Soft Bounce vs. Hard Bounce

If you are getting started with email marketing, you will want to be familiar with an email “bounce.” A bounce is when a recipient’s email server rejects your email.A bounce can be temporary or permanent. Let’s learn about both of them:

Soft Bounce

A soft bounce is when your email reaches the recipient’s mail server but is prevented from making it to the recipient’s inbox. A soft bounce can be caused by the following factors:

• The recipient’s inbox is full.
• The recipient’s email server is offline.
• The email is too large.

After getting a soft bounce, you can send your email again after 72 hours for one campaign, but don’t deliver the same email in a different campaign. When multiple campaigns face soft bounces, it is better to avoid a used email address.

Hard Bounce

A hard bounce is when your email returns due to a permanent type of failure. In this scenario, there is no option to send it back after a fixed period. A hard bounce is caused by the following factors:

• The domain name does not exist.
• The recipient’s address is invalid.
• The recipient’s server is blocking your IP address or domain.

Sometimes, a poor sending reputation can also cause a hard bounce.

Now that you know the difference between soft and hard bounces, you can track it in email campaign reports. It is a good idea to monitor your bounce rate and take appropriate actions to ensure your email reaches your contacts. This way, you can avoid breaking spam laws and prevent email bounces.