Broadcast Deliverability
Deliverability means your broadcasts actually reach fans’ inboxes — and stay out of spam folders. Flo watches list quality, complaint and bounce rates, and sending speed so one bad send does not hurt everyone on the platform.
This guide is the broadcast-focused reference: habits, what Flo does automatically, and where to check health before you send. For score bands, suspension, and hourly caps in detail, see Sender reputation. For plan quotas and monthly caps, see Broadcast limits.
The basics (do these first)
| Practice | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Double opt-in only | Fans confirm via your Newsletter block before they are subscribed — never mail pending signups — Email capture |
| No purchased or scraped lists | Bad addresses cause bounces; spam reports spike |
| Honest subject lines | Fewer “Report spam” clicks — Flo warns in the composer — Compose a broadcast |
| Useful content | Better opens over time help your standing once you have enough sends |
| Recognizable From name | Fans should know who the email is from — Email domain |
| Verified sending address | Mail is authenticated from your Flo or custom domain |
| Business address in the footer | Required by law; Flo adds it automatically on send — Physical address |
On your first Send now, Flo may ask you to accept the Email Sending Agreement (opt-in only, honest subjects, honor unsubscribes, and that Flo may pause sending if rules are broken).
Where to check health in Flo
Open Dashboard → Subscribers. The top cards summarize deliverability:
| Card | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Sender Reputation | Your 0–100 score, complaint and bounce rates, throttling notes, and suspension — Sender reputation |
| List health | How many fans are Hot / Warm / Cool / Cold by engagement, plus counts like hard bounces and unconfirmed signups |
Use Sender Reputation before a big blast (“Can Flo send at full speed?”). Use List health to see whether your list is mostly engaged or full of cold contacts.
Sending identity and domain
Subscribers see a From name and From email you set under Settings → Email sending → Sender identity.
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Default address | Every creator gets yourname.myflo.link when sending is ready |
| Custom domain | Optional hostname (for example mail.yourbrand.com) with DNS verification — Creator and above — Email domain |
| Reply-to | Can point to Gmail or support — does not have to match the From domain |
A verified domain helps inbox providers trust that the message really came from you. Until the domain is verified, From email may stay disabled in Settings.
Footer, unsubscribe, and compliance
You do not paste an unsubscribe link or postal address into the broadcast body. Flo appends a compliant footer on every send:
| Piece | Source |
|---|---|
| Unsubscribe link | Automatic — one click opts the fan out of your list |
| Physical mailing address | Settings → Email sending → Email footer → Business address |
| “Sent via Flo” | Standard platform line |
Without a saved Business address, Send and Schedule stay disabled. Some older screens still say Settings → Profile — the live field is Email sending.
Who receives broadcasts
Only people who should be on your list get campaigns:
| Audience | Who is included |
|---|---|
| All subscribers | Status subscribed only (confirmed double opt-in) — not pending or unsubscribed |
| Members only | Active membership fans you select — separate from the marketing list |
Detail: Broadcast audience.
When someone unsubscribes or hard-bounces, Flo stops sending them future broadcasts automatically.
How large sends are delivered
Big All subscribers campaigns rarely leave your account in one instant blast. Flo delivers in waves to protect inboxes and your reputation.
Engagement tiers (Hot → Cold)
Each subscribed fan has an engagement tier based on recent opens:
| Tier | Usually means |
|---|---|
| Hot | Opened in the last 30 days and opened at least 3 times in that window |
| Warm | Opened in the last 30 days |
| Cool | Opened sometime in the last 90 days, but not recently |
| Cold | No opens in 90+ days |
Flo sends Hot fans first, then waits before the next group (Warm, then Cool, then Cold). Gaps are roughly 3 hours, 7 hours, and 13 hours between tiers — so a large list can stay on Sending for much of a day even when everything is healthy.
That pacing is intentional: providers trust senders who reach engaged fans first.
Speed limits (warm-up and reputation)
Even with a perfect score, Flo caps how many emails per hour for new accounts:
| Lifetime broadcasts completed | Rough hourly cap |
|---|---|
| 0 (first sends) | 200 / hour |
| 1–3 | 500 / hour |
| 4–10 | 2,000 / hour |
| More than 10 | Based on Sender reputation |
If you hit the hourly cap, you may see:
This broadcast (N recipients) exceeds your hourly send limit (X remaining in the current hour). Wait for the limit to reset or send a smaller audience.
The composer cannot split All subscribers into a partial list today — wait for the hour to roll over or improve list quality. See Broadcast limits for the known UX gap.
During rare platform-wide growth periods, Flo may also limit total sends per day for everyone. If today’s allowance is used up, try again later or the next day.
Bounces and spam complaints
Inbox providers tell Flo when mail could not be delivered or when someone reported spam.
Hard bounce (permanent)
| What happened | What Flo does |
|---|---|
| Invalid or dead address, mailbox gone | Counts toward your bounce rate on Sender Reputation |
| That address is suppressed — they will not get future broadcasts | |
| Shows under Hard bounced on List health |
A high hard-bounce rate after a bad import is the fastest way to hurt your score.
