Why does bounce data from Drift Email differ from Hubspot's bounce data?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that bounces need to be processed properly to avoid sending to invalid addresses. They recommend using a bounce processing service to automatically remove bounced addresses from email lists.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that different systems might report bounces differently due to variations in bounce detection methods and the timing of these detections. Some systems might catch bounces that others miss.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that bounce messages can be parsed to identify the reason for the bounce. This requires understanding the format of bounce messages and using appropriate parsing techniques.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that managing bounces is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. They suggest implementing a double opt-in process and regularly cleaning email lists to reduce bounce rates.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital explains that soft bounces occur due to temporary issues like a full inbox or server problems, while hard bounces are permanent failures caused by invalid or non-existent email addresses.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that a high bounce rate negatively impacts deliverability. They recommend regularly cleaning email lists to remove invalid or inactive addresses and minimize bounces.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that monitoring deliverability metrics like bounce rates and spam complaints is essential for maintaining a healthy email program. They recommend using tools to track these metrics and identify potential issues.
Email marketer from Validity explains that feedback loops (FBLs) provide valuable information about spam complaints. They recommend setting up FBLs with major ISPs to monitor spam complaints and improve deliverability.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains that bounces are categorized into hard bounces (permanent reasons like non-existent addresses) and soft bounces (temporary reasons like full inbox or server issues). SendGrid handles these bounces differently to maintain sender reputation.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that epending services tend to do bad things and then they get blocked. If they then report 'this address is bouncing' when it’s actually because they (or their spammer alter-ego, or their customer, or their partner) who got blocked that’s not useful data.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that almost all rejections will be in-band and go nowhere near the return path, and Hubspot will be sending mail with a return path set to their async bounce handler, so no third party will see those either. They also say that if the address were bouncing when you mail it through Hubspot then Hubspot would know, 100% accurately, and deal with it. So in the specific context of bouncing emails any time drift disagree with Hubspot, drift are lying about it.
Expert from SpamResource explains that understanding and properly categorizing bounces (hard vs. soft) is crucial for maintaining sender reputation and deliverability. Different systems might categorize bounces differently leading to discrepancies.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that most bounces are likely happening inline in Hubspot at the time of delivery, while Drift is likely catching the out-of-band replies.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains how ESPs process bounces which include various processes for bounce management like suppression lists, how the receiving system classifies bounces, and the sender’s reputation, impacting how different systems might interpret bounce data. This is an older article however principles are still relevant.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Hubspot likely delivered it, and Drift is getting the message from a different source.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor specifies the SMTP error codes and their meanings. These codes are used to indicate the reasons for email delivery failures and are crucial for understanding bounce messages.
Documentation from Amazon SES explains that Amazon SES provides mechanisms for handling bounces and complaints, including using feedback loops and bounce notifications. They distinguish between hard and soft bounces and advise taking appropriate action based on the type of bounce.
Documentation from HubSpot explains that HubSpot distinguishes between hard bounces (permanent delivery failures) and soft bounces (temporary delivery failures). HubSpot automatically excludes hard bounced emails from future sends.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that a high spam rate affects deliverability to Gmail users. Keeping spam rates low requires good list hygiene and bounce management.