Should I resend emails to users with soft bounces due to full mailboxes, and what bounce rate is acceptable?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit explains the key difference between hard and soft bounces. They suggest you should never send to a hard bounce, but soft bounces should be retried a few times. If they persist, it is best to remove them to improve your email reputation
Email marketer from HubSpot answers that a bounce rate above 2% is cause for concern. They suggest that a high bounce rate can indicate issues with list hygiene or sending practices. They recommend cleaning lists and only emailing engaged contacts.
Email marketer from EmailMarketingForum.com answers that they only retry soft bounces 2 times, but increase the delay. They suggest waiting an hour, then 6 hours, then removing them from the list. This ensures that their reputation is protected by being cautious with resending.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests identifying patterns based on user qualities like signup source, time on list, and engagement history. This data can inform a sunset policy to automatically segment mail towards engaged users or suppress unengaged ones, addressing both full mailboxes and disinterest.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that soft bounces should be retried, but not indefinitely. They recommend that if an email soft bounces multiple times (e.g., 3-5 times), the contact should be suppressed to protect deliverability.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that resending emails after a soft bounce can be a good strategy, especially if the bounce reason is a full mailbox. He suggests segmenting your list and targeting these users with re-engagement campaigns. However, he warns against doing this too frequently to avoid being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that a good bounce rate should be below 2%. They suggest that high bounce rates can damage your sender reputation. They recommend cleaning lists regularly and removing consistently bouncing addresses. Mailchimp advises against automatically resending to bounced addresses without proper segmentation and re-engagement strategies.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that, in their experience, resending emails to users with 'mailbox full' soft bounces is risky. They suggest a maximum of two retries within a short period. After that, the user should be suppressed, as continuous bounces can negatively impact sender reputation across major ISPs.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that soft bounces should be monitored carefully. For 'mailbox full' soft bounces, they recommend retrying a few times. If the email continues to bounce, the contact should be suppressed to protect sender reputation. They also advise cleaning email lists regularly and segmenting based on engagement.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that maintaining a clean email list is crucial for deliverability. They suggest regularly removing unengaged subscribers and those who consistently generate bounces. Litmus advises implementing a double opt-in process to ensure valid email addresses from the start.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that he has seen users return after soft bounces and has not noticed any negative impact from mailing them without suppression. He also concurs that a 0.1% bounce rate is really low and not a cause for concern for a single mailbox provider.
Email marketer from Email Geeks states that a 0.1% bounce rate is generally low and not a major concern unless other issues like declining opens or increased complaints are present. They say removing unengaged users after a year is a common recommendation but the signup method and mailing frequency should also be considered.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that the usefulness of bounce numbers depends on context, such as the time period between bounces. They advise reviewing historical data or monitoring behavior to understand the pattern. For some senders, suppressing after three attempts is sensible, while others might wait longer.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that bounce processing is key to maintaining deliverability. They recommend that senders use VERP (Variable Envelope Return Path) to accurately track bounces and automatically suppress invalid addresses. They recommend only retrying a small number of soft bounces.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that focusing on list hygiene is crucial for managing soft bounces. She recommends against aggressive resending strategies, especially to full mailboxes. Instead, she advises implementing a robust sunset policy and prioritizing engagement to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Google answers that Gmail's systems automatically learn from bounce patterns. They say that senders with high bounce rates may experience deliverability issues, including messages being routed to spam folders. They stress the importance of maintaining clean and engaged mailing lists.
Documentation from Microsoft answers that Exchange Online uses sophisticated bounce detection algorithms. They say that multiple soft bounces from the same address can eventually lead to the address being treated as a hard bounce, and the sender may be temporarily blocked. They recommend monitoring bounce reports and taking action on persistent errors.
Documentation from RFC Documentation explains that SMTP server response codes like '4.2.2' often indicate that the recipient's mailbox is full. The documentation states that while these are soft errors, repeated failures should be treated as permanent, suggesting the address may be abandoned.