And What to Do About Them.
Why Emails Bounce in HubSpot and How to Fix Them
The Global Bounce report in HubSpot is a vital tool for monitoring and improving your email deliverability. To access it, navigate to your Marketing Email dashboard, click on Manage Emails, and then select Performance. Here, you can filter your data to focus on Hard Bounces – emails that failed permanently and can’t be delivered.
The report combines feedback from your own outbound campaigning with HubSpot’s crowd-sourced intelligence about bounced contacts across its entire user base. This powerful combination provides visibility into why emails aren’t being delivered and helps you take corrective action.
Let’s break down the six hard bounce reasons HubSpot tracks and what they mean.
The “Other” category is a catch-all for bounces that don’t fit neatly into any other reason. These could result from temporary issues with the recipient’s server, unusual email provider quirks, or rare scenarios HubSpot can’t categorise. While the classification might seem vague, it’s a signal to ensure your sending domain is properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to rule out any technical misconfigurations on your end.
Policy bounces occur when the recipient’s server blocks your email due to their security or spam-filtering policies. This is common with corporate domains that enforce strict email security measures. To address these bounces, ensure your email content is compliant with best practices, avoid spammy language, and maintain a strong sender reputation. In some cases, you may need to contact the recipient’s IT team to whitelist your domain or troubleshoot the issue further.
“Mailbox Full” bounces happen when the recipient’s inbox has reached its storage capacity, preventing new messages from being received. While often temporary, repeated attempts over time may still fail. If key contacts consistently appear in this category, it might be worth reaching out via alternative channels, such as LinkedIn or phone, to confirm if they are still actively using the email address or working at the organisation.
Content bounces are triggered when the recipient’s server flags your email for containing potentially harmful or spam-like material. This could result from the use of certain keywords, suspicious links, or large file attachments. To minimise content bounces, use spam-checking tools before sending, write in clear and professional language, and ensure all links point to secure, reputable websites.
Spam bounces occur when your email is marked as unsolicited or undesirable, often due to poor list quality or engagement practices. Sending emails to unverified or disengaged contacts can increase the likelihood of being flagged as spam. To combat this, use permission-based lists, segment your audience for relevance, and ensure your emails provide value tailored to recipients’ interests.
Unknown user bounces is one of the most common hard bounce reasons and indicates that the email address no longer exists, was never valid, or has a typo. Regular list validation is essential to reduce these bounces. Tools like ZeroBounce or NeverBounce can verify your lists, and sales teams should double-check new contact details when adding them to the CRM. Proactively maintaining data accuracy ensures smoother email delivery and fewer wasted efforts.
The Global Bounce report isn’t just a marketing tool – it’s an opportunity for sales and marketing alignment. If sales contacts appear on the report, it’s time to strategise. For instance, if the bounced contact’s involvement in a target account has expired, sales should identify a new point of contact. Under an ABM (Account-Based Marketing) strategy, alternative stakeholders may need to be engaged.
Consider timing too.
Was this contact about to receive an invite to a trade show or event? If so, think about who else should be included. A bounced email might also signal that the contact has moved to a competitor, opening new opportunities to connect with them there. Alternatively, if the contact has lost their job, offering assistance in their search can build goodwill and strengthen relationships.
Additionally, marketing teams bear the operational burden of maintaining the Active List in HubSpot that tracks these defunct contacts and email addresses. A weekly – or at the very least, monthly – review of this list presents an opportunity to improve email deliverability. By identifying and removing no-longer-viable contacts, marketing teams can claw back some of the valuable “marketing contact” allocation that’s better used elsewhere. Contacts that can no longer be engaged should be downgraded to non-marketing contacts, ensuring resources are directed to higher-value prospects and audiences.
The takeaway is simple: the contact has bounced, and now it’s time to ask, “What can we or should we do about it?” Whether identifying new opportunities, maintaining a clean CRM, or deepening relationships, the Global Bounce report is a starting point for meaningful action that benefits both your business and its audience.
Last Updated on by GaryPine
