You want your business in the stratosphere – not your bounce rate! If your bounce rate is starting to look like your frequent flyer miles, don’t panic. Let’s bring things back down to earth and talk about how to get your email campaigns on solid ground again.
What Is a Bounce Rate (and Why Should You Care)?
“Bounce” might sound fun – all trampoline-like – but when it comes to email marketing, it’s more like a red flag. Email bounce rate refers to the percentage of your sent emails that couldn’t be delivered. And it’s not just a minor annoyance. A high bounce rate can seriously damage your sender reputation and wreck your chances of landing in the inbox.
There are two types of bounces you need to know:
Soft Bounce
This is a temporary issue, such as a full inbox, a slow server, or outdated MX records. Soft bounces might resolve themselves – but if they persist, they need attention.
Hard Bounce
This one’s more permanent. Think: invalid email addresses, non-existent domains, or aggressive recipient server policies. Hard bounces won’t resolve themselves and continuing to send to these addresses can tank your reputation.
Why Bounce Rates Matter (A Lot)
Your email sender reputation is like your business credit score. The higher it is, the better your emails perform. The lower it is, the more likely you’ll land in the dreaded spam folder – or worse, get blocked entirely.
Best practices for bounce rates:
- Here at SMTP2GO, aim to have a bounce rate below 8%
To keep your reputation rock solid, keep these five pillars in mind:
- Low bounce rates
- No appearances on blacklists
- Consistent sending volume
- Avoiding spam traps
- Clean, properly formatted emails with quality content
Want to check your status? Try these tools:
Why Is Your Bounce Rate So High?
While some bounces are out of your hands, most are the result of a poorly maintained email list. If your list includes typos (yohoo.com, anyone?), expired addresses, or spambots, your bounce rate will show it.
Time to spring-clean your list – and your strategy.
Quick Fixes to Cure a High Bounce Rate
Clean Your List Regularly
Start here. Comb through your list to remove invalid or misspelled addresses. Use a reliable email validation tool to automate this process if needed. Clean list = clean results.
Monitor Suppressions
Using SMTP2GO? Great! We automatically suppress hard-bounced emails for seven days. Check your Suppressions list regularly to see who bounced and investigate why.
Implement Double Opt-In
Stop letting fake addresses slip through. Ask new subscribers to confirm their sign-up via email. It’s a small step with a big impact on list quality and long-term deliverability.
Learn Your Email Acronyms
Know your SPF, DKIM and DMARC. These protocols authenticate your messages and prevent spoofing. Even a basic understanding will help you troubleshoot issues faster.
Verify Your Domain
By verifying your domain with SMTP2GO, we handle SPF and DKIM for you, building trust with mail servers and improving your deliverability rates.
Avoid Free Email Domains
Sending marketing emails from Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail? Stop. Use a professional, custom domain tied to your business. It boosts credibility and reduces spam flags.
Segment Your Lists
Targeted emails perform better. Segment your audience by activity level, location, interest, or how they signed up. You’ll boost engagement and lower bounce rates.
Avoid Spammy Language
Don’t trip spam filters with phrases such as “Buy Now!”, “Act Fast!”, or excessive punctuation!!! Stay professional, clear and value-driven in your subject lines and copy.
A/B Test Everything
Subject lines, CTAs, body copy – test different versions to see what works. Not only will you boost open and click rates, but you’ll also refine your overall email strategy.
Use CAPTCHA on Sign-Up Forms
Bots love open forms. Add a simple CAPTCHA to your sign-up process to maintain a human and high-quality list.
Bounce Rate = Big Deal
Managing your email bounce rate isn’t just about fixing a number – it’s about protecting your reputation, improving engagement and making sure your messages actually reach your audience.
Need hands-on help? Get in touch with our team. We’re here to help your emails fly – not flop!
