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One of the first steps we take with new or prospective cannabis and CBD clients is conducting a thorough Klaviyo audit to uncover hidden opportunities, address compliance needs, and optimize deliverability. In this post, we’ll show you exactly how we approach the process, so you can evaluate your own email marketing program with confidence and drive higher ROI.
March 23, 2025
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One of the first steps we take when working with a new or prospective client is conducting a thorough Klaviyo audit. This allows us to see exactly what’s happening within the account and uncover any hidden opportunities. Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI channels for customer engagement, revenue generation, and brand loyalty—particularly in the cannabis and CBD industries, where compliance and trust are paramount. In this guide, we’ll walk you step-by-step through the same audit process we use for our own clients, so you can confidently evaluate each aspect of your email marketing program.
Whether you’re brand-new to Klaviyo or want to ensure your setup is tight, this audit checklist will help you review the most critical elements and maintain a high-performing email marketing machine.
1. Account Setup & Configuration
1.1. Account Access & Permissions
What to check: Confirm that your account has the right Admin or Manager roles assigned. Remove old team members who no longer need access and ensure multi-factor authentication is enabled.
Why it matters: Having the wrong people, or too many people, with high-level access can lead to confusion, accidental changes, or even security breaches. Ensuring that only the right team members have Admin or Manager roles helps protect sensitive data and keeps your email marketing strategy organized and consistent.
Here’s a link breaking down the various Klaviyo user roles.
1.2. Brand & Sender Information
What to check: Verify your “From Name” and “Reply-To” emails match your brand. Confirm that your logo, brand colors, and store details are accurate in your Klaviyo settings.
Why it matters: Consistent sender names and brand details reassure subscribers they’re opening a trusted email. A mismatch between your “From Name,” “Reply-To,” and brand identity can cause suspicion or confusion, leading to lower open rates and potential spam complaints.
1.3. Email Domain Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
What to check: Make sure your DNS has correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain.
Why it matters: Proper authentication improves deliverability by signaling to mailbox providers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) that your emails are legitimate. Without proper authentication, mailbox providers may flag or reject your messages, meaning fewer people ever see your carefully crafted emails.
Key Tip: Is your email going to spam? This is the first place to look to ensure you have the proper domain authentication implemented.
Tools: MXToolBox, GlockApps, Klaviyo’s DNS setup instructions
1.4. Default Sending Address & Subdomains
What to check: Use a dedicated subdomain (e.g., news.yourbrand.com) for sending to protect your root domain’s reputation.
Why it matters: Using a dedicated sending subdomain protects your primary domain’s reputation. Your core domain isn't as exposed if something goes wrong, like high spam complaints or a deliverability issue. It’s an extra layer of security for your brand.
1.5. Physical Address & Footer Compliance
What to check: Ensure your current physical address appears in every email footer. This is mandatory under CAN-SPAM and other regulations.
Why it matters: Including a valid physical address (and other required details) in your email footer isn’t just a legal requirement; it also boosts trust. When subscribers see accurate contact information, they know they’re dealing with a legitimate business, making them more comfortable engaging with your emails.
1.6. Profile & Preference Pages
What to check: Make sure your signup forms, preference pages, and unsubscribe links work properly and reflect your brand’s look and feel.
Why it matters: A good-looking, well-structured signup or preference page can make your brand shine. If these pages look outdated or don’t match your brand, potential subscribers might bail before even signing up. Worse yet, a broken unsubscribe or preference link can lead to spam complaints.
2.1. Inbox Placement Testing
What to check: Send test emails to various email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) to see if they land in the inbox or spam.
Why it matters: Landing in the inbox is everything. If your emails end up in the spam folder or aren’t delivered, your marketing efforts are wasted. Regularly checking inbox placement helps you catch and fix deliverability issues before they snowball.
Tools: GlockApps for inbox placement testing
2.2. IP/Domain Reputation
What to check: Track the health of your sending domain/IP using Klaviyo’s Deliverability Score or other third-party tools.
Why it matters: Your reputation is like a credit history for email sends. A bad reputation means mailbox providers are less likely to trust you, leading to lower inbox placement. Staying on top of your domain/IP reputation helps maintain trust with email providers.
Tools: Sender Score (Validity), Google Postmaster Tools, GlockApps
2.3. Bounce & Spam Complaint Rates
What to check: Analyze your bounce rates and spam complaints. Pay attention to high invalid or unknown user bounces.
Why it matters: A high bounce rate suggests you might be emailing invalid addresses or ignoring list hygiene. Frequent spam complaints signal subscribers don’t want your content. Both issues harm deliverability and can damage your “sender reputation”, so it’s key to address them quickly.
2.4. Email Frequency & Cadence
What to check: Gauge your send frequency. Are you over-emailing or under-emailing your audience?
Why it matters: Bombarding subscribers with emails can lead to fatigue and unsubscribes while sending too few might cause them to forget you exist. Finding the right balance means healthier engagement, happier subscribers, and fewer spam complaints.
2.5. Warm-Up Strategy (If Applicable)
What to check: If using a new IP or domain, ensure you have a proper warm-up schedule to build your sender reputation gradually.
