Soft Bounce

Soft Bounce refers to an email delivery failure that is temporary and usually caused by issues like a full mailbox or server problems.

A soft bounce is an email delivery failure that occurs when the recipient’s email server temporarily rejects the email, but the email address is valid and the server is capable of receiving emails. Unlike a hard bounce, which indicates a permanent delivery failure due to an invalid or non-existent email address, a soft bounce is typically a temporary issue that can be resolved.

There are several reasons why a soft bounce may occur. It could be due to a full mailbox, where the recipient’s inbox has reached its storage limit and cannot accept any more messages. Other common causes include a temporary server issue, such as being offline or undergoing maintenance, or a spam filter blocking the email due to certain content or attachments.

Soft bounces are usually automatically retried by the sender’s email server for a certain period of time before being classified as a hard bounce. During this retry period, the sender’s server will attempt to deliver the email again at regular intervals, hoping that the recipient’s server will become available or resolve the temporary issue.

To improve deliverability and reduce the occurrence of soft bounces, it is important to maintain a clean and up-to-date email list. Regularly remove invalid or inactive email addresses and ensure that your subscribers have opted-in to receive your emails. Additionally, following best practices for email marketing, such as avoiding spammy content and using reputable email service providers, can help minimize the chances of your emails being flagged as spam.