By now, one thing should be clear: Deliverability isn’t luck. And it’s not something you “set up once.” It’s an **outcome of infrastructure**. The problem is that most people don’t know what that infrastructure actually is. They think it’s: - Your choice in ESP (**E**mail **S**ervice **P**rovider - The tool you use to actually send your emails) - Where they store their contacts - The tools they use to create their content Those are components. They are not the system. # Delivery Is a System-Level Outcome > **Inbox Placement:** *Ensuring the emails you send actually land in your customers main inbox, rather than spam or Gmail's promotions tab.* Inbox placement is the result of: - Technical trust - Behavioral signals - Consistency over time No single lever controls it. That’s why copying someone else’s setup rarely works. Their reputation isn’t transferable. Their audience behavior isn’t yours. Their sending patterns don’t match your context. The only reliable way to control delivery is to control the system that produces it. # The Three Layers of Delivery Infrastructure Every healthy email system resolves into three layers: 1. **Protocol Layer** 2. **State Layer** 3. **Logic Layer** Most people only touch the first. That’s why their systems break under scale. ![[Infrastructure stack.png]] # Layer 1 — Technical Protocol (Table Stakes) This is the technical foundation: 1. *Authentication* - Ensuring your DNS settings are correct 2. *Domain alignment* - Validating you are sending from the correct domain (many people get this wrong) 3. *Sending consistency* - Are you sending predictably so email providers can track you properly? Necessary. But not sufficient. This layer tells providers: > “I am who I say I am.” It does _not_ tell them: > “You should trust me.” That trust has to be earned elsewhere. # Layer 2 — State Awareness (Where Reputation Is Built) This is the layer almost everyone ignores. State awareness answers questions like: - Is this person engaged or passive? - How recently did they interact? - What did they respond to? - How often should they hear from us _now_? - What should we be engaging them with? Providers care deeply about this. They watch: - Opens over time - Click decay - Reply behavior - Ignoring patterns If your system *treats everyone the same,* providers treat you as **careless.** # Layer 3 — AI Logic (Where Leverage Lives) AI powered logic is the decision engine. This is where: - Automation adapts - Messaging routes dynamically - Frequency changes based on behavior - AI actually becomes useful Without logic, automation is just a schedule. With logic, the system becomes **responsive.** This is what separates: - Broadcast lists *from* - Living systems # Why Most Setups Collapse at Scale Early on, almost anything works. Usually due to a combination of: - Possessing a small list. - High initial novelty from your offer. - Email providers that are often forgiving to new senders. > Then scale hits. More *volume.* More *variance.* More **disengagement.** Without state awareness and logic layers, delivery degrades quietly. People blame: - Their ESPs - Content - Market fatigue The real issue is **architectural.** # Why This Infrastructure Is Rare Because it’s *invisible.* No one sees: - Clean routing decisions - Suppressed low-engagement cohorts - Adaptive frequency changes They only see: - Consistent launches - Stable revenue - Quiet compounding Infrastructure doesn’t look impressive. So many brands and creators don't have any interest in optimizing it at scale Until you don’t have it. # What Comes Next Once infrastructure is in place, something interesting happens: Deliverability stops being reactive. It becomes a **feedback loop**. Engagement improves delivery. Delivery improves engagement. Both improve revenue. That loop is the real asset. In the next section, we’ll break down: *Deliverability* as a **Living Feedback System** Not theory. Not best practices. Just how the loop actually works. **UP NEXT:** [[6 - Deliverability Is a Feedback Loop]]