Soft Bounce vs Hard Bounce (+5 Tips to fix them)

“There was a temporary problem delivering your message to john@example.com”

Ever came across such a message in your inbox?

Yep, that’s an email bounce.

It can be frustrating when your emails bounce back, especially when you think you’ve done everything right. But don’t worry; it happens to the best of us. We’ll break down soft bounce vs hard bounce in simple terms.

So, let’s talk about it.

What is an email bounce?

When the email you send gets rejected by the recipient’s email server. It’s like the email taking a U-turn without going to the person you wanted. This is a “bounced email.”

An email delivery failure message will have the following-

• The time and date, the message bounced
• Email server that bounced it
• The Request For Comments (RFC) code
• Reason for the email bounce 

Now, there are two kinds of bounces: hard bounces and soft bounces.

Soft bounce vs Hard bounce

What is a soft bounce?

A soft bounce is an email that reaches the recipient’s email server but bounces without getting delivered to the recipient. 

Thankfully, it is only a temporary deliverability problem. It might have occurred because of the following reasons:

• The recipient mailbox isn’t configured correctly.
• An email deliverability issue at your end
• The recipient server is offline or down
• Your email content is spammy
• The recipient inbox is full
• Your email size is huge…

… and a whole lot of unknown reasons.

Most email clients re-send a soft bounce email automatically after 72 hours, which is the standard setting. Even though soft bounce is a temporary issue, it is still not good for your email deliverability. 

Tips to reduce soft bounce

1. Right audience

Ensure that you reach out to a targeted and relevant audience. Sending emails to uninterested or irrelevant recipients increases the likelihood of bounces.

2. Use verified and up-to-date contacts

Verify the accuracy of your prospect’s email addresses before adding them to your list. Regularly update your contact database to remove outdated or incorrect email addresses.

3. Personalize and personalize

Send personalized and relevant email content. Generic or impersonal emails are more likely to be marked as spam, leading to bounces.

4. Timing and frequency

Be mindful of the timing and frequency of your outbound emails. Sending too many emails in a short span may lead to soft bounces, especially if your prospects’ inboxes are overwhelmed.

5. Optimize email templates

Test different email templates to see which ones result in higher deliverability. Optimize your templates for clarity, relevance, and engagement to reduce the likelihood of bounces.

What is hard bounce?

A hard bounce is a permanent bounce where your recipient will not receive your email at all. 

Having a lot of hard bounces can be a problem for your email deliverability, as spam filters will view this as a threat. 

Hard bounce can happen because of the following reasons:

• Invalid or non-existent email address
• The email you sent has typos (Example: @.co instead of @co)
• Deactivated recipient email
• Recipients’ server has blocked you
• Domain name doesn’t exist

Tips to reduce hard bounce

1. Remove unengaged subscribers

Purge your email list regularly to remove subscribers who do not take any action or have invalid email addresses.

Taking them off your list is the most straightforward action that you can take to reduce your hard bounce rates.

2. Analyze the source

Find the most common bounces and see if the source for bad addresses is from a particular source. Take decisive action based on this information.

3. Email blocked by the recipient’s server

Many corporate and government institutions have strict inbox filter settings that do not allow all emails. It might block

• emails of a particular size,
• images,
• When there is a low ratio of text to image area,
• or if the email only has text/HTML MIME parts, etc.

So trying resolving these issues at your end first.

4. Keep bounce rates under 2%

While it is normal to have a few emails bounce when you grow your email list because of the plethora of reasons we discussed in the article, ensure to keep it below 2%.

If it is over 2%, then you have a sender reputation problem in your hands. 

Email bounce rates vary based on the industry. Here is a list of the email marketing bounce rate benchmarks for different industries, according to research by Campaign Monitor:

• Advertising and Marketing agencies- 1.10%
• Media, Entertainment & Publishing- 0.40%
• Construction, Contracting & Manufacturing- 2.20%

Wrapping up

To sum it up, understanding soft bounce vs hard bounce deals is crucial for better emails. 

Keep your email list updated, make your messages personal, and respect those who want out. This way, you avoid short-term issues (soft bounce) and don’t bother with addresses that don’t work anymore (hard bounce). 

Easy steps like these mean your emails get where they should – in people’s inboxes. So, keep it simple, keep it tidy, and see your emails do their job. 

Happy emailing!