What action should I take for an email with a 550 error code and inactivity bounce message?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from GlockApps emphasizes that regularly cleaning your email list is critical for deliverability. A 550 error coupled with an inactivity message is a clear sign that an address should be removed to avoid damaging your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus advises that 5xx errors generally indicate permanent failures. They suggests immediately removing addresses that generate these errors from your subscriber list to maintain optimal deliverability.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor recommends implementing a bounce management strategy to handle 550 errors efficiently. This strategy should involve automatic suppression of hard-bounced addresses from future campaigns.
Email marketer from Mailgun explains that a 550 error typically indicates a hard bounce. It recommends immediately removing the address from your mailing list to protect your sender reputation.
Email marketer from SendGrid shares that a 550 error represents a permanent failure and these emails should be suppressed immediately to prevent future deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum warns that consistently sending emails to addresses that return a 550 error code can lead to blacklisting. It strongly advocates for immediate removal of these addresses from your mailing lists.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that given the response and a 550 response code, the best course of action is to deactivate the associated account.
Email marketer from Reddit user states that a 550 error code typically means the email address is invalid or doesn't exist anymore. The suggestion is to remove it from your list immediately.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that when encountering a 550 error code along with an inactivity message, it strongly suggests the email address is no longer active or valid, and you should remove it from your list to maintain good sender reputation.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow suggests when you receive a 550 error, it's crucial to update your email list immediately. These errors indicate permanent delivery failures, and continuing to send to these addresses can negatively impact your sender reputation.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks responds that a 550 error code means the status will not change for that email address.
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes that 550 errors coupled with inactivity messages indicate permanent delivery failures and recommends immediate removal of these addresses to ensure continued deliverability success.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that promptly handling bounce messages and suppressing addresses with 550 errors is essential for maintaining a good sender reputation and avoiding being flagged as a spammer.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from AWS explains that SES handles bounces and complaints automatically. For hard bounces (typically indicated by a 5xx error), it recommends not attempting to send to that address again.
Documentation from SparkPost clarifies that a 550 bounce signifies a permanent failure due to a non-existent mailbox or other permanent issues. It's essential to process these bounces as hard bounces and remove the addresses from your active list.
Documentation from ietf.org explains that 5.X.X status codes indicate a permanent failure. It suggests the message could not be delivered and the sending system should not try again.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that a 5.7.1 error code in an NDR (Non-Delivery Report) often indicates a blocked sender. It advises checking block lists and ensuring the recipient's server isn't rejecting your emails.