- January 31, 2024
- Blog
“You were unable to deliver your email.” Once more. Why? Emails might bounce for a number of reasons, even if you believe all of your configuration is proper. While there are situations where responding to emails quickly is due to circumstances beyond your control, there are also instances where it is truly your fault. We’ll examine each scenario in detail in this post and discuss the distinctions between a hard and a soft bounce—two crucial metrics to monitor for email marketing campaigns.
What Is An Email Bounce Bank?
Before delving into the distinctions between hard and soft bounces, it’s essential to comprehend the concept of email bounce back. Email bounce back refers to the automatic return of an email that could not be delivered to the recipient’s inbox. Bounces can be triggered by various factors, such as invalid email addresses, server issues, or the recipient’s mailbox being full.
However, the email bounce rate is a crucial metric that reflects the percentage of emails that were not successfully delivered out of the total emails sent. Monitoring and managing the bounce rate is vital for maintaining a healthy sender reputation and ensuring that email campaigns reach their intended audience effectively.
What is Hard Bounce Email?
When an email is consistently refused and is unable to be delivered to the receiver, it is referred to as a “hard bounce.”This type of bounce is typically a result of an invalid, non-existent, or blocked email address. Some common causes of hard bounces include typos in the email address, outdated or deactivated accounts, or a domain that no longer exists. According to Mailchimp, the construction sector had the highest hard bounce rate which is a total of (1.28 percent). The Daily Deals/E-Coupons industry, on the other side, had the lowest, at 0.13%.
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Permanent Nature
One of the defining characteristics of hard bounces is their permanence. Once an email address is flagged as a hard bounce, future attempts to send emails to that address are likely to fail. When an email address triggers a hard bounce, it signifies a permanent issue that prevents successful delivery
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Explicit reason for failure
Hard bounce emails provide a clear and explicit reason for the delivery failure. The bounce message generated by the receiving mail server explicitly states that the email address is invalid, non-existent, or blocked. This transparency is beneficial for marketers as it allows them to identify the root cause of the issue and take specific actions to rectify it. Whether it’s a typo in the email address, an outdated account, or a domain that no longer exists, the bounce message offers valuable insights.
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Impact on Sender Reputation
High rates of hard bounce emails can have severe consequences for a sender’s reputation. Email service providers (ESPs) closely monitor email bounce rates as part of their spam filtering algorithms. A consistently high percentage of hard bounce signals to ESPs that a sender may be engaging in poor list hygiene practices or sending emails to outdated or purchased lists. This can lead to emails being flagged as spam or, in extreme cases, result in the sender being blacklisted.
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Clear Indicator for action
The explicit nature of hard bounce messages serves as a clear indicator for action. Marketers receive a straightforward message stating that the email address is undeliverable, prompting them to review and update their email list. This clarity allows for swift corrective measures, such as removing invalid addresses and updating records, to prevent future hard bounces.
What is Soft Bounce Email?
In contrast, a soft bounce email is a temporary failure to deliver an email. Soft bounces are typically caused by issues that are temporary in nature and can be resolved, allowing the email to be delivered on subsequent attempts. Common reasons for soft bounces include a recipient’s mailbox being full, a temporary issue with the recipient’s email server, or a message size exceeding the recipient’s limits. The typical email bounce rate varies based on the industry and ESP, from 0.3% to 11.75%. For every email campaign delivered, however, an acceptable email bounce rate is approximately 2% or less.
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Temporary Nature
Soft bounces are transient and may be resolved with subsequent delivery attempts. This makes them less severe than hard bounces, as they do not necessarily indicate a permanent issue with the recipient’s email address.
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Varied Causes
Soft bounces can be caused by a range of factors, including temporary server issues, full mailboxes, or exceeded message size limits. Identifying the specific cause helps marketers take appropriate actions to enhance deliverability.
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Potential Conversion
Since soft bounce emails are often temporary, there is a chance that subsequent delivery attempts will be successful. This provides an opportunity for marketers to re-engage with recipients and potentially convert soft bounces into successful deliveries
Differentiating Soft Vs Hard Bounce Email
Understanding the difference between soft and hard bounces is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. Frequent soft bounces may still allow for successful email delivery in the future, but consistent hard bounces can harm the sender’s reputation and lead to being labeled as a spammer.
