What are the best practices for email verification and reducing bounces?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks frames email list problems as process issues, often linked to forced sign-ups or retaining addresses for too long.
Email marketer from Email Hippo Blog details the different types of email verification methods, such as syntax checks, domain checks, SMTP verification, and real-time verification. It outlines the strengths and weaknesses of each method.
Email marketer from Reddit shares to not buy lists, verify your email sending domain is properly authenticated and to have a very obvious unsubscribe option that works. If people are marking you as spam, then you have a bigger problem.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends diagnosing the root cause of bounces by considering changes in email practices, potential list bombs, form security (COI, reCAPTCHA), and trends in soft and hard bounce reasons before using list verification services.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends BriteVerify and Kickbox for email verification and advises focusing on opt-in practices and re-engagement campaigns for better list hygiene.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests investigating the reasons behind high bounce rates instead of immediately resorting to list cleaning services and asks what the bounce reasons are, how old the list is and where they obtained the subscribers from.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce Blog explains strategies to reduce bounce rates, including using a double opt-in process, regularly cleaning email lists, segmenting lists, and monitoring sender reputation. It also suggests authenticating emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Email marketer from Gmass Blog shares to only mail to verified addresses and not to buy lists. They also share how to remove bounces from the list.
Email marketer from StackOverflow contributes that any script you use for sending emails should have a 'bounce-back' feature, where if there is a undeliverable message, your application will collect the 'bounce-back' addresses and disable further sending to that particular address.
Email marketer from MailerCheck Blog emphasizes the importance of email verification to maintain a clean email list, improve sender reputation, and boost deliverability. It helps in identifying and removing invalid or risky email addresses, preventing bounces and protecting sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends using activity data instead of a validation service.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource emphasizes the importance of maintaining a clean email list by regularly removing invalid or inactive email addresses to reduce bounce rates and improve sender reputation.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains the importance of segmenting and removing unengaged subscribers. By identifying inactives and suppressed addresses it improves overall email performance.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that many soft bounces, particularly at Verizon, Gmail, and Microsoft, are due to complaints and won't be resolved by list cleaning.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from SendGrid details several techniques for improving email deliverability, including email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list management, and monitoring engagement metrics to identify and remove unengaged subscribers.
Documentation from SparkPost defines hard and soft bounces and provides guidance on how to manage them. It notes that hard bounces should be removed immediately, while soft bounces may require temporary suppression or further investigation.
Documentation from AWS explains how to handle bounces in Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) by setting up bounce notifications. It describes the differences between hard and soft bounces and how SES handles them automatically.
Documentation from RFC explains that SMTP reply codes, also known as enhanced mail system status codes, provide a structured and machine-readable indication of the outcome of an SMTP transaction, aiding in bounce processing and automated email error handling.