When it comes to email marketing metrics, hard and soft bounce rates* are definitely something you should be tracking so it’s important to understand the difference.
*i.e. when you receive an automatic email delivery failure notification
Hard Bounce
A hard bounce is when your email message is being permanently rejected. This could be because the email address is invalid, it doesn’t actually exist or your intended recipient’s server won’t accept emails. Whatever the reason, permanent rejection of your email is a ‘hard bounce’ and you MUST remove all of these email addresses from your database.
Soft Bounce
A soft bounce is an email is not delivered for temporary reasons. This means the email address of your intended recipient is valid and has definitely reached their server but it was unable to be delivered at that particular time. Perhaps their server is down or their mailbox full – or maybe your file was too large.
Note: Most companies will continue trying to send the email for the next couple of days – but if you keep getting the same email address bouncing back it is probably best to remove them from your mailing list.
Tips to Reduce Your Bounce Rates
Here are our 3 top tips to help keep your bounce rates to a minimum.
Spring-clean your email database: High bounce rates can affect the reputation of your business so keep your mailing list up-to-date by removing invalid addresses and non-responders. This puts you in a strong position to increase email marketing results.
Use double opt-in: By sending a confirmation email when people subscribe to your mailing list you can check the validity of the email address as well as confirm that the person does want to hear from you.
Track email delivery: Remember – it is important to monitor bounce rates as well as your response rates. This way you can maximise the efficiency of your email marketing and prevent potential time wasting for your business.
So when it comes to high email delivery rates, it’s important to know the ropes and your local Kwik Kopy team is here to help you overcome any challenge.
