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​Soft Vs Hard Bounces
When you attempt to send out an email and it doesn’t reach the intended recipient/mail server, this is known as a bounce. Under normal circumstances the email server will provide a reason for why a piece of mail bounces so the sender knows what went wrong on the other end. These bounces can be separated into two categories known as a soft bounce and a hard bounce. Lets define what each of these types of bounces means.
What Is A Soft Bounce?
A soft bounce occurs when an email reaches a recipient's mail server, but gets bounced back undelivered before it reaches the intended inbox of the recipient. Soft bounces can occur when..
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The inbox of the recipient does not have enough storage space to store the message
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The size of the file being sent to the inbox is too large.
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The mail server might be shut down at the time of sending.
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When a soft bounce occurs, this typically will indicate that the address in question does exist but cannot be reached at the time of sending an email. A soft bounce is still harmful to your email deliverability rates since ISPs will register it as a bounce, regardless of the reason.
What Is A Hard Bounce?
A hard bounce occurs when an outgoing email fails to make contact with the intended address/mail server and cannot be delivered. A hard bounce will typically indicate that the email address in question does not exist and indicates a permanent failure to send. The reason for this could be…
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A fake/incorrect email address
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A fake/invalid domain
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No email server exists under the domain
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Hard bounces will directly affect your domain reputation and should be avoided at all costs. The easiest way to identify email addresses that can result in a hard bounce is to run all email lists through a verification service before attempting to make contact.
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