Why am I getting soft bounces and how do I fix them?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that soft bounces mean a temporary issue occurred, such as a server being unreachable or a quota being exceeded. Resolving the immediate issues and following email best practices, like authenticating your domain, is recommended.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that soft bounces are often due to temporary problems like the recipient's server being down or their mailbox being full. To fix it, ensure your list is clean and that you are not sending overly large emails, and monitor your sending reputation.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that a soft bounce indicates a temporary delivery issue, such as a full inbox or a server problem. HubSpot recommends monitoring bounce rates and addressing underlying issues like poor list hygiene or content problems. Strategies include segmenting lists, improving content relevance, and authenticating emails.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that soft bounces occur due to temporary issues like a full inbox, server downtime, or the recipient's server being overloaded. Mailjet retries delivery over a certain period. To fix soft bounces, ensure your email content is relevant, maintain a clean list, and authenticate your email.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that soft bounces can happen because of temporary problems such as the recipient’s mailbox being full, the server being down, or a large email size. To minimize soft bounces, clean up your email list, improve email content, and maintain a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from MailerCheck shares that soft bounces are temporary problems that need regular list cleaning to ensure quality. Also, monitor email content that may trigger spam filters to affect sender reputation, which would then in turn increase soft bounces.
Email marketer from Litmus responds that understanding soft bounces requires addressing temporary issues. Strategies should include cleaning mailing lists, improving sender reputation, and using proper authentication methods. Monitor bounce rates and promptly act on feedback loops.
Email marketer from Email Geeks Forum shares that soft bounces indicate a temporary delivery problem, usually due to issues like a full inbox or server unavailability. Regularly clean your list and monitor your sender reputation to improve email delivery.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that identifying the classification of soft bounces and the providers they originate from is the crucial initial step.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that there are many reasons why email might temporarily fail to deliver. You should review messages returned by the sending server from your ESP and analyze the reason for the soft bounce.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that graylisting is a common cause of soft bounces, where a receiving server temporarily rejects mail from an unknown sender. It recommends proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a consistent sending volume, and ensuring your IP address is not blacklisted.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests collecting more information about the type of soft bounce, how frequently you send to these addresses, how old the addresses are, and what kind of engagement these addresses typically get. If the addresses are new, how were they acquired?
Expert from Spam Resource explains that soft bounces are often caused by temporary issues such as a full mailbox or a server being temporarily unavailable. Solutions include ensuring your sending infrastructure is properly configured, that your content is not triggering spam filters, and that you are sending to engaged recipients.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Twilio SendGrid describes that soft bounces are temporary delivery failures and they will automatically attempt to resend for up to 72 hours. However, if the email isn't sent it may become a permanent bounce. To avoid this from happening, be sure to send relevant email and keep lists updated.
Documentation from Amazon Web Services explains that Amazon SES handles soft bounces by attempting redelivery for a certain period. A soft bounce typically indicates a temporary issue, such as the recipient's mailbox being full. If the issue persists, the soft bounce might eventually turn into a hard bounce. Monitor bounce notifications and ensure your email practices comply with AWS guidelines.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that soft bounces are temporary delivery failures that require retries, which their system handles. Addressing underlying issues like content problems or sender reputation is vital for long-term resolution.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that a soft bounce (or temporary failure) in Exchange Online indicates a transient issue such as a full mailbox or DNS problem. Exchange Online retries delivery for a period. Addressing issues like incorrect email addresses or server problems can reduce soft bounces.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that a soft bounce, or temporary failure, is indicated by a 4xx SMTP response code. These temporary failures suggest the email might be deliverable later. The sending server should retry delivery after a delay. Understanding SMTP response codes helps in diagnosing and addressing email delivery issues.