Summary
Email service providers are fundamental to effective email deliverability, with clear expectations for how they manage and share bounce data. They typically automate the processing and classification of various bounce types, especially hard bounces, which are automatically suppressed to preserve sender reputation and list hygiene. Clients are consistently provided with comprehensive reports, accessible through dashboards, APIs, or webhooks, detailing bounce rates, specific reasons, and individual bounced addresses. This granular data empowers senders to proactively manage their lists, troubleshoot deliverability issues, and refine their email strategies for optimal performance.
Key findings
- Automated Bounce Handling: Email service providers (ESPs) universally automate the processing and classification of hard bounces, automatically adding these addresses to suppression lists to protect sender reputation and maintain list hygiene.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Clients can expect detailed bounce reports accessible through dashboards, UIs, or webhooks. These reports typically include bounce rates, specific reasons for bounces, timestamps, and lists of bounced email addresses.
- Granular Data Access: Beyond standard reports, many ESPs offer robust data access via APIs and webhooks. This allows for real-time, programmatic processing of bounce notifications, enabling deeper analysis and seamless integration with client systems.
- Detailed Bounce Classification: ESPs are expected to provide clear distinctions between soft, hard, transient, and block bounces, offering specific bounce codes and detailed reasons to help clients precisely understand delivery failures.
- Empowering Client List Hygiene: The provision of comprehensive bounce data is crucial for clients to understand deliverability issues, effectively manage their mailing lists, and protect their sender reputation by identifying and removing invalid or unengaged addresses.
Key considerations
- Data Volume Requests: While a few days of sample raw bounce data might be reasonable for diagnosing deliverability problems, requesting extensive raw data, such as for 30 days, is generally considered excessive and may not be routinely provided by ESPs.
- Focus on Organic Practices: Some ESPs are hesitant to provide ongoing raw bounce data, believing it can divert client focus from sustainable, organic best practices towards merely 'list washing' exercises.
- Sub-ESP Relationships: If an email service provider operates on the infrastructure of another platform, their access to granular data and their ability to provide in-depth deliverability assistance might be limited. Clients should clarify these scopes of service.
- Client Management of Soft Bounces: While ESPs typically automate the management of hard bounces, clients are often expected to actively manage and address soft bounces to maintain the health and engagement of their mailing lists.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
The relationship between email service providers (ESPs) and their clients regarding bounce data is built on clear expectations of transparency and actionable insights. ESPs are universally expected to process, classify, and report on various bounce types-including hard, soft, transient, and block bounces-with hard bounces being automatically suppressed to protect sender reputation. Clients rely on comprehensive, detailed reports, often accessible via dashboards, APIs, or webhooks, which provide granular information on bounce codes, specific reasons, and timestamps. This detailed data empowers clients to effectively troubleshoot deliverability issues, maintain robust list hygiene, and optimize their email campaigns.
Key opinions
- Automated Bounce Handling: Email service providers (ESPs) universally automate the processing and classification of hard bounces, automatically adding these addresses to suppression lists to protect sender reputation and maintain list hygiene.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Clients can expect detailed bounce reports accessible through dashboards, UIs, or webhooks. These reports typically include bounce rates, specific reasons for bounces, timestamps, and lists of bounced email addresses.
- Granular Data Access: Beyond standard reports, many ESPs offer robust data access via APIs and webhooks. This allows for real-time, programmatic processing of bounce notifications, enabling deeper analysis and seamless integration with client systems.
Key considerations
- Data Volume Requests: While a few days of sample raw bounce data might be reasonable for diagnosing deliverability problems, requesting extensive raw data, such as for 30 days, is generally considered excessive and may not be routinely provided by ESPs.
- Focus on Organic Practices: Some ESPs are hesitant to provide ongoing raw bounce data, believing it can divert client focus from sustainable, organic best practices towards merely 'list washing' exercises.
- Sub-ESP Relationships: If an email service provider operates on the infrastructure of another platform, their access to granular data and their ability to provide in-depth deliverability assistance might be limited. Clients should clarify these scopes of service.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that if Klaviyo is the SendGrid customer, they should handle issues including sharing bounce data with their own client. He notes it would be concerning if Klaviyo doesn't have access to this data. He suggests that if Klaviyo is not a full-blown ESP and merely uses SendGrid, expecting them to have the expertise and data access needed for deliverability assistance might be optimistic. He also adds that while some sample data, like for a few days, might be reasonable, requesting extensive raw data, such as for 30 days, is generally considered too much.
9 Nov 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that as an ESP using SendGrid's infrastructure, he is willing to provide a few days' worth of sample raw bounce data to demonstrate deliverability problems. However, he states he refuses to provide it on an ongoing regular basis, as he believes it tends to divert focus from sustainable and organic best practices towards list washing exercises.
