Not all emails reach their destination. Some get lost along the way, others bounce back. That’s where a frequently overlooked metric comes into play: the bounce rate.
During an email marketing campaign, it’s not uncommon for some emails to fail delivery and return to the sender. It’s normal when sending large volumes of messages, but if it happens repeatedly, it can become a serious issue.
The percentage of messages that are rejected and don’t reach their destination is called the bounce rate, and it’s a key metric for monitoring the effectiveness of your campaigns.
To calculate it, simply divide the number of bounced messages by the total number of emails sent, then multiply by 100 (Example: If you send 1,000 emails and 50 bounce, your bounce rate is 50 ÷ 1,000 × 100 = 5%).
A high bounce rate affects not only deliverability, but also the sender’s reputation and the overall performance of your campaigns.
It’s possible to prevent and resolve this issue, but first, it’s important to understand the types of bounces so you know where and how to act
Soft bounce vs Hard bounce
Soft bounce
A soft bounce is a temporary delivery issue. It’s not caused by the recipient’s email address but by other factors, such as:
- violation of an anti-spam rule;
- a full inbox;
- connection problems,
In these cases, the platform will attempt to resend the email later. However, if the issue persists, it may be time to consider removing the email address from your list.
Hard bounce
Hard bounces are more serious. The message won’t be held in standby—it simply won’t be delivered. Common causes include:
- nonexistent domain;
- invalid address;
- blocked sender email;
- authentication errors.
In these cases, you should immediately remove these contacts from your lists.
Why these factors matter
When a message is rejected, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Major email providers track everything that happens. If a sender experiences frequent bounce issues, providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook start treating their emails differently—often redirecting them to spam folders.
This leads to failed campaigns and a damaged sender reputation.
Remember: a bounce rate of 2–3% is already worth monitoring!
How to prevent bounces
Here are a few simple tricks to improve your deliverability and avoid bounce and spam issues:
- avoid risky practices like sending to purchased databases;
- use double opt-in authentication to gather genuinely interested contacts;
- steer clear of spam triggers: images without text, large attachments, overly promotional messages, suspicious links…;
- keep your lists clean and regularly monitored.
In summary
Monitoring your bounce rate isn’t just a best practice—it’s a necessity. But even before that, building high-quality lists and using reliable tools is essential.
With inTouch, you have everything you need—from list creation to automatic management of hard bounce contacts. And if you need guidance, our team is always ready to help you reach your audience the right way.
Activate your inTouch account now and start building your first list! Click here.
