How to resolve increased soft and hard bounces after sending to a new segment with a new sender address?

Summary

Sending to a new segment with a new sender address often leads to increased bounces due to a lack of established sender reputation and potential permission issues. Experts and marketers recommend warming up the new sender address and domain by gradually increasing sending volume. Maintaining good email list hygiene, including removing hard bounces (especially those marked as 'envelope blocked - User Entry') and validating new lists, is essential. Implementing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) builds trust with email providers. Checking against blocklists, establishing consistent sending volumes, using double opt-in, and A/B testing content can further improve deliverability. Additionally, using a shared envelope domain can impact deliverability, making a custom envelope a worthwhile consideration. Understanding bounce types (soft vs. hard) and analyzing SMTP error codes are crucial for diagnosing and resolving delivery issues. Adhering to sending limits set by providers like Microsoft Exchange Online is also important.

Key findings

  • Sender Reputation: New sender addresses lack established reputations, triggering spam filters and increasing bounces.
  • List Hygiene: Invalid or inactive email addresses increase bounce rates; 'envelope blocked - User Entry' is a hard bounce.
  • Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC improves deliverability by establishing trust with email providers.
  • Blocklists: Being listed on blocklists negatively impacts deliverability.
  • Sending Volume: Inconsistent sending volumes can damage sender reputation.
  • Permission: Lack of explicit permission or outdated data leads to increased bounce rates.
  • Shared Envelope: Using a shared envelope domain can cause deliverability issues due to the actions of other senders.
  • Bounce Types: Soft bounces are temporary; hard bounces require immediate removal.
  • Error Codes: SMTP error codes help diagnose delivery failures.
  • Sending Limits: Exceeding sending limits can lead to bounces.

Key considerations

  • Warm-up: Gradually warm up the IP address and domain to establish a sender reputation.
  • List Validation: Validate new email lists to remove invalid addresses before sending.
  • Hard Bounce Removal: Immediately remove addresses that generate hard bounces, especially 'envelope blocked - User Entry' bounces.
  • Authentication: Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate emails.
  • Opt-in: Use double opt-in to ensure recipients actively consent to receive emails.
  • Content Optimization: A/B test subject lines and content to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or invalid addresses.
  • Monitoring: Monitor sending statistics and bounce rates to identify and address issues proactively.
  • Envelope Customization: Consider using a custom envelope to isolate your sending reputation.
  • Sending Schedule: Establish a consistent sending schedule to avoid negatively impacting sender reputation.
  • Unsubscribe Process: Implement a clear and easy way to unsubscribe from future emails.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

Sending to a new email segment with a new sender address often leads to increased soft and hard bounces due to a lack of established sender reputation. Experts recommend warming up the new sender address and domain by gradually increasing sending volume. Maintaining good email list hygiene, including removing hard bounces and validating new lists, is essential. Implementing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) builds trust with email providers. Checking against blocklists, establishing consistent sending volumes, using double opt-in, and A/B testing content can further improve deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Sender Reputation: New sender addresses lack established reputations, triggering spam filters.
  • List Hygiene: Invalid or inactive email addresses increase bounce rates.
  • Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC improves deliverability.
  • Blocklists: Being listed on blocklists can significantly impact deliverability.
  • Sending Volume: Inconsistent sending volumes negatively affect sender reputation.
  • Hard bounces: Envelope block user entry is a hard bounce

Key considerations

  • Warm-up Period: Gradually increase sending volume from the new address to build reputation.
  • List Validation: Validate new email lists to remove invalid addresses before sending.
  • Opt-in Methods: Use double opt-in to ensure recipients actively consent to receive emails.
  • Content Optimization: A/B test subject lines and content to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints.
  • Monitoring: Regularly check your domain and IP address against blocklists. Ensure that your email infrastructure is correctly configured.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog explains that maintaining good email list hygiene by removing invalid or inactive email addresses can help reduce bounce rates and improve deliverability. Regularly clean your list.

August 2021 - Sendinblue Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Blog explains that A/B testing subject lines and email content can help improve engagement and reduce spam complaints, indirectly lowering bounce rates by improving overall sender reputation.

January 2024 - Litmus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog explains that inconsistent sending volumes can negatively impact your sender reputation and lead to increased bounces. Establish a regular sending schedule.

July 2023 - HubSpot Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that implementing email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for establishing trust with email providers and reducing bounce rates. These help verify that you are who you say you are.

August 2024 - Neil Patel Blog
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that using a different sender address might improve inboxing initially, but not in the long run. Contacts that hard bounced should be removed, and clarifies that `envelope blocked - User Entry` is a hard bounce indicating the user blocked the sender.

December 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that using double opt-in ensures that subscribers actively confirm their subscription, leading to a higher quality list and lower bounce rates.

September 2021 - ActiveCampaign Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that sending from a new sender address without a established reputation can lead to increased bounces. Work on warming up your domain and IP address.

July 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from MailerCheck Blog explains that when sending from a new IP address, you need to warm it up to establish a sending reputation. Start with small volumes and gradually increase the number of emails you send daily.

