🚨 Heads up, marketers! 🚨 Klaviyo offers two types of Smart Sending features you need to know about: Smart Sending and Smart Send Time (AI).

Smart Sending: Limits how often recipients receive emails to prevent over-emailing and maintain trust.

Smart Send Time (AI): Uses AI to find the best send times for higher opens and clicks.

Don’t confuse the two—let’s dive in and explore Smart Sending can revolutionise your email marketing!

In the fast-paced world of email marketing, overloading your subscribers with too many messages can lead to spam complaints, unsubscribes, and reduced engagement. Enter Klaviyo Smart Sending, a powerful feature designed to help marketers avoid these pitfalls.

Smart Sending works by skipping recipients who have recently received an email, ensuring you don’t overwhelm your audience. By implementing Smart Sending, marketers can safeguard their sender reputation, improve deliverability, and enhance subscriber satisfaction.

This blog will break down the benefits of Smart Sending, how to configure it, and advanced use cases to help you make the most of this essential feature.

Section 1: What is Klaviyo Smart Sending?

Ever wondered if you’re emailing your subscribers too often? That’s where Klaviyo Smart Sending comes in. It acts as a built-in filter, ensuring you don’t overwhelm your audience with too many emails in a short timeframe.

Definition:
Klaviyo Smart Sending is a tool that regulates the frequency of emails to individual recipients, ensuring no one gets bombarded with too many emails in a short period. If someone has already received an email within a set timeframe, Smart Sending ensures they won’t receive another email, preventing over-emailing and reducing the risk of spam complaints.

How It Works:
Smart Sending filters out recipients who have received an email within your set time delay (e.g., 16 hours), preventing over-emailing and maintaining engagement. This logic ensures that you only target engaged recipients while giving your audience breathing room.

Section 2: Benefits of Smart Sending

Tired of email fatigue and low engagement? Smart Sending fixes that by improving deliverability, boosting open rates, and showing your audience that you respect their inbox.

1. Prevent Email Fatigue and Boost Engagement Metrics

By spacing out your emails with Smart Sending, you avoid overwhelming your audience. This not only reduces the risk of unsubscribes and spam complaints but also improves engagement metrics like open rates and click-through rates.

2. Protect Sender Reputation

Maintaining a healthy sender reputation is crucial for inbox placement. Smart Sending minimizes spam complaints by avoiding over-contacting subscribers. By skipping over-contacted subscribers, Smart Sending minimises spam complaints and improves deliverability rates.

Example: When running simultaneous campaigns like a flash sale and a regular newsletter, Smart Sending ensures recipients aren't overwhelmed with multiple emails, maintaining your reputation.

Section 3: How to Configure Klaviyo Smart Sending

Getting Smart Sending set up is quick and easy. In just a few steps, you can enable it for campaigns and flows, ensuring that every email you send respects your audience’s inbox preferences.

Enable Smart Sending in Campaigns

Smart Sending is enabled by default for all campaigns. To verify or adjust this setting:

To adjust the default email Smart Sending window (16 hours):

1. Go to Settings: Navigate to your organisation's name in the bottom-left of Klaviyo, then click Settings.

2. Update Preferences: Select Email > Sending Preferences, and modify the Smart Sending Period hours. We’d recommend keeping the setting at 16 hours, the default. Consider widening if you notice issues with spam & unsubscribe rates.

   
   

Source: Klaviyo

3. Exclude Transactional Emails: Check Ignore transactional messages to exempt essential emails from Smart Sending.

Pro Tip: Keep Smart Sending enabled for campaigns to avoid overwhelming your recipients, especially during high-frequency promotions like flash sales.

SMS Smart Sending Window

The default SMS Smart Sending window is 24 hours, ensuring recipients aren’t over-contacted. To customise this:

1. Navigate to Settings under your organisation name.

2. Select SMS > Sending Preferences.

3. Update the Smart Sending Period for campaigns and flows separately.

   
   

Source: Klaviyo

Pro Tip: Set unique timeframes for flows and campaigns to optimise SMS frequency.

To Disable Smart Sending:

During Step 1 of campaign setup, toggle off the relevant option under Smart Sending:

• Email: Skip profiles who recently received an email.

