Why do emails “bounce back”?
- Unknown Sender
- Recipient's server is not accepting e-mails from the sender's address. Can be caused by aggressive spam filtering software
- Server Busy
- Server on the recipient's end is busy and cannot handle the request at that time
- The Unknown Recipient
- Recipient's address does not exist on the mail server (e.g. recipient closed account)
- Non-existent Address
- Misspelled address
- Not Enough Space
- Some mail servers place a limit on the size of an incoming email
What makes an email address “invalid”?
- Non-Standard Formatting – All email addresses have three things in common
- Username (e.g. Jsmith, JohnSmith, John.Smith) containing:
- Uppercase and lowercase letters (case sensitive)
- The digits 0 through 9
- The characters (! # $ % * / ? | ^ { } ` ~ & ' + - = _ )
- A period (.) provided that it is not the first or last character
- The @ symbol
- Domain (e.g. yahoo.com, bellsouth.net, companyname.com, schoolname.edu)
- Username (e.g. Jsmith, JohnSmith, John.Smith) containing:
Solution: Many invalid email addresses are the result of typos. Check your database’s “health” by periodically running a Level 3 Query on all profiles with emails addresses and reviewing the results.
Why am I getting “opt outs”?
- Too Often /Lack of Interest
- Well targeted marketing offers the best results. CBMS will only send to a profile no more than every 7 days except for the week of the EZine (which goes to all leisure profiles).
- Change of Address
- Multiple email addresses are the rage. Be flexible and keep the doors of communication open.
Solution: Honor all opt-out requests by un-checking the box next to “Marketing Permission” in each profile. Don’t delete the email address unless the account has been closed.