PRACTICAL GUIDES / EMAIL MARKETING
Email automation checklist for Brevo and Klaviyo.
A flow can look right in the editor and still send the wrong message. Before changing the copy, check who enters, what data arrives, and when someone should stop receiving emails.
1. Write down who should enter.
Describe the purpose of each flow in one sentence. For example: “Send the welcome series to new email subscribers who have not purchased.” This is an example rule; your audience and offer may need a different one.
Then compare that sentence with the actual trigger and filters. Check the form or list involved, whether existing customers qualify, and whether the same person can enter again. A successful signup alone does not prove that the right flow started.
2. Check the data behind the rules.
If a rule depends on a purchase, cancellation, or checkout event, inspect a test contact’s record. Confirm that the connected store or payment tool sends the expected update to the correct person.
- Does the event or status arrive at all?
- Does the value match the condition used in the flow?
- Does it arrive before the next email is due?
- Are missing values handled deliberately?
A missing purchase update is a data problem that changing the email design will not fix.
3. Decide what should happen after a purchase.
For a checkout reminder, a completed purchase should usually stop further reminders about that checkout. Define the purchase signal first, then configure the matching exit or filter behaviour for your platform.
Brevo supports audience exit conditions that can remove contacts when a specified event occurs. Klaviyo uses flow and message filters to control eligibility; its skipped-message report can help confirm why a message was withheld. Follow the platform-specific guidance linked below rather than assuming the two systems behave identically.
Test a purchase while a contact is waiting between messages. Check the remaining steps as well as the first email. Also review whether the customer could re-enter through another form, list, or event.
4. Read the reason when an email is skipped.
“Not sent” does not always mean “broken.” In Klaviyo, for example, a profile may be skipped because it fails a filter, is suppressed, or received another message too recently under Smart Sending.
Open the affected message’s recipient activity and review the skipped reason before changing anything. If the person has already bought and your rule excludes buyers, a skip may be the intended result. Keep that separate from a message marked sent but missing from the inbox.
5. Test the awkward cases too.
Use test addresses you control and the testing options available in your account. Avoid enrolling real customers just to check a change. A template preview checks the message; you also need to check the journey.
| Scenario | What to verify |
|---|---|
| New eligible subscriber | Enters the intended flow and follows the agreed timing. |
| Existing customer signs up | Receives the journey intended for existing customers. |
| Purchase during a delay | Stops receiving reminders that no longer apply. |
| Repeated signup or checkout | Re-entry matches the intended rules. |
| Missing customer status | The chosen fallback avoids an unintended audience. |
| Unsubscribed test contact | Marketing consent and suppression are respected. |
Record the contact, timestamp, expected path, and actual result. This makes it easier to find a delayed integration update or a condition that only fails in one branch.
6. Leave a clear handover.
Keep a short record of each flow’s purpose, entry rules, exclusions, delays, and connected tools. Note what was tested and what still needs checking. Someone returning to the account later should be able to understand why a rule exists.
For an email automation review in Brevo or Klaviyo, send me the goal, the affected flow, and an example of what happened. We can agree on the scope before making changes.