Soft Bounce
A soft bounce is an email that is temporarily undeliverable due to a temporary issue with the recipient's email server or mailbox.
Description
In the digital marketing industry, a soft bounce occurs when an email message reaches the recipient's mail server but is returned because of a temporary problem. These issues could range from the recipient's mailbox being full to the server being down or experiencing technical difficulties. Unlike hard bounces, which indicate a permanent delivery failure, soft bounces are often seen as temporary setbacks that may resolve themselves over time. Marketers typically monitor soft bounces to understand delivery issues and make necessary adjustments, such as resending the email at a later time or reaching out to the recipient through a different communication channel. Managing soft bounces effectively can enhance email deliverability rates and ensure that marketing messages reach their intended audience.
Examples
- A marketing team sends out a newsletter, but a recipient's inbox is full, causing the email to bounce back. The team decides to resend the email a few days later, hoping the inbox will have space by then.
- During a promotional campaign, an email fails to deliver because the recipient's email server is temporarily down for maintenance. The email is queued for later delivery once the server is back online.
Additional Information
- Soft bounces should be monitored to identify patterns that may require intervention.
- Repeated soft bounces to the same email address could eventually lead to a hard bounce if the issue is not resolved.