17 Dec 2023 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Email service providers are instrumental in deliverability by managing bounce data and sharing key insights with clients. A core expectation is for ESPs to provide granular data, clearly distinguishing between various bounce types like hard and soft. While ESPs commonly automate the processing and suppression of hard bounces, clients bear the responsibility for managing soft bounces. This collaborative approach, supported by comprehensive data from ESPs, is essential for clients to maintain healthy mailing lists, promptly remove invalid addresses, and safeguard their sender reputation.
Key opinions
- Granular Bounce Insights: ESPs are expected to provide clients with granular data that clearly differentiates between various bounce types, which is essential for effective list management.
- Automated Hard Bounce Protocol: A standard protocol for ESPs is the automatic tracking, processing, and removal of hard bounced addresses from client lists to preserve deliverability and sender reputation.
- Client Management of Soft Bounces: While ESPs typically handle hard bounces, clients are generally expected to actively manage soft bounces to maintain list health and deliverability.
- Data for List Hygiene: The comprehensive bounce data provided by ESPs is crucial for clients to identify and remove invalid or unengaged addresses, thereby managing lists effectively and preserving a good sending reputation.
Key considerations
- Data Volume Requests: While a few days of sample raw bounce data might be reasonable for diagnosing deliverability problems, requesting extensive raw data, such as for 30 days, is generally considered excessive and may not be routinely provided by ESPs.
- Focus on Organic Practices: Some ESPs are hesitant to provide ongoing raw bounce data, believing it can divert client focus from sustainable, organic best practices towards merely 'list washing' exercises.
- Sub-ESP Relationships: If an email service provider operates on the infrastructure of another platform, their access to granular data and their ability to provide in-depth deliverability assistance might be limited. Clients should clarify these scopes of service.
- Client Management of Soft Bounces: While ESPs typically automate the management of hard bounces, clients are often expected to actively manage and address soft bounces to maintain the health and engagement of their mailing lists.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Email Service Providers (ESPs) are expected to provide clients with granular data on bounces and complaints. This data, which distinguishes between different types of bounces, is crucial for clients to effectively manage their mailing lists and campaigns, allowing them to remove invalid addresses and maintain a good sending reputation. This process is a fundamental part of an ESP's service to help clients ensure deliverability and compliance.
24 May 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that Email Service Providers (ESPs) are generally responsible for tracking and processing hard bounces, often automatically removing these addresses from client lists. While ESPs handle hard bounces, clients are typically expected to manage soft bounces themselves. This implies that ESPs provide bounce data to their clients, enabling them to identify and remove unengaged or invalid addresses to maintain the health and deliverability of their email lists.
13 Jun 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Email service providers consistently uphold a standard of comprehensive bounce data sharing, providing clients with crucial insights for effective list management. They automate the handling of hard bounces, often adding them to suppression lists, and offer varied access methods to detailed bounce information, from user-friendly reports to advanced programmatic interfaces. This empowers clients to maintain strong sender reputations and optimize campaign performance.
Key findings
- Automated Hard Bounce Management: ESPs uniformly implement automated protocols for managing hard bounces, promptly adding affected addresses to suppression lists to preserve sender reputation.
- Comprehensive Reporting and Accessibility: Clients can expect detailed bounce reports and data, accessible through various channels, including dashboards, user interfaces, APIs, and webhooks, offering granular insights into delivery failures.
- Granular Detail and Classification: Providers offer specific bounce reasons, types, and timestamps, enabling clients to understand the exact nature of delivery issues for targeted troubleshooting.
- Empowering Client List Hygiene: The core purpose of sharing this data is to empower clients to maintain clean, healthy mailing lists, which is crucial for overall deliverability and campaign effectiveness.
Key considerations
- Data Volume Requests: While some raw bounce data may be provided for diagnostic purposes, clients should manage expectations regarding the volume and duration of raw data they can request from ESPs.
- Organic List Health Focus: ESPs generally prioritize that clients focus on organic list-building and engagement strategies over relying solely on large datasets for 'list washing' activities.
- Sub-ESPs and Data Depth: The level of granular data and direct deliverability support available might vary if an ESP operates on another provider's infrastructure, a point clients should clarify.
- Client Responsibility for Soft Bounces: While hard bounces are typically handled automatically, clients retain the primary responsibility for actively managing and addressing soft bounces to maintain list health.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp Help Center explains that Mailchimp automatically handles hard bounces and provides clients with detailed reports including bounce rates and lists of bounced addresses, allowing users to understand and manage their list hygiene.
9 Jun 2024 - Mailchimp Help Center
Technical article
Documentation from SendGrid Documentation explains that SendGrid automatically manages bounces by adding them to a suppression list and allows clients to view specific bounce details, including reasons and dates, within their UI or via API for deeper analysis and list cleaning.
17 Nov 2022 - SendGrid Documentation
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