Are your marketing emails getting bounced back lately? Do you feel like you’re wasting your time and resources on email campaigns that simply aren’t reaching your target audience? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
In fact, email deliverability and the dreaded “bounce back email” are common issues faced by marketers worldwide, and they can seriously hinder the success of your marketing efforts. The average bounce rate across all industries is about 10%. And while that’s a great number to remember when measuring your results, why do emails bounce back, and how can you fix the problem?
We’ve got all the answers for you in this quick guide! We’ll break down the top reasons your emails may be bouncing back, such as outdated email lists and spam filters, and provide actionable tips to improve your email deliverability and get your messages in front of your subscribers.
Table of Contents
What’s a Bounce Back Email?
As email marketers, we work hard to create content that resonates with our target audience. But what happens when technical issues like a bounce back email undermine our efforts? What does that even mean?
Simply put, bounce back emails happen when your email can’t be delivered to its intended recipient. This could happen for several reasons, such as:
- Invalid email address
- Full mailbox
- Spam filters that flag your email as unwanted content
The problem with bounce back emails is that they can negatively affect your email deliverability rate, which is the percentage of emails that make it to your subscribers’ inboxes. A high bounce rate can damage your sender reputation and even lead to your email address being flagged as spam in the future.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on your bounce rate and take steps to reduce it. By understanding and addressing bounce back emails, you’ll improve the effectiveness of your email campaigns and keep your subscribers engaged (all while getting the most out of your investment in email marketing).
Reasons Emails Bounce Back
So, where do you start searching for answers regarding low email deliverability rates? You want to take a look at one of the following factors first. A high bounce rate typically signals an issue with one of the following things.
Invalid Email Addresses
An invalid email address is one of the most common reasons for emails to bounce back. This means that the email address you are trying to reach does not exist or is not in use.
It’s important to ensure that the email addresses you’re using are correct and up-to-date. You can do this by verifying the email addresses before sending out your marketing emails. There are various email verification tools available that can help you with this.
Recipient’s Inbox Is Full
Another reason emails bounce back is when the recipient’s mailbox is full. When this happens, your email cannot reach the receiver and bounces back to your inbox. This can happen often if you are sending emails to personal email accounts. You can avoid this by limiting the number of emails you send to an individual in a specific time frame.
Email Server Issues
Sometimes, emails can bounce back due to server issues. This means there is a problem with the recipient’s email server, and your email cannot get through. These issues can occur due to various reasons, such as:
- Maintenance
- Upgrades
- Technical malfunctions
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do when this happens. The best approach is to keep trying to send the email and hope that the server issues get resolved soon.
Spam Filters
Emails can also bounce back because they get caught in spam filters. Email service providers use spam filters to filter out unwanted or unsolicited emails. If your email is flagged as spam, it won’t be delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
You can avoid this by ensuring that your emails are written in a manner that does not trigger spam filters. You should also avoid using certain words or phrases commonly associated with spam emails.
The Dangers of High Bounce Rates
Why is this important if your other emails are getting through to the rest of your email list? A high bounce rate can harm your email marketing campaigns and goals. It can also lead to the following issues.
Broken Trust
When your email bounces back, it shows that you did not perform due diligence in collecting accurate email addresses. And when recipients see that your emails are bouncing back, they may lose trust in your brand and unsubscribe from your email list. Along with losing subscribers, your company’s reputation can also take a hit.
Email Deliverability
Email services like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook use algorithms to identify if an email is a spam. A high bounce rate indicates that your email is unwanted or spammy, leading to lower email deliverability rates.
This means that even people who have given you their correct email address may never see your emails in their inbox because they end up in the spam folder instead.
Wasted Resources
Sending emails to invalid addresses wastes your resources, including the time, effort, and money spent creating personalized campaigns. A high bounce rate means you’re sending messages to an audience not interested in or receiving them.
Higher Costs
Often, email marketing services charge based on the number of emails sent. With bounce backs, you’re essentially throwing your marketing budget out the window. Not only are you wasting resources, but you’re also paying to send an email that won’t reach its intended audience.
How to Reduce Email Bounce Rate
So, you’ve started to notice lots of emails bouncing back. This is likely hurting your outreach efforts. To avoid this problem, you can take several steps to ensure that your emails land in the inboxes of your intended recipients.
Use Email Address Verification
Verifying your email addresses before sending out emails is essential. It ensures you’ve got a clean email list and that your emails are delivered only to valid email addresses. Email verification helps minimize the risk of hard bounces and maximizes deliverability, increasing your chances of getting your email read.
Use Email Authentication
Authentication ensures that the recipient’s mail server trusts your email and has a better chance of landing in the recipient’s inbox. By authenticating your emails, you also reduce the chances of your email being marked as spam.
Optimize Your Email Opt-In Process
Offering an opt-in process is a great way to ensure you only send emails to people interested in receiving them. You can avoid sending emails to invalid email addresses by providing an opt-in option.
Personalize Your Emails
Personalized emails are more likely to be opened and engage your target audience. Use their name and other relevant information to make your emails more personalized and relevant.
Avoid Spam Triggers
Avoid using spam triggers such as excessive punctuation, all caps, and certain trigger words. These might cause your emails to be flagged as spam.
Remove Non-Active Subscribers
Another tip to reduce email bounce rates is to remove non-active subscribers from your email list. If a recipient hasn’t opened your emails for several months, it’s time to remove them from the list.
Ensure You’re Not Blacklisted
If you have been blacklisted, this can seriously impact your email deliverability. To avoid being blacklisted, follow the best email marketing practices and avoid questionable tactics that spam filters could flag.
Using Email Deliverability Tools
As the name suggests, email deliverability tools help ensure that your emails are delivered successfully. They are designed to detect invalid and inactive email addresses on your mailing list, thus reducing your bounce rate.
MailVerifier.io is a reliable email verification tool that can assist you in reducing your bounce rate effortlessly. With our tool, you can verify your email addresses in bulk, quickly identifying and removing invalid or inactive ones from your mailing list. That way, you can ensure your emails reach your intended audience.
The best part? Our tool also offers bounce protection, which is a valuable feature. With bounce protection, you can easily identify soft and hard bounces.
Soft bounces are temporary failures, like when the recipient’s inbox is full, or the server is down. On the other hand, hard bounces are permanent failures, such as when an email address is invalid or blocked. By identifying these bounce types, you can take the necessary steps to rectify them and ensure successful email delivery.
By employing MailVerifier, you save time and money by eliminating the guesswork of manually verifying email addresses and reducing your bounce rate. You’ll have a more targeted email marketing campaign with fewer email bounces, increasing your email deliverability rates.
Get MailVerifier.io
Don’t let bounce back emails hold your brand back any longer! Take charge by identifying the reasons for your email non-deliverability. Whether it’s poor email hygiene or inconsistent SMTP communication, there are solutions to get your bounce rate under control.
The best way to get started is by creating an account with MailVerifier.io. We offer a free trial, allowing you to test up to 100 email addresses without charge. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Sign up today and watch your bounce rate decrease significantly!
Dewang Goyal is a seasoned expert in the expansive field of email marketing, boasting a track record that spans over a decade of transformative digital communication strategies. As a regular contributor to the MailVerifier.io blog, he offers deep insights and practical advice, helping businesses navigate the challenges and opportunities of digital communication. His articles range from the art of creating compelling email campaigns to the strategies needed for maximum audience engagement.
With a solid foundation in Computer Science, Dewang merges the worlds of technology and marketing seamlessly. This unique perspective allows him to approach email marketing from both a technical and a strategic angle, ensuring that his readers and clients benefit from comprehensive guidance.