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Summary

High soft bounce rates and poor inbox placement often indicate underlying issues with sender reputation, list hygiene, or content quality. While soft bounces are temporary delivery failures, a consistent pattern across multiple mailbox providers (MBPs) suggests a deeper problem that requires careful investigation. Understanding the specific bounce codes and reasons is paramount, as is assessing the health of your email list, especially after re-engagement campaigns targeting older segments. Addressing these issues can help restore your email deliverability and ensure your messages reach the inbox.

What email marketers say

Email marketers grappling with high soft bounce rates often find themselves in a challenging position, particularly when comprehensive bounce data is unavailable. A common thread among their experiences is the impact of re-engagement campaigns targeting older, less active segments. While the intention behind these campaigns is often good, they can inadvertently trigger widespread soft bounces and diminish inbox placement across major providers, even if initial checks for blacklisting come up empty. The consensus is that detailed bounce data and rigorous list hygiene are critical to unraveling and resolving these issues.

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks notes that they are observing soft bounces across major providers like Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail but lack specific bounce types from their ESP. This makes troubleshooting difficult because the underlying causes are not clear.

10 Oct 2019 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora suggests that for iCloud recipients, receiving "user is overquota" soft bounce messages indicates a full inbox, which is a common temporary issue but can be indicative of inactive users if persistent. This highlights the need to monitor these types of bounces as they can also suggest old or unengaged contacts.

15 Jan 2024 - Quora

What the experts say

Email deliverability experts highlight that high soft bounce rates across multiple providers signal deep-seated problems, often related to compromised links, poor list data, or domain blocklisting. They stress that a sudden increase in mailing volume to dormant addresses can be perceived as spamming, severely damaging sender reputation. Crucially, they advise obtaining granular bounce data to properly diagnose issues and, if necessary, pausing sends to allow reputation to recover. The general consensus is that proactive data management and understanding bounce types are fundamental to maintaining good inbox placement.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks emphasizes that troubleshooting email delivery issues requires understanding the full context, including who, what, when, and where the problems occur. Without this comprehensive view, diagnosis can be incomplete and solutions ineffective.

10 Oct 2019 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise advises that an effective deliverability strategy includes regular monitoring of email engagement metrics. This proactive approach helps identify declining engagement trends that could lead to soft bounces and poor inbox placement before they become critical issues.

22 Apr 2024 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says

Official documentation and industry reports consistently emphasize that email deliverability is a complex interplay of sender reputation, email authentication, and list quality. High soft bounce rates are often symptoms of poor list hygiene or a declining sender reputation, which can be exacerbated by sudden changes in sending behavior or the presence of unengaged recipients. Mailbox providers use various signals to determine inbox placement, including engagement metrics and adherence to authentication standards. Resolving these issues requires a proactive approach to list management and adherence to best practices.

Technical article

Mailgun documentation explains that soft bounces occur due to temporary issues, such as a recipient's inbox being full or the mail server being unavailable. It also highlights that persistent soft bounces can still negatively affect deliverability over time, requiring senders to investigate and resolve underlying issues to maintain good sender reputation.

05 Nov 2023 - Mailgun

Technical article

Klaviyo Help Center documentation states that having all necessary DNS records in place, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, is crucial for resolving bounce issues. Proper email authentication helps mailbox providers verify the sender's legitimacy, which significantly improves deliverability and reduces the likelihood of emails bouncing or landing in spam.

10 Mar 2023 - Klaviyo Help Center

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