Key takeaways
- Bounce rate is bounced messages divided by messages sent.
- Hard bounces are permanent; remove those addresses at once.
- Soft bounces are temporary, but repeated ones should be removed too.
- A high bounce rate harms the reputation of the sending domain.
What is the difference between a hard bounce and a soft bounce
A hard bounce is a permanent failure and a soft bounce is a temporary one. A hard bounce means the address or domain does not exist, or the server has refused the address for good; sending again will fail the same way.
A soft bounce means the address exists but delivery failed this time: the mailbox was full, the server was down or the message was too large. Mail systems often retry a soft bounce on their own. If the same address soft-bounces again and again, treat it as hard.
What causes email bounces in sales outreach
Most bounces in sales outreach come from addresses that were guessed, out of date or mistyped. Fewer come from problems on the sending side.
- An address built from the wrong email pattern for that company.
- A person who has left the company, so their mailbox was closed.
- A typo when the address was copied by hand.
- A domain that changed after a rebrand or acquisition.
- A full mailbox or a temporary server problem, for soft bounces.
- The receiving server blocking the sender because of its reputation.
How is a bounce different from landing in spam
A bounce comes back to you with a notice, while a message filtered to spam is delivered and says nothing. A low bounce rate therefore does not prove your emails reach the inbox.
A block is a third case. The receiving server refuses the message because of the sender, not the address, and it often shows up as a bounce with a reason mentioning policy or reputation.
Why the bounce rate matters to a go-to-market team
The bounce rate matters because mailbox providers read it as a sign of how carefully a sender builds lists. A domain that bounces often can find more of its mail filtered, including the replies sellers send to customers.
Most teams set an internal threshold and pause a campaign that crosses it, then clean the list before resuming. Agree that rule before the campaign, not after.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsWork emails from Find fresh leads carry a confidence score and a catch-all flag, so you can hold back the riskier addresses before you send. Pebbles Ai offers no warm-up or deliverability tools.
- CapabilitySmartboxSmartbox shows your Gmail and Outlook mail in Pebbles Ai, so bounce notices from your own sends arrive in the same inbox you work from.
Common questions
How do you calculate an email bounce rate?
Divide the number of bounced emails by the number sent in the same campaign or period. Track hard and soft bounces separately, because they need different action.
Should you remove soft-bounced addresses?
Not after one soft bounce. Remove an address that soft-bounces on several sends in a row, because it is probably abandoned.
Does Pebbles Ai warm up sending domains?
No. Pebbles Ai offers no warm-up, rotation or deliverability tools; emails go out through your own connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