Soft bounce (temporary)
| What happened | What Flo does |
|---|---|
| Inbox full, server busy, short outage | Does not count like a hard bounce on the reputation card right away |
| Flo retries automatically up to 3 times (roughly 4 hours, 1 day, and 3 days apart) | |
| If all retries fail, the address is treated like a hard bounce and suppressed |
You do not manage the retry queue manually — it runs in the background.
Spam complaint
| What happened | What Flo does |
|---|---|
| Fan clicked Report spam (or their provider did) | Counts toward Complaint rate — heaviest weight on your score |
| Can trigger throttling or immediate suspension if rates cross platform limits |
Even one complaint per 1,000 sends can matter. Flo enforces limits before provider-wide shutdowns.
Warning and suspension thresholds (30-day window)
After at least 100 sends in the rolling 30 days, Flo enforces:
| Metric | Warning | Throttling begins | Suspension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complaint rate | Above 0.05% | Above 0.07% | 0.10% or higher |
| Hard bounce rate | Above 2% | Above 5% | 8% or higher |
Examples:
- 0.10% complaints ≈ 1 spam report per 1,000 deliveries.
- 8% hard bounces ≈ 80 hard bounces per 1,000 deliveries.
Full score bands and hourly caps: Sender reputation.
Throttling vs suspension
| State | What you see | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Throttled | Yellow or red note on Sender Reputation about large sends during recovery | Mail still sends, but slower or in smaller hourly batches |
| Suspended | Red Email sending suspended banner + email to your account | New broadcasts cannot send — Email sending is suspended for your account. |
Suspension is reviewed with support@myflo.link — there is no self-serve “turn sending back on” button today.
After you send — read the report
From Dashboard → Broadcasts, open View report on a Sent or Sending campaign.
| Stat | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Recipients | How many you targeted |
| Delivered | Confirmed accepted by the recipient’s mail system (may lag while Sending) |
| Opens | Fans who opened — Flo compares to a typical ~28% benchmark in the UI |
| Link clicks | Clicks on links in the body |
| Unsubscribes | Opt-outs tied to this send |
The list row also shows quick opens / clicks / bounce percentages once data is in.
A high bounce rate on one campaign is a signal to pause imports and clean Manage your list before the next send.
What hurts deliverability
| Mistake | Result |
|---|---|
| Buying or scraping emails | Hard bounces and complaints |
| Mailing pending signups | Fans who never confirmed — risky and not allowed for All subscribers |
| Misleading Re: / Fwd: subjects | Blocked in composer; spam filter risk |
| Image-heavy mail with almost no text | Composer warning; poor inbox scoring |
| Huge blast to a mostly Cold list | Low opens; slower waves; reputation drag |
| Ignoring rising complaint or bounce rates | Throttling, then suspension |
What helps deliverability
| Habit | Result |
|---|---|
| Newsletter double opt-in on your Flo page | Confirmed, engaged list |
| Remove bad rows in Subscribers | Fewer bounces on the next send |
| Send to subscribed fans who actually open | Tiers stay Hot / Warm |
| Clear From name + verified domain | Trust in the inbox |
| Straightforward subjects and real content | Fewer spam reports; better opens |
| Check Sender Reputation before a launch | Catch Fair / Poor early |
Strong open rates on large sends can help your score once you have 500+ deliveries in the 30-day window.
Before a big broadcast — checklist
Reputation
Dashboard → Subscribers → Sender Reputation is Excellent or Good. No red suspension banner.
List health
List health — low Hard bounced and Unconfirmed; not mostly Cold unless you accept slower pacing.
Settings
Email sending: verified domain, From name / From email, Business address saved.
Composer
Preview on mobile; fix Issues that block sending; honest subject — Compose a broadcast.
Plan limits
Creator: confirm you are under 5 Sent this month — Broadcast limits.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to try |
|---|---|
| Stuck on Sending for hours | Large list + tier pacing and/or hourly cap — normal if reputation is Fair or list is big |
| Hourly send limit error | Wait for the rolling hour to reset; do not spam-click Send |
| Score 100 but mail feels slow | Fewer than 100 sends in 30 days — score is provisional; new sender hourly caps still apply |
| Score dropped after one blast | Small denominators — one complaint or many bounces moves rates fast |
| High bounce on report | Stop cold imports; delete or unsubscribe bad rows |
| Fan says they never got mail | Check pending vs subscribed; ask them to check spam; confirm they did not unsubscribe |
| Suspended but card looks fine | Refresh Subscribers; trust the send error; email support@myflo.link |
| Soft bounce then nothing | Flo retries automatically; after failed retries the address is suppressed |
| Reinstatement | Contact support@myflo.link — improving metrics alone may not clear suspension |
Quick reference
| Goal | Where to go |
|---|---|
| See score and rates | Subscribers → Sender Reputation |
| See Hot/Warm/Cool/Cold mix | Subscribers → List health |
| Fix From / domain | Settings → Email sending |
| Fix footer address | Settings → Email sending → Email footer |
| Clean the list | Manage your list |
| Grow list safely | Email capture |
| Send limits | Broadcast limits |
What's next?
- Sender reputation — score, throttling, suspension, recovery
- Broadcast limits — monthly cap, list size, speed
- Compose a broadcast — pre-send checks and send flow
- Broadcast audience — who receives mail
- Email domain — From address and DNS
- Physical address — required footer
- Broadcasts overview — dashboard and statuses
- Contact support — suspension and deliverability review