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Email Marketing Glossary.

Clear, no-fluff definitions of every email marketing term that matters—from open rates to double opt-in. 

 

Soft Bounce

A soft bounce is a temporary email delivery failure caused by issues like a full mailbox, an oversized message, or a down server. The email may deliver successfully on a later attempt.

Also known as: temporary bounce

A soft bounce means the address is valid, but something got in the way this time. It's usually temporary, so most email platforms will retry delivery before giving up.

What causes a soft bounce?

Typical causes include a full inbox, a message that's too large, a temporarily unavailable server, or content that triggered a filter. These conditions often clear on their own.

How are soft bounces handled?

Platforms generally retry soft-bounced messages over a set period. If an address keeps soft bouncing across many sends, it's usually reclassified and suppressed to protect your reputation.

Should you worry about soft bounces?

Occasional soft bounces are normal. Persistent ones from the same addresses are worth cleaning, since ongoing delivery failures — soft or hard — drag down deliverability.

Related terms

Email Deliverability Sender Reputation SPF DKIM DMARC Hard Bounce

Related reading from Drip

What Happens to Bounced Emails? (Help Center) 7 Proven Ways to Reduce Email Bounce Backs

Frequently asked questions

What is a soft bounce?
A soft bounce is a temporary email delivery failure, caused by issues like a full mailbox, an oversized message, or a briefly unavailable server. The email may deliver on a later retry.
What's the difference between a soft and hard bounce?
A soft bounce is temporary and may succeed on retry, while a hard bounce is a permanent failure from an invalid address. Hard bounces should be removed immediately; soft bounces are retried first.
What causes a soft bounce?
Common causes include a recipient's full inbox, a message that exceeds size limits, a temporarily down mail server, or content that triggered a filter. Most of these clear on their own.
Do soft bounces hurt deliverability?
Occasional soft bounces are normal and low-risk. But repeated soft bounces from the same addresses signal a problem, and ongoing delivery failures can hurt your sender reputation, so persistent soft-bouncers should be cleaned.
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