Let’s start with the “good” bounces, also known as soft bounces. These occur when an e-mail newsletter is temporarily undeliverable to the recipient’s inbox.

Here are some examples of soft bounce scenarios:

• The recipient’s inbox is full
• The recipient’s e-mail server is down or experiencing issues
• The e-mail message is too large for the recipient’s inbox
• The recipient’s e-mail address is temporarily unavailable

Soft bounces are considered a sort of “good” bounces because they are temporary and can be fixed. They are a sign that your e-mail message is making it to the recipient’s server, just not their inbox. Soft bounces do not negatively affect your e-mail deliverability or sender reputation.

To fix and prevent soft bounces, there are a few steps you can take:

First, check the recipient’s e-mail address for any typos or errors. In case you’re confident regarding the accuracy of the e-mail address, may we suggest making another attempt to send your e-mail newsletter again.

If the soft bounce persists, contact the recipient and ask them to check their inbox and e-mail server.

On the other hand, we have the “bad” bounces, also known as hard bounces.

Unlike soft bounces, hard bounces are permanent e-mail delivery failures, which occur when an e-mail message is undeliverable to the recipient’s inbox.

Here are some examples of hard bounce scenarios:

• The e-mail address does not exist, or it is invalid
• The recipient’s e-mail server has blocked incoming messages from your domain
• The recipient’s e-mail address has been deactivated or deleted

Hard bounces are considered “bad” bounces because they negatively affect your e-mail deliverability and the sender’s reputation. If you continue to send e-mails to invalid or non-existent e-mail addresses, your e-mail service provider may flag your account as a spammer, and your e-mails may end up in the spam folder or even be blocked entirely.

To fix and prevent hard bounces, you should remove these problematic e-mail addresses from your e-mail list and check e-mail addresses before adding them to your newsletter subscriber list. Additionally, you can use e-mail verification tools like Rocket Reach to check the validity of e-mail addresses in your list.

It’s also essential to monitor your e-mail performance and bounce rates regularly. If you notice a high bounce rate, it’s time to take action and investigate the root cause.

When it comes to e-mail marketing, there’s an undeniable link between unsolicited messages and high bounce rates. Should your e-mail recipients label your e-mails as spam, it could affect your reputation.

Spam filters actively keep out flagged senders’ e-mails. This definitely prevents the e-mails from ever reaching their audience’s inbox & hampering legitimate business communications altogether.

It gets worse when the e-mails end up triggering those spam filters, thereby not even landing in the anticipated recipient’s spam folder- resulting in an increased number of bounces!

The key here is relevance. Ensure personalised messaging. Make it uniquely tailored. Your e-mail content should be engaging, and you’re sending e-mails to subscribers who have opted-in to receive them.

Doing so can reduce the risk of your e-mails being marked as spam and improve your e-mail deliverability and bounce rates.

E-mail bounces can be classified as “good,” “bad,” or “fixable.” Soft bounces are temporary and can be fixed, while hard bounces are permanent and negatively affect your e-mail deliverability.

By maintaining a clean e-mail list and using a double opt-in process, you can prevent bounces from occurring in the first place.

So, there you have it – a breakdown of e-mail bounce types and how to address them.

Take action and keep your e-mail campaigns on track.