August 2022 - MailerCheck Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from ZeroBounce Blog recommends validating any newly acquired email lists with an email validation service before sending to them to remove invalid email addresses.

November 2022 - ZeroBounce Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum recommends checking your sender address and domain against known blocklists to identify potential issues impacting deliverability. If you're listed, take steps to get removed.

March 2023 - Email Marketing Forum

What the experts say
4Expert opinions

Sending to new segments with new sender addresses often leads to increased bounces due to a lack of established sender reputation and potential permission issues. Experts emphasize the importance of recipient permission, proper list hygiene, and gradually warming up the sender reputation. Using a shared envelope domain can also lead to issues, as actions by other users can impact your deliverability. Properly configuring email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is also crucial.

Key opinions

  • Recipient Blocks: Recipients explicitly blocking the sender's address is a significant cause of bounces.
  • Sender Reputation: A lack of established sender reputation triggers spam filters and increases bounces.
  • Permission: Lack of explicit permission or outdated data can lead to increased bounce rates.
  • Shared Envelope: Using a shared envelope domain can result in deliverability issues caused by other senders.

Key considerations

  • List Removal: Immediately remove recipients who have explicitly blocked the sender.
  • Warm-up: Gradually warm up the IP address and domain to establish a sender reputation.
  • Opt-in: Confirm opt-in and maintain good list hygiene practices.
  • Authentication: Ensure proper configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
  • Custom Envelope: If using shared envelope addresses, consider switching to custom envelopes to isolate sending reputation.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that blocks may be triggered by other users sharing the same envelope domain and suggests using a custom envelope to isolate sending reputation. Because you are using a shared envelope domain blocks may be triggered by someone else using that domain.

August 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that permission is key, especially with new segments. Increased bounces can indicate a lack of permission or outdated data, and emphasizes the importance of confirming opt-in and practicing good list hygiene.

September 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource emphasizes that sender reputation is critical. Sending to a new segment with a new sender address can trigger spam filters due to the lack of established reputation. He recommends warming up the IP address and domain gradually. Ensure the sending infrastructure is correctly configured (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

December 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that recipients have explicitly blocked the sender's address, indicating they don't want the mail. The best course of action is to remove these recipients from future sends. She also suggests reviewing the history of blocked addresses for prior unsubscribe attempts and investigates why the unsubscribe failed.

December 2023 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
6Technical articles

Addressing increased email bounces involves understanding bounce types, diagnosing issues using SMTP error codes, adhering to sending limits, implementing easy unsubscribe options, monitoring sending statistics, and authenticating your sending domain. Hard bounces indicate permanent issues and require immediate removal from the list, while understanding the nuances of soft bounces can help in troubleshooting temporary delivery problems. Email authentication with SPF and DKIM is crucial for establishing trust with email providers.

Key findings

  • Bounce Types: Soft bounces are temporary; hard bounces are permanent and require removal.
  • SMTP Codes: SMTP error codes provide insights into the reasons for delivery failures.
  • Sending Limits: Exceeding sending limits can lead to temporary blocks and bounces.
  • Unsubscribe Headers: List-Unsubscribe headers reduce spam complaints and potential bounces.
  • Sending Statistics: Monitoring bounce rates and other metrics allows for proactive issue identification.
  • Authentication: Authenticating your domain (SPF and DKIM) improves deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Hard Bounce Removal: Immediately remove addresses that generate hard bounces from your mailing lists.
  • Error Code Analysis: Analyze SMTP error codes to understand the cause of delivery problems and take appropriate action.
  • Adherence to Limits: Ensure compliance with sending limits imposed by email service providers like Exchange Online.
  • Easy Unsubscribe: Implement List-Unsubscribe headers for easy and accessible unsubscription options.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Actively monitor sending statistics and bounce rates to identify and address potential issues early on.
  • Domain Authentication: Set up SPF and DKIM records for your sending domain to authenticate your emails.
Technical article

Documentation from AWS explains that Amazon SES provides detailed sending statistics, including bounce rates. Monitor these metrics to identify and address deliverability issues proactively.

December 2023 - Amazon Web Services
Technical article

Documentation from RFC Standards explains that interpreting SMTP error codes provided in bounce messages can help diagnose the specific reasons for delivery failures. Different codes indicate different problems.

March 2024 - RFC Standards
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that exceeding sending limits in Exchange Online can cause temporary blocks and bounces. Understand and adhere to the specified limits.

June 2021 - Microsoft Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost explains that implementing List-Unsubscribe headers allows recipients to easily unsubscribe, reducing the likelihood of them marking your emails as spam, which can lead to bounces.

July 2024 - SparkPost Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Mailchimp explains authenticating your email domain (SPF and DKIM) can improve deliverability. This helps show email providers that you own the domain you're sending from.

March 2025 - Mailchimp
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that soft bounces are temporary issues (e.g., full inbox), while hard bounces indicate permanent problems (e.g., invalid address). Handle hard bounces immediately by removing them from your list.

March 2025 - Google Postmaster Tools