  
  

Source: Klaviyo

• SMS:

  • Skip profiles who recently received a campaign message.

  • Skip profiles who recently received a flow message.

    
    

Source: Klaviyo

• Push: Skip profiles who recently received a push message.

Disabling Smart Sending should only be done for critical communications to avoid overwhelming your audience.

To Adjust Smart Sending Settings in Flows

Flows are automated sequences, and Smart Sending rules ensure that these triggered emails don’t conflict with your campaigns. To adjust Klaviyo Smart Sending settings:

1. Open the flow you want to edit in Klaviyo.

2. Select an individual flow message and click Settings on the left sidebar.

3. Toggle Smart Sending on or off, depending on the flow’s purpose.

   • Keep it enabled for general marketing flows to prevent over-messaging.

   • Disable it for critical transactional emails like order confirmations.

     
     

Source: Klaviyo

Tip: For SMS flows, you can configure Smart Sending separately for triggered and campaign messages. This flexibility helps manage your audience’s expectations across channels.

Test Settings for Optimal Results

Test your Smart Sending configuration to balance engagement and frequency:

1. Run A/B tests on campaigns and flows with varying Smart Sending timeframes (e.g., 16 vs. 24 hours).

2. Monitor engagement metrics like open rates and click rates to identify the optimal timeframe for your audience.

3. Use Klaviyo’s built-in analytics to compare skipped profiles and adjust settings accordingly.

Tip: Remember that updates to Smart Sending windows don’t retroactively affect recipients who were skipped before the change. Always plan ahead when tweaking these settings.

Section 4: Examples & Use Cases

Smart Sending isn’t just about avoiding spam complaints—it’s a strategic powerhouse. Whether it’s managing holiday campaigns or syncing emails with SMS, you can do a lot more with this tool than you think.

Use Case 1: Managing High-Frequency Campaigns

In fast-paced industries or during busy seasons, frequent campaigns are often necessary to keep your audience informed and engaged. Smart Sending ensures you can maintain this frequency without spamming or annoying your subscribers. By skipping profiles that recently received emails, it allows you to focus on fresh, eligible recipients, improving engagement and reducing the risk of unsubscribes.

Example: A retail brand running daily updates during a product launch can use Smart Sending to ensure recipients don’t feel overwhelmed while still maintaining campaign visibility.

Use Case 2: Optimising Holiday or Flash Sale Emails

Holidays and flash sales are high-stakes opportunities where timing is critical. Smart Sending ensures that you maximise outreach while avoiding oversaturation. By targeting subscribers who missed earlier messages, you can improve campaign reach without alienating your audience.

Example: During a Black Friday sale, send your initial campaign to your full list and then follow up with those who haven’t engaged. Smart Sending prevents repeat emails to recipients who already interacted, keeping your communication efficient and respectful.

Section 5: Common Misconceptions About Smart Sending

Even though Klaviyo Smart Sending is a powerful tool, there are several misconceptions that may prevent marketers from fully leveraging its benefits. Let’s debunk these myths and clarify why Smart Sending is essential for a successful email marketing strategy.

Myth 1: It Reduces Total Email Engagement

Many marketers believe that limiting the number of emails sent to recipients will decrease overall engagement. In reality, Smart Sending focuses on quality over quantity. By skipping recipients who have recently received emails, you reduce the risk of email fatigue, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. This approach ensures your emails are seen by the right audience at the right time, leading to better open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

Myth 2: It’s Not Necessary for Small Lists

Some believe Smart Sending is only for large-scale campaigns with massive subscriber lists. However, even small lists benefit from this feature. Overloading a small audience with frequent emails can lead to higher unsubscribe rates and reduced trust. With Smart Sending, you can maintain a strong relationship with your subscribers by respecting their inbox preferences.

Myth 3: It’s Complicated to Use and Configure

Some users hesitate to enable Smart Sending because they assume it’s challenging to set up. However, enabling Smart Sending is straightforward and can be configured at both the campaign and flow levels. Adjusting the Smart Sending timeframe or disabling it for specific campaigns is easy, ensuring it aligns with your marketing strategy.

Section 6: Troubleshooting and Optimisation

Even the most robust tools can run into hiccups. If you're experiencing issues with Klaviyo Smart Sending or want to maximise its effectiveness, this section provides actionable tips for troubleshooting and optimisation.