Why it matters: Diving straight into high-volume sends on a cold domain can cause serious deliverability issues. Warming up gradually builds a positive email-sending history, preventing your messages from being flagged as spam.
3.1. List Hygiene & Cleaning
What to check: Regularly remove bounced or invalid addresses, suppress unengaged contacts, and keep your list up to date.
Why it matters: Sending to invalid or unengaged addresses wastes money, lowers open rates, and raises bounce/spam complaints. Cleaning your list regularly ensures you’re talking to people who actually want your content, increasing engagement and ROI.
Tools: Klaviyo’s Segment Builder, third-party tools like ZeroBounce
3.2. Segmentation Rules
What to check: Verify each segment (e.g., VIP customers, location-based, product interests) is correctly defined and up to date.
Why it matters: Accurate segmentation ensures you send relevant content to the right audience.
3.3. Signup Sources & Double Opt-In
What to check: Confirm all lead capture points (pop-ups, forms, ads) feed into Klaviyo correctly and consider double opt-in for cannabis-related content.
Why it matters: If you’re not capturing leads from all sources (website pop-ups, forms, ads), you’re missing out on potential subscribers. Double opt-in can further boost deliverability by making sure only genuinely interested folks join your list.
3.4. Suppression & Unsubscribe Management
What to check: Ensure unsubscribers are promptly removed from promotional sends, and that bounce handling works.
Why it matters: Sending to unsubscribed addresses can harm your reputation and potentially violate regulations. Proper suppression keeps you compliant and protects your deliverability metrics.
4.1. Welcome Series Flow
What to check: Review the timing, content, and number of emails. Are they personalized, engaging, and guiding new subscribers down the funnel?
Why it matters: A well-optimized Welcome Series helps new subscribers feel valued, educates them about your brand, and sets the stage for a long-term relationship. Skipping it can mean losing their attention before you’ve even begun.
Key Tip: Learn how to build a welcome flow or follow best practices from top cannabis brands.
4.2. Abandoned Cart Flow
What to check: Correct trigger logic, timing, and dynamic product content. Are you offering relevant incentives without eroding margins?
Why it matters: A strong Abandoned Cart flow recovers lost revenue by reminding shoppers to complete their purchase. A timely nudge reminding them of their abandoned cart can differentiate between a lost sale and a loyal customer.
4.3. Browse Abandonment Flow
What to check: Make sure browse data syncs properly from your eCommerce platform (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce).
Why it matters: Re-engaging visitors who showed interest without overdoing it can drive incremental sales.
4.4. Post-Purchase / Thank You Flow
What to check: Assess the messaging, delays, and potential upsells. Are you providing a cross-sell or educational content for new buyers?
Why it matters: Post-purchase emails build loyalty and increase lifetime value by highlighting other relevant products.
4.5. Win-Back / Re-Engagement Flow
What to check: Identify the criteria for “inactive” subscribers and the timing for re-engagement. Is your offer tempting enough to re-capture interest?
Why it matters: People lose interest or get busy. A friendly re-engagement email can rekindle that spark. If they genuinely don’t want your emails, it’s better to remove them than keep sending them to inactive contacts; this keeps your list healthy.
4.6. Date-Based Flows (e.g., Birthday, Anniversary)
What to check: Confirm you have correct date fields and tokens, and that messages are appropriately personalized.
Why it matters: Personalized date-based messages can delight your audience and boost conversions.
5.1. Template Consistency & Branding
What to check: Verify uniform branding (colors, logo, typography) across all templates and flows. Ensure mobile responsiveness.
Why it matters: Subscribers should feel they interact with the same brand across all platforms. A consistent look and feel builds brand recognition, while a disjointed design can confuse or alienate them. In the hemp, CBD, and cannabis industry, GREAT design builds TRUST and AUTHORITY, which leads to dollars. The fastest growing brands know that brand is the #1 way to stand out. Upgrading the quality of your designs is a sure-fire way to increase revenue for your brand.
Need help improving your email design? Book a free strategy call
5.2. Subject Lines & Preview Text
What to check: Confirm your subject lines are compelling and not spam-triggering (e.g., too many caps, special characters). Use preview text effectively for extra context.
Why it matters: These few words often decide whether your email is opened or ignored. Creative, honest subject lines paired with compelling preview text can dramatically improve open rates…just avoid spammy terms that scare away mailbox providers…
5.3. Call-to-Action (CTA) Clarity
What to check: Ensure CTAs stand out, are easy to find, and link to the correct landing pages.
Why it matters: If subscribers can’t tell what you want them to do next—buy a product, read a blog post, sign up, then they probably won’t do it. A clear, obvious CTA leads to higher click-through rates and conversions.
5.4. Image-to-Text Ratio
What to check: Avoid image-heavy emails with minimal text. Balanced emails are less likely to trigger spam filters.
Why it matters: Emails with too many images (and not enough text) can look spammy and might get blocked or relegated to promo tabs. Balanced emails load faster, are more likely to pass spam filters and are generally easier for subscribers to read.
5.5. Personalization Tokens & Dynamic Content
What to check: Confirm your personalization tokens (like first name) and recommended product blocks are populating correctly.
