Email Bounces

What are Email Bounces?

An email bounce occurs when a sent message cannot be delivered to the recipient's inbox and is returned to the sender. Bounces are categorized as either hard (permanent failure) or soft (temporary issue).

Bounce Types:

Type	Meaning	Action Required
Hard Bounce	Permanent failure (invalid address)	Remove immediately
Soft Bounce	Temporary failure (mailbox full)	Retry, then remove if persists

Common Bounce Causes:

• Hard: Invalid email, non-existent domain, blocked sender
• Soft: Mailbox full, server down, message too large, recipient offline

Why Email Bounces Matter

Every bounce damages your sender reputation. High bounce rates trigger spam filters and can get your domain blacklisted.

Reputation Impact:

• Each hard bounce hurts domain reputation
• Bounce rate above 2% signals list quality problems
• Bounce rate above 5% causes serious deliverability issues
• Bounce rate above 10% risks domain blacklisting

The Death Spiral: Bounces → lower reputation → more filtering → lower engagement → worse reputation → more bounces.

2024 Benchmark: Hard bounce rate is 0.44%, soft bounce rate is 0.73%—both declining due to better email hygiene practices.

Benchmarks

Bounce Type	2024 Average	Previous	Trend
Hard Bounce	0.44%	0.82%	Improving
Soft Bounce	0.73%	0.84%	Improving
Total Bounce	1.98%	~2.5%	Improving

Performance Thresholds:

• Excellent: Below 1%
• Good: 1-2%
• Warning: 2-5%
• Critical: Above 5%

Regional Data: Europe leads with lowest bounce rates, while certain industries see higher rates due to data quality practices.

Best Practices

1. Remove Hard Bounces Immediately: Never re-email addresses that hard bounced
2. Validate Before Sending: Use email verification on new lists
3. Monitor Soft Bounces: Remove addresses that soft bounce repeatedly
4. Use Double Opt-in: Confirms email addresses at signup
5. Clean Lists Regularly: Quarterly validation prevents accumulation
6. Track by Source: Identify which lead sources produce bounces
7. Implement Bounce Management: Automated removal rules in ESP
8. Test Email Infrastructure: Ensure your setup isn't causing bounces

Common Mistakes

• Re-emailing addresses that previously bounced
• Not removing hard bounces from CRM immediately
• Ignoring soft bounces until they become chronic problems
• Buying email lists (high bounce rates guaranteed)
• Not validating emails before importing to CRM
• Sending to old lists without re-verification
• Failing to track bounce rate by source/campaign
• Not implementing automated bounce handling

Key Takeaways

• Hard bounces are permanent failures; soft bounces are temporary
• Remove hard bounces immediately—never retry
• 2024 benchmarks: 0.44% hard bounce, 0.73% soft bounce
• Keep total bounce rate below 2% for healthy deliverability
• Bounce rates above 5% cause serious reputation damage
• Validate email addresses before adding to lists
• Regular list cleaning prevents bounce accumulation
• Monitor bounce rate by source to identify data quality issues

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Sources:

• International Email Benchmark 2024 - GDMA
• Email Bounce Rate: Benchmarks & Deliverability Impact - CleverTap