Understanding and Handling Email Bounces

Differentiating Hard and Soft Bounces, Controlling Bounce Rates with SyndicationPro's Two-Gateway System, and Troubleshooting Steps for Optimal Email Delivery.

Types of Bounces

Hard Bounces

A hard bounce happens when an email is returned to the sender due to an invalid or non-existent email address of the recipient. This could occur when the recipient has changed their email address or when there was an error in the email address entered. Hard bounces are permanent failures, and as such, it would be pointless to resend an email to that address.

There are various factors that can contribute to hard bounces, such as:

• The email address is incorrect or does not exist (some examples could include errors like .con instead of .com, or gnail instead of gmail, etc).
• The email server is experiencing issues or is not working correctly.
• The recipient's email account is inactive.
• The recipient's email domain has expired or has been permanently relocated.

To maintain a good email reputation and avoid the risk of your emails being marked as spam, it is essential to remove email addresses that result in hard bounces from your email list. Continuing to send emails to addresses that have previously hard bounced can have a negative impact on your email reputation with our email gateway partners.

Soft Bounces

A soft bounce happens when an email is not delivered due to a temporary problem. For example, if the recipient's mailbox is full or their email server is experiencing technical difficulties. Soft bounces are typically caused by temporary issues and can be resolved over time.

There are multiple factors that can result in soft bounces, such as:

• The recipient's mailbox is full.
• The recipient's email server is temporarily down or experiencing technical difficulties.
• The email message is too large to be delivered.
• The email message contains an attachment that is too large to be received by the recipient because it exceeds the size limit set for their inbox.
• The recipient or their email service provider has implemented a strict filtering policy.

Soft bounces do not require immediate action, but it is recommended to keep an eye on them. If an email address consistently experiences soft bounces for a prolonged period, it would be wise to proactively reach out to the recipient( Lead/Investor) and update their contact information.

How Does SyndicationPro Control Bounce Rates Compared to Other Solutions?

SyndicationPro differentiates itself from other solutions like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign with its unique two-gateway setup. By utilizing both primary and backup servers, we effectively prevent email bounces caused by server issues. This setup significantly increases the success rate of email delivery, providing our users with an enhanced email experience overall.

The reliability of our two-gateway system is one of the main reasons many customers choose to send their emails through SyndicationPro.

• SyndicationPro utilizes two top-of-the-line email gateways, SendGrid and MailGun, to guarantee exceptional email delivery.
• Our process begins by attempting to send your emails through our primary gateway, SendGrid. If the email is not successfully delivered within a specific timeframe, we automatically retry sending it through our secondary gateway, MailGun.
• This intelligent email routing algorithm ensures that your emails are always sent through the gateway with the highest historical success rate for delivering emails to a particular recipient. This cutting-edge approach maximizes the chances of your emails reaching their intended targets.

Factors contributing to an increase in Email bounces

Despite implementing various optimizations, certain email domains may experience higher bounce rates than others. There can be multiple reasons for this, which are listed below.

• If your domain on SyndicationPro is not fully verified for sending emails, it can lead to higher bounce rates. Partially Verified domains cannot retry undelivered emails through our Secondary Gateway, resulting in a higher likelihood of bounces.

•  If your email domain reputation has been assessed as low by our Email Gateway Partners for one or more reasons listed below.
• 1. For repeatedly sending emails to invalid addresses (misspelled email addresses, email addresses removed by the administrator of the recipient's organization, receipt's email domain has expired or moved., etc.). 
  2. Lack of engagement or reports of spam from recipients can negatively impact your domain reputation. Higher open rates and clicks indicate that your recipients are interested in your emails, which leads to a higher domain reputation score.
• In certain situations, the recipient's email filters may classify your emails as spam. This can occur even with legitimate emails due to strict Recipient spam settings.
• The recipient's email address is invalid or has a solid blocking configuration.

Troubleshooting Steps:

To troubleshoot email bounces, follow these steps:

1. Fully verify your domain on SyndicationPro for sending emails to reduce bounce rates and ensure delivery (Learn more)
2. Check your email domain reputation to avoid higher bounce rates. Don't send emails to invalid addresses, and encourage recipient engagement to improve reputation.
3. Monitor recipient spam filters and make necessary adjustments to prevent legitimate emails from being classified as spam.
4. Update recipient contact information if you notice consistent soft bounces. You can proactively reach out to recipients and update their details with alternate email addresses in SyndicationPro

By following these steps, you can effectively manage bounce rates and ensure successful email delivery.