Hard and Soft Bounces
When you consider the hoops every email message must navigate to get from Point A to Point B, it's amazing that more email doesn't bounce back undelivered. While you should take note of all bounces, some hard bounces require more immediate action. Here's how they differ:
Differences
A soft bounce is an email message that gets as far as the recipient's mail server (it recognizes the address) but is bounced back undelivered before it makes its way to the recipient.
This means, for whatever reason, the recipient's email server has taken a closer look and decided not to accept the message. It could be that the recipient's mailbox is full, or the server is down or swamped with messages, the message is too large or the user has abandoned the mailbox.
Most email service providers will attempt to deliver the email regularly for a few days. If it is still undelivered, it becomes a hard bounce.
A hard bounce is an email message that has been returned to the sender and is permanently undeliverable. Essentially, your mail system was unable to complete its task. Start by checking for invalid addresses (the domain name doesn't exist, typos in the address, address has changed, etc.) and the possibility that the email recipient's spam filter mistakenly blocked your message.
Why Bounces Matter
It's critical to manage and reduce your email bounces. Particularly if you are using permission-based or opt-in lists, because this means your message is not reaching those who are actively interested in receiving information from you.
At Proven Systems, we provide state-of-the-art software for tracking hard and soft bounces. For more information, contact our experienced staff at 970-223-6565. |