A bounced email is an email that couldn't be delivered to its intended recipient. Having a high bounce rate could affect your email reputation with mailbox providers. You should maintain bounce rates less than 2%.
Bounce Types
GlassHive groups bounces into two main types:
Hard bounces
Soft bounces
The receiving mail server usually provides a reason or error code. See How to View and Understand Bounce Reasons in GlassHive for help reading those messages.
What is a hard bounce?
A hard bounce normally means the message could not be delivered for a permanent reason.
Common causes include:
The email address does not exist
The domain does not exist
The person left the company
The address contains a typing error
The address is fake
The recipient’s server permanently rejected the address
Example:
You send to alex@oldcompany.com, but the address no longer exists. The message hard bounces.
What does GlassHive do after a hard bounce?
GlassHive will mark the contact with a "Bounced" tag and will not send future campaigns to that hard-bounced address. The contact record may still remain available for reporting and review.
Why do I still need to scrub my contacts?
Automatic hard-bounce handling only stops future messages to addresses that already failed. It does not validate contacts that have not been emailed yet.
If one campaign has a high bounce rate, other contacts in the account may have come from the same old or unverified source. That is why an account suspended for high bounces must scrub all contacts before reinstatement.
What is a soft bounce?
A soft bounce normally means the address may be valid, but the message could not be delivered at that time. Common causes include:
The mailbox is full
The receiving server is temporarily unavailable
The server is busy
The message is too large
The server temporarily blocked the message
The server delayed delivery
Example:
A customer’s mailbox is full. The message reaches the receiving server but cannot be placed into the inbox.
Are soft bounces safe to ignore?
No.
One temporary soft bounce may not mean the address is bad. Repeated soft bounces need attention. Review the reason when:
The same address keeps soft bouncing
Many contacts at the same company bounce
A large percentage of one campaign soft bounces
The reason mentions spam, authentication, blocking, or reputation
What is bounce rate?
Bounce rate is the percentage of sent emails that could not be delivered.
For example:
You send 1,000 emails.
Twenty emails bounce.
Your bounce rate is 2%.
GlassHive uses the following guidance:
Bounce rate | Meaning |
0%–1% | Good |
1%–2% | Needs attention |
2% or higher | Bad and may result in suspension |
GlassHive expects bounce rates to stay below 2%.
How can I improve my Bounce rate?
Only use opt-in lists
When you purchase or use a list of recipients you haven't verified wish to receive email from you, you can be marked for spam or send to invalid emails. If you happen to send to a honeypot trap, it can land you on a blacklist, further damaging your sending reputation.Be careful using emails from form submissions
Using form submissions to capture email addresses is a great way to grow your list, but always monitor the information visitors put in. Sometimes fake emails will be used, and sending to a fake email can increase your bounce rate.Authenticate your domain
Mailbox providers are getting much more selective about what email to accept. If you are sending from marketing@techcompany.com, but you did not set up authentication for techcompany.com, your email could be rejected.Monitor your bounces
Sometimes, you'll be placed on a blacklist or spam list for a specific reason. Keep an eye on the bounces that show up and read the reason. This will typically give you insight on how to resolve it.Keep your lists clean
Confirm that your prospects have an valid email address and would like to continue to receive emails from you. This should be something you continually do as you market.