Why it matters: Generic “Hey there!” salutations can feel impersonal. Greeting subscribers by name or showing them items they’ve browsed feels like a tailored experience. This personal touch often leads to higher engagement and sales.
5.6. Accessibility
What to check: Use alt text for images, maintain readable font sizes, and ensure sufficient color contrast.
Why it matters: Not everyone views emails similarly; some rely on screen readers or have visual impairments. Making your emails accessible widens your potential audience and boosts your overall brand image.
Learn more about keeping in compliance when doing cannabis email marketing
6.1. CAN-SPAM/GDPR/CASL Compliance
What to check: Confirm you have a visible unsubscribe link, current physical address, and accurate brand identity on every email. Klaviyo makes this super easy, and while there’s no reason not to be in compliance here, many brands we audit don’t include a physical address.
Why it matters: Legal compliance isn’t optional. Fines for non-compliance can be hefty, and in the cannabis/CBD world, regulatory scrutiny can be even stricter. Staying compliant helps you avoid penalties and build trust with subscribers.
6.2. Preference Management
What to check: Offer frequency settings or partial unsubscribes (e.g., only want marketing updates but not daily deals).
Why it matters: Offering people control over the types or frequency of emails they receive drastically reduces unsubscribes. Letting them pick and choose makes them feel heard, and it improves your segmentation at the same time.
6.3. Suppression of Inactive / Disengaged Contacts
What to check: Regularly suppress or remove unengaged subscribers to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
Why it matters: Repeatedly emailing folks who never open your messages hurts deliverability and can inflate spam complaints. Suppressing or removing them helps maintain a healthier sender reputation and focuses your effort on audiences who care.
7.1. Campaign Performance Review
What to check: Look at recent campaigns' open, click, and conversion rates. Identify which campaigns performed well or poorly.
Why it matters: If you don’t know how your past campaigns performed, you can’t improve. You’ll discover what resonates with your audience and what falls flat by analyzing open, click, and conversion rates.
7.2. Flow Performance & Revenue Attribution
What to check: Evaluate the revenue each flow generates and see which triggers and offers produce the highest ROI.
Why it matters: Automated flows often operate behind the scenes, generating revenue. Regularly checking how much money each flow brings in ensures you invest resources in the most profitable parts of your email strategy.
7.3. Conversion Rate & ROI
What to check: Track how many email clicks lead to actual purchases or conversions.
Why it matters: Opens and clicks are nice, but revenue is the ultimate goal. Tracking conversions tells you if your email marketing drives sales so that you can adjust or reallocate your budget accordingly.
7.4. A/B Testing Strategies
What to check: Review past subject line, send time, or content tests and note learnings. Schedule ongoing tests for optimization.
Why it matters: Guesswork rarely leads to the best results. A/B testing (subject lines, send times, design) helps you discover what truly works for your audience, so each new campaign learns from the last.
7.5. Segment-Level Performance
What to check: Compare performance across segments (e.g., VIP vs. new subscribers). Look for anomalies or surprising trends.
Why it matters: Different groups respond differently. An offer that excites a VIP might not resonate with a new subscriber. Reviewing segment performance lets you fine-tune your targeting and messaging, maximizing effectiveness.
8.1. Regular Deliverability Monitoring
What to check: Run routine inbox tests and check domain/IP reputation to identify sudden changes in deliverability.
Tools: GlockApps, Google Postmaster Tools
Why it matters: Early detection of deliverability dips can save you from catastrophic spam folder placement.
8.2. Ongoing List Cleaning
What to check: Remove inactive subscribers or handle them with a re-engagement campaign first.
Why it matters: A frequently cleaned list keeps your open rates high and bounce rates low.
8.3. Seasonal or Promotional Flow Updates
What to check: Customize flows for significant holidays or industry events (e.g., 4/20 for the cannabis space).
Why it matters: Seasonal relevance can boost conversions and keep your emails fresh.
8.4. Content Refresh
What to check: Update your templates or brand visuals every few months to stay current.
Why it matters: People get “banner blindness” to the same old layouts and visuals. Switching up your design or messaging occasionally keeps your emails fresh and engaging, preventing audience fatigue.
8.5. Overall Strategy & Alignment
What to check: Align your email marketing plan with your overall brand and marketing strategy.
Why it matters: Email doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Aligning your Klaviyo strategy with broader marketing campaigns, product launches, and brand values creates a cohesive experience that drives better results across all channels.
Performing a deep-dive Klaviyo audit can seem daunting, but by breaking it into categories: Account Setup, Deliverability, Segmentation, Flows, Design, Compliance, Analytics, and Ongoing Maintenance, you can systematically ensure every corner of your email marketing is optimized. This diligence is particularly important in the cannabis space, where compliance and trust-building can significantly impact your email program’s long-term success.
If you have any questions or want professional guidance in auditing your Klaviyo account, schedule a free consultation with our team at Cannascale. Our team specializes in helping brands in the hemp, CBD, and cannabis industry refine their email marketing strategies and maintain top-tier deliverability.
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Cannascale has helped 100+ Hemp, CBD, and Canna brands make more than $65M+ through improvements to their email marketing programs.
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