Why are email blocks and bounces higher than normal and are bot unsubscribes happening?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from StackOverflow mentions that one-click unsubscribe can be exploited by bots, as some email clients and security scanners automatically trigger the unsubscribe link for every email. They suggest monitoring unsubscribe patterns and looking for unusual activity, like multiple unsubscribes from the same IP address in a short period.
Marketer from Email Geeks says that while looking at logs, they are having subscribers go through every message sent to them in the past month and complain on all of them at one time within seconds of each complaint. These subscribers have been on the list for a while and have interacted positively. Suggesting it is a possible complaint bombing by a bot.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that bot unsubscribes are a common issue caused by email scanners or bots that automatically click unsubscribe links. The user recommends implementing measures like CAPTCHAs on unsubscribe pages or using double opt-in to prevent bots from unsubscribing users.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital explains that increased bounces could be due to sending to invalid email addresses, poor list hygiene, or a damaged sender reputation. Also, high bounce rates can lead to deliverability issues.
Email marketer from SuperOffice says email bounces can be the result of a variety of reasons including; hard bounces, soft bounces and general bounces.
Email marketer from Automizy explains that a potential cause of bounces is list fatigue. Users are becoming disinterested in the email and are not interacting with it, eventually leading to bounces.
Email marketer from DigitalMarketer says a reason that email sends can be blocked is due to being blacklisted by spam filters due to low sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks states that Yahoo and Gmail have been causing issues for many and that ISPs are tightening up security due to cyber warfare, but confirmation won't be given by any major ISP.
Marketer from Email Geeks asks if Jill is looking at soft or hard bounces, whether the issues are limited to specific mailbox providers or across the board, and suggests searching recent convos about Yahoo and Gmail issues. She also says that if the issues aren't related to Yahoo and Gmail, the issues may be attributed to their own behaviors.
Email marketer from Mailjet responds that a sudden increase in bounce rate can happen due to an outdated list, change in recipient habits or a spam attack. Mailjet suggests re-confirming your subscribers and checking your IP reputation.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that sending too many emails within a short period of time can trigger spam filters that assume you are sending unsolicited emails. They suggests slowly ramping up send rate.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that a sudden surge in bounces could indicate a problem with list quality, such as an increase in spam traps or inactive addresses. It recommends cleaning the list and authenticating the sending domain.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource responds that mitigating automated bot traffic needs to be a key part of any email marketing campaign.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that correctly processing bounces is critical for maintaining a good sending reputation. Ignoring hard bounces results in continued sending to invalid addresses, impacting deliverability. She also recommends implementing a feedback loop to handle complaints effectively.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC 3464 (Bounce Message Format) explains that bounces can result from infrastructure problems, quota issues, invalid addresses, policy reasons and content issues. The recommendation is to read the response codes.
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that bots and malware can cause issues. It is essential to keep your system patched to block bad traffic and ensure that all customer data is safe.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that emails might be blocked due to sender reputation, authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), high spam complaint rates, or sending unsolicited emails. Google recommends following their sender guidelines to improve deliverability.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that bounces can occur due to various reasons, including invalid recipient addresses, server issues, or content filters. Microsoft recommends reviewing the bounce codes provided in the non-delivery report (NDR) to identify the specific cause.