Introduction
Sometimes an email cannot be delivered at all. This is called a hard bounce. It refers to a permanent issue that makes the email address unusable. Understanding hard bounces helps you maintain a clean email list and prevent deliverability issues.
What are hard bounces?
A hard bounce means that an email address is invalid or can no longer receive emails permanently. This is different from a soft bounce, which is usually temporary.
- Invalid email address: the address is misspelled (e.g. piet@gnail.com) or the account no longer exists. This often occurs with outdated lists or addresses that were never active.
- Non-existent domain: the part after the @ symbol is invalid or no longer active, for example when a company has closed or the domain has expired.
- Blocked by the server: the recipient’s mail server rejects your emails. This may happen because your domain or sender address is blacklisted, or because the recipient has explicitly blocked your domain.
How does Xendy handle this?
You don’t have to do anything. Xendy automatically detects hard bounces and immediately marks these addresses as ‘Inactive’. This prevents you from continuing to send to invalid addresses and protects your send reputation.
Why is this important?
Hard bounces directly affect how providers like Gmail and Outlook evaluate your emails. The lower your number of hard bounces, the higher the chance your emails will arrive in the inbox. That’s why Xendy automatically ensures that hard-bounced addresses are no longer emailed.
Frequently Asked Questions
A hard bounce means that an email address is invalid or can no longer receive emails permanently. This is different from a soft bounce, which is usually temporary.
- Soft bounce: temporary issue, such as a full inbox or a server that is temporarily unavailable.
- Hard bounce: permanent issue, such as an invalid address or non-existent domain.
- Invalid email address: the address is misspelled (e.g. piet@gnail.com) or the account no longer exists. This often occurs with outdated lists or addresses that were never active.
- Non-existent domain: the part after the @ symbol is invalid or no longer active.
- Blocked by the server: the recipient’s mail server refuses your emails due to blacklisting or explicit blocking.
You don’t have to take any action. Xendy automatically detects hard bounces and marks these contacts as ‘Inactive’. This prevents further emails to invalid addresses and protects your sending reputation.
Hard bounces directly impact how email providers rate your emails. The fewer hard bounces you have, the better your inbox placement. Xendy ensures that hard-bounced addresses are automatically excluded from future sends.
