How can I troubleshoot email bounce issues effectively in Email Geeks?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit (r/emailmarketing) responds that checking your IP address and domain reputation against blocklists is essential. Tools like MXToolbox can help identify if your sending infrastructure is listed on any blocklists, which can cause emails to bounce.
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog shares that email validation services can help detect invalid or risky email addresses before sending, therefore reducing bounce rates and maintaining list quality.
Marketer from Email Geeks is fine with questions about bounces, but minds when people obscure useful information like IPs and domains when asking why they can't deliver things.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog advocates for regular list hygiene practices, including removing inactive subscribers and using double opt-in to ensure valid email addresses. They mention using tools to verify email addresses before sending campaigns.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce Blog emphasizes the use of email verification tools to identify and remove invalid, spam trap, and disposable email addresses from your mailing list. This proactive approach helps reduce bounce rates and protects your sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks is going to steal the approach suggested by Laura Atkins: asking users what they have already done to troubleshoot bounce issues.
Marketer from Email Geeks provides a link to a blog post about classifying email bounces and managing them in audiences.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that if you are using a new IP address, gradually warm it up by sending emails to engaged subscribers first. Avoid sending large volumes of emails to cold contacts initially to establish a positive sending reputation.
Email marketer from Mailchimp Resources shares that consistently reviewing bounce reports allows you to identify patterns and potential issues with your email campaigns. They advise segmenting your audience based on engagement and sending targeted content to improve overall deliverability and reduce bounces.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that people should search for their question on Slack, and if necessary, ask for more help. John suggests typing in the bounce message, to see if someone has asked the same question before.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog emphasizes the importance of setting up email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve email deliverability and reduce bounces. These protocols help verify that your emails are legitimate and prevent spoofing.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that a high bounce rate can severely impact your sender reputation, leading to emails being marked as spam. Regularly cleaning your email list by removing invalid or inactive addresses is crucial.
Email marketer from Email Deliverability Forum advises on understanding specific bounce codes to identify patterns. For example, repeated 'mailbox full' errors might suggest a problem with the recipient's email provider rather than your sending practices.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests asking users what they have already done to troubleshoot bounce issues. Laura finds it frustrating to receive bounce messages without prior investigation from the sender.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests writing a blog post about troubleshooting bounces and setting up an auto-responder.
Expert from Spam Resource explains the importance of properly processing bounces. He recommends checking the destination server's response and ensuring your system correctly identifies hard vs soft bounces, as incorrect handling can negatively impact your sending reputation.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains how to use Yahoo's VBRS (View Bulk Rate Summary) to troubleshoot deliverability issues, including bounces. She notes that VBRS provides insights into how Yahoo views your traffic, allowing you to identify and address problems like high bounce rates.
What the documentation says6Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains how to interpret Non-Delivery Reports (NDRs), also known as bounce messages, in Exchange Online. They highlight the importance of examining the 'Diagnostic-Code' and 'Status-Code' fields within the NDR to pinpoint the reason for delivery failure and take corrective action.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that understanding the different types of bounce messages (hard vs. soft) is key. Hard bounces indicate permanent delivery failures, while soft bounces are temporary. Google recommends monitoring bounce rates and investigating the causes of hard bounces immediately.
Documentation from RFC Editor (RFC 5321) details the standard SMTP error codes and their meanings. Understanding these codes allows you to diagnose the specific reasons why emails are bouncing, such as mailbox full, invalid recipient, or policy rejection.
Documentation from SparkPost Documentation details how feedback loops (FBLs) work and how to implement them. FBLs allow you to receive reports from ISPs about users who mark your emails as spam, enabling you to remove those users from your list and improve deliverability.
Documentation from Yahoo Postmaster explains the importance of monitoring bounce feedback and taking corrective actions to improve your email sending practices. They recommend using their provided tools and guidelines to ensure optimal deliverability to Yahoo mailboxes.
Documentation from AWS provides steps on how to set up bounce notifications via Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) when using Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). This helps automatically identify and process bounced email addresses.