Troubleshooting Common Smart Sending Issues

1. Skipped Emails Not Expected?

Issue: Some emails may be skipped unexpectedly, even if recipients haven’t been over-contacted.
Solution:

• Double-check your Smart Sending settings in the campaign or flow.

• Ensure the Smart Sending timeframe aligns with your intended messaging frequency (e.g., 16 hours for emails).

• Verify the activity logs in Klaviyo to ensure the recipient wasn’t skipped due to overlapping flows or other restrictions.

Source: Klaviyo

2. Emails Not Sending at All?

Issue: No recipients received your email because Smart Sending skipped everyone in the list.
Solution:

• Review your audience segmentation to confirm your list contains active and engaged users.

• Check if recent campaigns or flows have already targeted these recipients within the Smart Sending window.

• Consider disabling Smart Sending for critical campaigns where reaching all recipients is essential.

3. Issues with SMS or Push Notifications?

Issue: Smart Sending for SMS or push notifications may behave differently than email, leading to confusion.
Solution:

• Remember that SMS and push notifications have a default Smart Sending window of 24 hours. Adjust these settings independently from email to avoid unnecessary skips.

• Manually resend critical SMS or push notifications if they were skipped unintentionally.

Source: Klaviyo

Section 7: Klaviyo Smart Sending vs. Smart Send Time

It’s easy to confuse Klaviyo’s Smart Sending with Smart Send Time, but understanding their differences can help you leverage these tools for maximum impact.

Key Differences

• Smart Sending:

This Smart Sending feature focuses on controlling the frequency of your emails to prevent over-emailing. By skipping recipients who have recently received a message, it helps reduce email fatigue, spam complaints, and unsubscribes. This makes it an excellent choice for maintaining audience trust while ensuring your communications remain relevant and welcome. 

• Smart Send Time: 

Powered by machine learning, Smart Send Time determines the most optimal times to send emails for maximum engagement. It analyses recipient behaviour, time zones, and previous interactions to fine-tune delivery timing. This feature is particularly useful for brands aiming to improve open and click rates by sending messages at the exact times their audiences are most likely to engage.

Section 8: FAQs

1. What is the difference between Klaviyo Smart Sending and Smart Send Time?

• Smart Sending controls the frequency of emails to a single recipient, preventing over-emailing. Smart Send Time determines the optimal time to send emails based on engagement data.

2. Can I customize the Smart Sending window for different campaigns?

• Yes, you can set unique Smart Sending timeframes for different campaigns and flows in Klaviyo.

3. Does Smart Sending apply to transactional emails?

• No, transactional emails like order confirmations can be excluded from Smart Sending to ensure essential communications are always delivered.

4. How can I track the performance of Smart Sending in my campaigns?

• Use Klaviyo’s analytics tools to monitor key metrics like open rates, click rates, and skipped profiles due to Smart Sending.

5. What happens if I disable Smart Sending for a campaign?

• Disabling Smart Sending will send emails to all recipients regardless of their recent email activity, which may lead to higher spam complaints and unsubscribes.

Conclusion

Klaviyo Smart Sending isn't just a feature; it's a game-changer for your email marketing strategy. Imagine a tool that stops your emails from overwhelming your subscribers, boosts your open rates, and keeps your messages out of the dreaded spam folder. That's exactly what Smart Sending does. 

By implementing it strategically, you'll not only maintain a positive relationship with your subscribers but also see a noticeable improvement in your email performance.

Key Takeaways

• Avoid Over-Emailing: Smart Sending automatically skips recipients who have recently received an email, preventing email fatigue.

• Improve Deliverability: By minimising spam complaints, Smart Sending helps protect your sender reputation and ensures your emails land in the inbox.

• Boost Engagement: Well-timed emails lead to higher open and click-through rates, making your campaigns more effective.

• Customisable Settings: You can tailor Smart Sending for different campaigns and flows, making it a flexible tool for all your marketing needs.

Poor deliverability? Looking to minimise spam rates?

Avoid over-emailing and improve engagement—let us help you configure Smart Sending effectively. Click here for a free audit on your wider deliverability.