Email marketers should regularly clean their email lists by removing invalid addresses that result in hard bounces. Additionally, monitoring and addressing soft bounces promptly can prevent them from escalating into hard bounces, ensuring effective communication with recipients and preserving sender credibility.
Reasons For Soft Bounces Email Includes:
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Mailbox Full
The recipient’s mailbox is temporarily full, preventing new messages from being accepted. Once the user frees up space, future emails should be delivered successfully.
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Server Issues
Temporary problems with the recipient’s email server, such as maintenance or a temporary outage, can result in a soft bounce. As the server becomes operational again, the email may be successfully delivered.
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Message Too Large
If the email size exceeds the recipient’s mailbox limit, it may result in a soft bounce. Resizing attachments or compressing files can resolve this issue.
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Grey listing
Some email servers utilize grey listing as an anti-spam measure, which temporarily rejects an email from an unknown sender. Subsequent attempts to send the email may be successful.
Reasons For Hard Bounces Email Includes:
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Invalid Email Address
The recipient’s email address is either misspelled or doesn’t exist. This could be due to typos, outdated contact information, or intentional falsification.
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Domain Doesn’t Exist
The domain of the recipient’s email address is invalid or does not exist. This could be a result of a typo in the domain or an obsolete domain.
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Blocked by the Recipient Server
The recipient’s email server has marked the sender as spam or has blacklisted the sender’s domain, resulting in a hard bounce for all emails.
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Email Server Configuration Issues
Problems with the recipient’s email server configuration, such as misconfigured DNS records, can lead to hard bounces.
Implications for Email Marketing Strategies
List Hygiene and Validation
One of the primary implications for email marketing strategies lies in the importance of list hygiene and validation. Hard bounces, often stemming from invalid or non-existent email addresses can significantly impact deliverability and tarnish the sender’s reputation. In order to mitigate this, marketers must prioritize regular list hygiene practices. Maintaining a clean and validated email list is crucial to reduce the risk of hard bounces. Additionally, marketers must ensure that their email lists remain clean and optimized for successful deliveries.
Segmentation for Targeted Communication
Understanding the distinction between hard and soft bounces enables marketers to implement targeted communication strategies. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, segmentation based on bounce type allows for personalized and relevant communication. For recipients experiencing soft bounces, targeted messages can address specific issues like a full mailbox or temporary server problems. This segmentation approach not only improves the chances of successful deliveries but also enhances overall engagement by delivering content tailored to the recipient’s situation.
Re-Engagement Campaigns
Soft bounces are temporary; they offer an opportunity for re-engagement. Successful interactions can be achieved by implementing reactivation initiatives specially tailored to address the difficulties that lead to soft bounces. Resolving server problems or freeing up mailbox capacity is examples of actions that can be taken to fix bounces and revive engagement. Marketers may increase audience responsiveness and retain valued subscribers by taking the initiative.
Monitoring and Analytics
Continuous monitoring of bounce rates and in-depth analysis of bounce data provide critical insights into the performance of email campaigns. Recognizing patterns, identifying trends, and understanding the reasons behind bounces empower marketers to make data-driven decisions. Marketers can proactively adjust their strategies to optimize deliverability by closely monitoring these metrics.
Maintaining Sender Reputation
Email service providers (ESPs) closely monitor sender behavior, and a poor reputation may result in emails being flagged as spam or, in extreme cases, blocking the sender altogether. This includes list hygiene, targeted communication, and prompt resolution of bounce-related issues.
To Wrap Up the Things
Understanding the difference between soft and hard email bounces is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. While repeated hard bounces might damage a sender’s reputation and result in being flagged as a spammer, numerous soft bounces might nevertheless permit effective email delivery in the future. Email marketers should regularly clean their email lists by removing invalid addresses that result in hard bounces.
Additionally, monitoring and addressing soft email bounces promptly can prevent them from escalating into hard bounces, ensuring effective communication with recipients and preserving sender credibility.
