Eliza McElhaney

Why You Should Stop Ignoring Your Bounced Emails

Let’s be honest: nobody gets excited about bounce rates. They sound boring. Technical. Like something you can safely ignore after you hit "send," right?

Wrong.

Bounced emails are the gossip queens of your email list. They’re trying to tell you something important—and if you keep brushing them off, you’re missing out on easy wins (and setting yourself up for some headaches).

Let’s break it down.

First, What’s a Bounce?

Every time you send an email campaign, a handful of emails will not make it to their destination. They bounce back like a bad check.

Two types you should know:

  • Hard Bounce = dead address. Doesn’t exist. Never will.

  • Soft Bounce = temporary issue. Inbox full, server hiccup, who knows. Might fix itself.

Think of it like this:

  • Hard bounce = wrong number.

  • Soft bounce = phone temporarily out of service.

Either way, those bounced emails deserve a closer look.

Why You Should Care About Bounced Emails

Most people see a bounce report and shrug. “Oh well, moving on.”

Big mistake.

Every bounced email is lost potential—and also a giant, blinking opportunity if you know what to do with it.

Especially if you’re emailing other businesses, when someone’s email bounces, it could mean:

  • Your main contact left the company.

  • You just lost a champion who was on your side.

  • You’re now flying blind without realizing it.

Instead of deleting those addresses, do this:

  • Look at who bounced — were they a key contact?

  • Grab the company names tied to those emails.

  • Build a new target list using those companies.

Because here’s the thing: Those companies are still a good fit for you. You just need new people to talk to.

If you’re not using your bounce data to fuel your next round of prospecting?
You’re leaving money—and momentum—on the table.

How to Tell if You Have a Deliverability Problem

Your bounce rate is a health check for your email list.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

  • Under 2% bounce rate? You’re good.

  • Over 5%? 🚨 Houston, we have a problem.

High bounce rates usually mean:

  • You’re emailing a messy, outdated list.

  • You’re not removing hard bounces after each send.

  • Spam filters are starting to side-eye you.

And when email providers think you don’t care about list hygiene? They’ll quietly push your emails to the spam folder. (No one sends you a polite warning. You just… disappear.)

A Quick Note if You're Emailing Regular People (Not Businesses)

If you’re emailing everyday customers—the shoppers, subscribers, parents, foodies, whoever—your bounce rate can still cause chaos if you're not watching it.

Here’s the sneaky danger:
You might innocently add a new tracking link or affiliate code to your emails… and boom, deliverability tanks.

If your bounce rate jumps from 2% to 8% overnight, it’s not a coincidence.
Something you added is setting off spam alarms.

Moral of the story: If something looks off, investigate it right away. (Trust me: fixing it now is a lot easier than rebuilding a burned-out list later.)

The Bottom Line

Bounced emails aren’t just "bad addresses." They’re mini-mysteries waiting to be solved and clues pointing you toward smarter marketing moves.

So next time you send an email campaign, don’t just check your open rates and high-five yourself over clicks.

Check your bounces.
Read the signs.
Follow the gold.

Your future self (and your deliverability) will thank you.