on all images
• Button colors contrast with the background (visible and tappable)
• Text is readable (font size 14px+ for body, proper color contrast)
• No awkward line breaks or orphaned words in headlines
• Footer contains all required elements (address, unsubscribe, privacy link)

Technical

• Sending to the correct segment or list (double-check the audience)
• Segment size is reasonable (not accidentally sending to suppressed or full list)
• Smart sending is enabled (if appropriate)
• Send time is correct (right timezone, right day)
• From name is correct (matches your brand, not a test name)
• Reply-to address is correct and monitored
• A/B test is configured correctly (if applicable) — right split, right metric, right duration

Dynamic Content

• Dynamic product blocks show correct and in-stock products
• Conditional content blocks display correctly for each condition
• Personalization tokens (first name, etc.) have fallbacks for empty values
• If using profile properties for personalization, test with profiles that have AND don't have those properties

Deliverability

• Email passes spam score check (Klaviyo shows this)
• Subject line doesn't contain spam trigger words unnecessarily
• Image-to-text ratio is reasonable (not an all-image email)
• List hygiene is maintained (no recent bounces or complaints in the segment)

How to Execute the Checklist

Step 1: Self-review. The person who built the email runs through the checklist first. This catches the obvious stuff — typos, broken images, missing links.

Step 2: Send test emails. Send a test to yourself AND at least one colleague. Open on both phone and desktop. Click every link. Check rendering.

Step 3: Partner review. Have someone who didn't build the email read it fresh. They catch things the builder is blind to — unclear messaging, confusing layout, assumptions that don't hold for fresh eyes.

Step 4: Final technical check. Verify the segment, send time, and from name one last time before hitting send. This is the "point of no return" check.

Total time: 10-15 minutes per email. Time saved from avoiding a catastrophic mistake: immeasurable.

Flow-Specific Additions

For flow emails (automated sequences), add these checks:

• Flow trigger is correct and fires for the right audience
• Flow filters and conditional splits are logically correct
• Time delays between emails are appropriate
• Smart sending settings prevent over-emailing
• Each email in the sequence makes sense if read independently (not everyone sees the full sequence)
• Exit conditions are set (people who purchase should stop receiving cart reminders)
• Flow status is set to "Live" when ready (not accidentally left in Draft)

The "Oh No" Recovery Plan

Despite the checklist, mistakes happen. When they do:

Wrong segment (sent to wrong people): If the content is harmless (just irrelevant), don't send a correction. A correction email doubles the annoyance. If the content is harmful (wrong offer, wrong brand, offensive), send a brief apology: "Oops! That last email wasn't meant for you. Sorry for the noise."

Dead link: Send a quick follow-up within 1-2 hours: "Quick fix — here's the correct link to [offer]. Sorry about that!" People appreciate the correction.

Wrong price or expired code: Correct immediately AND honor the incorrect price/code for anyone who saw it. This prevents customer service disasters and builds goodwill.

Major error (sent test email to full list, offensive typo, etc.): Acknowledge it with humor and humanity. "Well, that happened. Here's what we meant to send:" followed by the correct email. Brands that own mistakes with grace often get positive responses.

Automating Parts of the Checklist

Some checklist items can be automated or semi-automated:

Link checking: Tools like Litmus or Email on Acid automatically check all links in your email for validity. Worth the monthly fee if you send 10+ campaigns per month.

Rendering testing: Same tools render your email across 30+ email clients and devices, catching design issues you'd miss on your own phone.

Spam scoring: Klaviyo provides a basic spam score. For deeper analysis, run your email through mail-tester.com before sending.

Segment validation: Before sending, always click into the segment to see the count. If it's dramatically different from what you expect (10 people instead of 10,000, or 100,000 instead of 10,000), something's wrong.

What To Do Right Now

Copy this checklist. Put it somewhere your email team accesses every day — a shared doc, a Notion page, a printed sheet on the wall. Make it a required step before any email goes live.

Then think about the last email mistake your brand made. Which checklist item would have caught it? Highlight that item. Make sure it never gets skipped.

If you want a team managing your email program with built-in QA processes, strategic planning, and reliable execution — book a call with our team. We'll take email off your plate and make sure every send is on-brand, on-time, and error-free.