Hard Bounce vs Soft Bounce Email Marketing: What’s the Difference?
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 9:35 am
When an email bounces back and no one is around to read it, does it make a sound?
Other than the dismal “ping” of a failed delivery, probably not. Both “hard” and “soft” bounce emails fall on deaf ears—but depending on which barrier you’re up against, you may still have room to revise and re-relate your message.
Here, we’ll outline the difference between hard bounce vs soft austria business email list bounce email marketing and provide tactics to retain your customers, net new leads, and keep your global strategy consistent with emerging email marketing trends.
Hard vs Soft Bounces, Defined
There are several reasons why an email delivery might not go through, and each case may be designated in one of two categories: hard bounces or soft bounces.
Hard Bounces
In short, hard bounces are the “hard no” of emails—the closest you’ll come to meeting a brick wall in email marketing. There are 3 main reasons for a hard bounce email:
The recipient has an invalid email address
The addressee has your sending address blocked
Your email ran up against a spam filter or firewall at its destination address
In general, hard bounce emails offer little recourse to reroute your message towards its original recipient.
Soft Bounces
Soft bounces are a little less final. There’s more wiggle room to circle back and find a workaround.
The most common explanations for soft bounce emails include:
Addressee’s mailbox is at capacity
Addressee’s account has been suspended
Integrated media or attached files are too big
Mail server malfunction
Your emails have been marked against a spam filter
Other than the dismal “ping” of a failed delivery, probably not. Both “hard” and “soft” bounce emails fall on deaf ears—but depending on which barrier you’re up against, you may still have room to revise and re-relate your message.
Here, we’ll outline the difference between hard bounce vs soft austria business email list bounce email marketing and provide tactics to retain your customers, net new leads, and keep your global strategy consistent with emerging email marketing trends.
Hard vs Soft Bounces, Defined
There are several reasons why an email delivery might not go through, and each case may be designated in one of two categories: hard bounces or soft bounces.
Hard Bounces
In short, hard bounces are the “hard no” of emails—the closest you’ll come to meeting a brick wall in email marketing. There are 3 main reasons for a hard bounce email:
The recipient has an invalid email address
The addressee has your sending address blocked
Your email ran up against a spam filter or firewall at its destination address
In general, hard bounce emails offer little recourse to reroute your message towards its original recipient.
Soft Bounces
Soft bounces are a little less final. There’s more wiggle room to circle back and find a workaround.
The most common explanations for soft bounce emails include:
Addressee’s mailbox is at capacity
Addressee’s account has been suspended
Integrated media or attached files are too big
Mail server malfunction
Your emails have been marked against a spam filter