Hard vs. Soft Email Bounces: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

What is a bounced email?

A bounced email is one that was never delivered to your intended recipient because it was rejected by the mail server, either temporarily or permanently. When this happens, you typically receive an auto-response informing you that the email bounced. 

There are a few reasons an email may bounce. Sometimes, it’s because a subscriber gave you an incorrect email address. Other times, it’s due to server outages or because the recipient’s inbox is full.

A bounced email may also indicate a problem on your end. For instance, it could mean you’ve been flagged as spam too many times or have a restrictive DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) record and your email doesn’t pass the DMARC policy. 

How to calculate your email bounce rate

Here is the formula for tracking your email bounce rate:

(Bounced emails ÷ Total emails sent) x 100 = Email bounce rate

Soft bounce vs. hard bounce

Your email bounce rate is a way to gauge the health of your email marketing list. An important part of analyzing bounced emails is understanding the differences between a hard bounce and a soft bounce.

Hard bounce

A hard bounce is an email that can’t be delivered for permanent reasons. This is usually because the recipient’s address is invalid or no longer in use. The subscriber could have mistyped their email address, or the domain may not exist. Hard bounces are a problem because they can hurt your email deliverability rate and sender reputation. 

Soft bounce

A soft bounce is an email that wasn’t delivered due to a temporary problem. Soft bounces can happen because the recipient’s inbox is full or due to an issue with the receiving server. Because a soft bounce is temporary, you can retry the email a few times. If the email still fails to be delivered, consider it a hard bounce and remove that subscriber from your list. 

How to improve your email bounce rate

It’s helpful to track your email bounce rate, but it’s even more important to take proactive steps to keep your email bounce rate low. Here are some tips for reducing your email bounce rate.

Require a double opt-in.

One of the best ways to improve the quality of your email list is to require a double opt-in for new subscribers. 

With a single opt-in system, a new subscriber is added to your list immediately after they enter their email address on an online sign-up form. With a double opt-in, a subscriber enters their email address and then receives an email with a link. Once they click the link and verify their email address, they are added to your list.

Some businesses resist implementing a double opt-in because it takes longer to build a contact list. But if your subscribers verify their email addresses, you’ll have a higher deliverability rate and a more engaged audience.

Clean up your list regularly.

High bounce rates typically happen because your list is too cluttered. You may have started building your list years ago. In that time, many of your subscribers may have moved on or gotten new email addresses.

That’s why it’s essential to update and manage your email marketing list regularly. A simple data check will help you weed out email addresses with typos or misspellings. It’s also a good idea to check your feedback loops periodically and remove any subscribers who complain about you or report you as spam.

Every so often, go through your list and remove inactive subscribers. This can feel counterintuitive, but it can be beneficial to remove recipients who don’t engage with your emails. This ongoing process ensures that your list stays healthy and that you’re sending emails only to people who want to receive them. 

Don’t send emails from a free service.

Never send marketing emails from a free email service, such as Gmail. For one thing, sending business emails from a free email account looks unprofessional and can hurt your brand.

The other issue is that free email domains often don’t pass the DMARC policy, so you’ll likely experience more hard bounces. Send emails from a custom email address instead. 

Send emails consistently.

One of the best ways to maintain a low bounce rate is by emailing your list consistently. If new subscribers sign up and then don’t hear from you for months, they may forget they subscribed in the first place and mark your emails as spam.

To avoid this, email your subscribers at least once a month and at maximum twice a week. Consistent contact will keep them engaged and ensure that you continue building a relationship with your subscribers.

Verify your domain.

DMARC, SPF and DKIM are the three primary ways to authenticate your domain. Authenticating your domain will lower your email bounce rate and improve your deliverability rate. It will also prevent security alerts from popping up when subscribers open your emails.

Avoid spammy language.

Spammy language could be another reason for a high email bounce rate. That’s because email providers look for specific words, images and phrases to label emails as spam. For instance, if you regularly include the following phrases, your emails may go straight to the junk folder:

• “50% off”
• “Act now!”
• “Free offer”
• “Make money”
• “Drastically reduced”

Any excessive use of the dollar sign will also likely flag your email as spam.

Segment your list.

It’s not enough to build an email list; you must get to know your audience and send personalized, relevant content. Personalized emails get opened 82 percent more than generic emails, and 28 percent of users don’t care about email length as long as the content is personalized.

The easiest way to deliver personalized content is to segment your subscriber list. Group subscribers based on factors such as their locations, interests and preferences, and then send each segment relevant emails.

Monitor your email deliverability.

Just because something is working well for you now doesn’t mean it will continue to work. That’s why it’s essential to monitor your email campaigns and deliverability rate continually.

Continue A/B testing your emails so you’re aware of the type of content that resonates with your subscribers. Keep an eye on your bounce rates, open rates, and the number of subscribers who have complained or marked your emails as spam.

If you track these metrics, you can spot and address issues early on before they turn into significant problems.

Use a preference center.

As your email list grows, it will be harder to manage your subscribers and ensure that their information is up to date. At that point, you might want to add a preference center link to your emails.

A preference center is a place where your subscribers can add new information and update their email preferences. This ensures that your data is accurate, and it gives your subscribers more control over the emails they receive and the information they share with you.

A basic preference center gives subscribers the option to update their email address, choose how often they want to receive your emails, and opt out of receiving emails. 

Nurturing your email lists for maximum impact

Growing a healthy email list is an essential part of building your business. Email is one of the most effective marketing strategies and has an incredibly high return on investment.

However, you don’t want to do the hard work of building an email list, only to end up with a high bounce rate. There’s no way to prevent all bounced emails, but you can minimize hard bounces.

Focus on removing inactive subscribers from your list and on maintaining personalized and consistent contact with your subscribers. If you take those steps regularly, you should be able to keep your bounce rate below 65 percent and reap the benefits of email marketing. 

Amanda Clark contributed to this article.