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    Deliverability

    Hard Bounce

    A permanent delivery failure — the address does not exist or the domain is invalid.

    Hard bounces should be removed from your list immediately. Continuing to send to hard-bouncing addresses tells inbox providers you are a careless sender, which damages your reputation and your overall delivery rates. Most reputable ESPs automatically suppress hard-bounced addresses.

    Related terms

    Soft Bounce

    A temporary delivery failure — the inbox is full, the server is down, or the message is too large.

    Bounce Rate

    The percentage of sent emails that were not delivered for any reason.

    List Hygiene

    The ongoing practice of removing invalid, inactive, and risky addresses from your email list.

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