Should I resend emails to users with soft bounces due to full mailboxes, and what bounce rate is acceptable?

Summary

The consensus from marketers, experts, and technical documentation is that managing soft bounces from full mailboxes requires a balanced approach. Resending emails can be a strategy, especially with segmented re-engagement campaigns, but aggressive resending is discouraged. Maintaining excellent list hygiene through regular cleaning, suppressing consistently bouncing addresses, and implementing sunset policies is vital. Technical documentation emphasizes that mailbox providers learn from bounce patterns, impacting deliverability. Overall, monitoring bounce rates (keeping them below 2%), prioritizing engagement, and employing careful bounce processing are key to maintaining a healthy sender reputation.

Key findings

  • Acceptable Bounce Rate: A good bounce rate is generally below 2%; higher rates can negatively impact sender reputation.
  • Resend with Caution: Resending to soft bounces, particularly due to full mailboxes, can be risky and requires careful segmentation and re-engagement strategies.
  • List Hygiene is Key: Maintaining a clean email list by removing unengaged subscribers and consistently bouncing addresses is critical for deliverability.
  • System Learning: Major email platforms like Gmail and Exchange Online learn from bounce patterns and adjust filtering accordingly.
  • Sunset Policies: Implementing robust sunset policies to remove unengaged users improves deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Time Period Between Bounces: Consider the time period between bounces; frequent bounces may indicate a permanent issue.
  • User Engagement History: Take into account a user's engagement history when deciding whether to resend or suppress them.
  • Mailing Frequency Impact: Mailing frequency influences the time frame for sunsetting unengaged users.
  • Signup Source Relevance: The method by which a user signed up can impact their engagement and deliverability.
  • VERP Implementation: Using VERP for accurate bounce tracking and automatic suppression is recommended.
  • Bounce Monitoring Importance: Actively monitor bounce reports and take action on persistent errors to maintain a healthy sender reputation.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Experts generally agree that resending emails to users with soft bounces due to full mailboxes requires a nuanced approach. While some suggest retrying a few times, it's crucial to monitor the bounce rate and user engagement to protect sender reputation. A consensus is that continuously resending without segmentation or re-engagement strategies can be risky and harm deliverability. Maintaining list hygiene, sunsetting unengaged users, and closely monitoring bounce rates are essential for successful email marketing.

Key opinions

  • Bounce Rate Threshold: A bounce rate below 2% is generally considered acceptable, while exceeding this may indicate deliverability issues.
  • Resend Strategy: Resending to soft bounces should be limited and combined with strategies such as list segmentation and re-engagement campaigns.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean email list by removing unengaged subscribers and consistently bouncing addresses is crucial.
  • Suppression: Persistent soft bounces, particularly those due to full mailboxes, should lead to suppression to avoid damaging sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • Engagement History: Consider a user's past engagement when deciding whether to resend emails after a soft bounce.
  • Time Between Bounces: The time elapsed between soft bounces provides context: frequent bounces suggest a permanent issue.
  • Mailing Frequency: The frequency of your email sends influences how quickly unengaged users should be sunsetted.
  • Signup Method: The method by which users subscribed can impact their engagement level and likelihood of clearing their mailbox.
  • Segmentation: Segmenting your audience based on engagement and bounce history allows for more targeted and effective re-engagement efforts.
Marketer view

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

June 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

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.

October 2024 - HubSpot
Marketer view

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.

October 2023 - EmailMarketingForum.com
Marketer view

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.

June 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

December 2021 - ActiveCampaign
Marketer view

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.

January 2025 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

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.

June 2024 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

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.

April 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

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.

July 2021 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

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.

May 2022 - Litmus
Marketer view

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.

June 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

May 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

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.

October 2023 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Experts emphasize the importance of proactive list management and careful bounce processing for maintaining email deliverability. They advise against aggressive resending to full mailboxes, highlighting the need for robust sunset policies and prioritizing engagement. Accurate bounce tracking and automatic suppression of invalid addresses are also recommended to safeguard sender reputation.

Key opinions

  • List Hygiene Priority: Focusing on list hygiene is crucial for managing soft bounces effectively.
  • Limited Resending: Aggressive resending strategies, especially to full mailboxes, are not recommended.
  • Sunset Policies: Implementing a robust sunset policy is vital for maintaining a healthy sender reputation.
  • Accurate Bounce Tracking: Using VERP (Variable Envelope Return Path) helps accurately track bounces and automatically suppress invalid addresses.

Key considerations

  • Engagement Prioritization: Prioritize engagement to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
  • Bounce Processing Implementation: Implement proper bounce processing to automatically suppress invalid addresses.
  • Address Validity: Validity of email addresses should be a high consideration to protect sender reputation
Expert view

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.

June 2021 - Spam Resource
Expert view

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.

September 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
3Technical articles

Technical documentation from RFC, Microsoft, and Google indicates that repeated soft bounces, such as those due to full mailboxes, should be treated with caution. SMTP servers use response codes to signal mailbox issues, and major email platforms like Exchange Online and Gmail employ bounce detection algorithms. These systems learn from bounce patterns, and high bounce rates can lead to deliverability problems, including messages being marked as spam or senders being temporarily blocked. Maintaining clean and engaged mailing lists is essential to avoid these issues.

Key findings

  • SMTP Codes: SMTP server response codes like '4.2.2' often indicate full mailboxes.
  • Automated Learning: Email platforms like Gmail learn from bounce patterns.
  • Negative Impact: High bounce rates can cause deliverability issues and spam filtering.
  • Escalation: Multiple soft bounces can eventually be treated as hard bounces by systems like Exchange Online.

Key considerations

  • Bounce Monitoring: Actively monitor bounce reports to identify and address persistent errors.
  • List Management: Implement rigorous list cleaning practices to remove invalid or unengaged addresses.
  • Error Handling: Treat repeated soft bounce failures as potential permanent errors.
  • List Engagement: Maintaining clean and engaged mailing lists is paramount to ensure high deliverability
Technical article

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.

January 2022 - Google
Technical article

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.

November 2024 - Microsoft
Technical article

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.

November 2023 - RFC Documentation