When you're running an email marketing campaign, every email counts. The stronger your engagement, the higher your email open rate and marketing return on investment (ROI). And the higher your email bounce rate, the higher your chances of being marked as spam. Once you end up on the spam or blacklist, your emails aren't going to get through, leaving money on the table.
Bounce rates are a part of email marketing. You can't have one without the other. But you can do everything possible to keep your bounce rate below the acceptable threshold.
What Is an Email Marketing Bounce Rate?
An email bounce rate is the percentage of emails that bounce back or get returned to the sender. You can calculate your email bounce rate by dividing the number of returned emails by the total sent, multiplying by 100. For example, you sent an email newsletter to 5,000 subscribers. You got 25 emails as undeliverable. You divided 25 by 5,000 to get 0.005. You then multiply 0.005 by 100 to get a bounce rate of 0.5%.
Types of Bounces
Two types of email bounces exist: hard and soft. Another way to look at them is permanent and temporary bounce. A soft or temporary bounce is usually caused by a problem like a full recipient inbox or a mail server that's temporarily down. An email that's too large can also trigger a soft bounce.
A hard or permanent bounce happens when an email address doesn't exist or is unknown. The email address provided may have been a work address deleted after an employee left their job. The domain associated with the email might have expired and not been renewed.
Soft email bounces will eventually go through, but hard bounces won't.
What Is a Good Email Marketing Bounce Rate?
An email marketing bounce rate of zero is rare. No matter what you do, you'll always have a few emails bounce back. People change jobs, change emails, or need to keep their inboxes organized. Email servers can also have unexpected glitches or other issues.
While you can't get your bounce rate to zero, you should keep it as low as possible, ideally under 2%. A bounce rate above 2% can start to set alarm bells off. Once your bounce rates start to creep up, it can affect your overall account health and deliverability, potentially preventing people who want to see your emails from seeing them.
How to Lower an Email Bounce Rate
Keeping your email bounce rates below 2% improves your sender reputation and boosts your email marketing ROI. Be proactive about lowering your bounce rate by following these tips.
Keep Your Mailing List Up to Date
People frequently change jobs or get new email addresses. That means their old, deleted addresses are going to bounce back. It's up to you to keep a close eye on your mailing list and remove any addresses that produce a hard bounce. Those emails will never get through, so your best bet is to say goodbye and delete them.
Sunset email automation automatically identifies contacts that are not engaging with your emails and sends them an email giving them the opportunity to update their sending preferences or unsubscribe. As email marketers, we hate to see people unsubscribe, but the bottom line is we want engaged contacts on our list. A sunset flow is a way to maintain a healthy, engaged list.
Get Permission to Send Emails
Have new subscribers double opt-in to your email list to verify that their signup was legit and that they want to subscribe. When you get a new subscriber, send a follow-up message to their address, asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription.
Having a double opt-in can help keep your bounce rate low in two ways. First, that initial confirmation email verifies that the address is legit and works. Second, asking the subscriber to confirm their interest ensures that their signup was real and not the work of a bot.
Send From A Verified Domain
Using a professional email address linked to your brand’s domain name, rather than a generic one from Gmail or Yahoo, is crucial for email marketing credibility. Freebie email addresses are often associated with spammers and can result in your emails being blacklisted.
It’s essential to properly set up domain name system (DNS) records, verifying within your email service provider (ESP) that you indeed own your domain. This step is more than just a formality; it establishes strong sending credibility with major email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and others. By confirming ownership and ensuring your domain is recognized as legitimate, you significantly reduce the chances of your emails being flagged as spam or being undelivered.
Follow Email Marketing Best Practices
Following email marketing best practices keeps recipients from marking your messages as spam and reduces unsubscribe rates.
Keep Emails Short and Sweet
Large emails containing many images load slowly or may be rejected by the server outright, leading to soft bounces. For best results, keep your messages short and to the point. If emails are too long in length, they will be at risk of clipping. Remember, large email files can easily be flagged by inbox providers as spam.
Don't Over-Send Emails
Stick to a regular email schedule, sending only a few messages. While once a week or every other week is acceptable, three times a day is excessive and risks landing your brand on a spam list. Moreover, the importance of segmentation and personalization in email campaigns cannot be emphasized enough. Through segmentation, you ensure that subscribers receive content tailored to their interests and preferences, significantly increasing the likelihood of engagement. By delivering relevant content, you not only respect their inbox but also enhance the user experience.
Talk Like A Human (Cause You Are One!)
Your email subscribers are more likely to engage with messages that feel personalized and human. The importance of personalization in emails cannot be overstated; it significantly increases open and click rates. Avoid using clichéd phrases like “The deal of a lifetime!” or “You won’t believe it!” Instead, opt for a conversational and friendly tone. By doing so, you’ll not only boost your email open rate but also maintain low bounce rates.
Leverage Engaged Segments
ZGM recommends utilizing segments based on recent engagement, such as those who’ve been engaged in the last 90 or 30 days. These segments often yield higher interaction rates.
Behavioral Segmentation
Segmenting subscribers based on their on-site behavior and past purchases ensures content relevancy. Serving tailored content based on these behaviors can significantly boost engagement.
Optimize Subject Lines
Avoid “spammy” triggers in your subject lines. This includes excessive emojis, multiple punctuation marks, all caps, and words like “SALE” or “FLASH SALE.” For instance, if promoting a sale for an outdoor furniture company:
- DON’T: SALE NOW: All Outdoor Furniture!!!
- DO: Elevate your outdoor sanctuary. (With the preview text indicating the discount percentage.)
By following these guidelines, you can increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns and foster better engagement with your subscribers.
Keep Your Bounce Rate Low With Zero Gravity Marketing
Zero Gravity Marketing is a full-service digital and email marketing agency based in Connecticut. We work with you to develop an effective email marketing strategy that keeps subscribers engaged and your bounce rate low. Contact us today to learn more.
Natalia Pereira
