In this article, we explain what the different email statuses mean. This helps you understand why an email was not delivered and what action you may need to take.
Please note
In Momice email statistics, the hard bounce and blocked notifications are grouped together.
You can find these statistics here: Mail Module > Sent items > statistics icon.
What is a bounce?
A bounce means that an email could not be delivered. There are two types of bounces:
Hard bounce
Soft bounce
The type of bounce shows why the email was not accepted by the receiving server.
Hard bounce
A hard bounce means that an email cannot be delivered permanently.
This is usually because:
the email address no longer exists
the email address is incorrect
the domain name is blocked
the receiving server no longer accepts incoming email
With a hard bounce, the email will no longer be delivered to that email address.
Soft bounce
A soft bounce means that the email address probably exists, but the email cannot be delivered temporarily.
This can happen, for example, because of:
a full inbox
a temporary issue with the receiving mail server
an email client or server that is temporarily not working properly
A soft bounce is usually temporary.
Blocked
The blocked status is similar to a soft bounce. The receiving server temporarily rejects the email, but this does not automatically mean that the email address is invalid. It is a temporary rejection of the message, not a permanent problem with the email address.
In this case, you can contact Momice and let us know which email addresses are affected. We can then check them for you with the mail server.
For about 80% of blocked email addresses, there has already been a soft or hard bounce in the past. The receiving server may then block delivery for security reasons. This is intended to protect the mail server.
Please note: Continuing to send emails to temporarily or previously blocked email addresses can harm your sending reputation.
Deferred
An email with the deferred status cannot be delivered temporarily because there is a delay on the receiving server.
You can think of this as a queue: the email is temporarily on hold, for example because the mail server is overloaded.
Rejected
The rejected status means that the email was not accepted by the receiving server.
This is often caused by an error in the email address, such as a typo.
Unsubscribed
The unsubscribed status means that a recipient has unsubscribed from emails.
Some email clients, such as Gmail or Outlook, offer an additional option to do this with one click through an unsubscribe link at the top of the email.
Other email statuses
In addition to bounce statuses, you may also see other email statuses.
Delivered
Delivered means that the email was sent successfully from Momice.
In most cases, the email has arrived in the inbox, spam folder, or junk folder. In some cases, the receiving party may still not process the email correctly.
Opened
Opened means that the email was opened multiple times by the recipient.
Unique opened
Unique opened means that the email was opened once by the recipient.
Clicked
Clicked means that a button or hyperlink in the email was clicked.
Please note: Security systems on the recipient’s side may automatically check links. These so-called bot clicks are also included in the statistics.
Tip: Check whether the use of email tracking for open and click statistics is allowed under your organization’s security policy. Some security settings block tracking links, which can affect the measurability of your email campaign.
Why does an email end up in spam?
There are several reasons why an email may end up in spam. Every receiving email client uses its own criteria to evaluate incoming email.
Examples include:
a limit on the number of emails from one sender per day
only accepting emails from senders on a whitelist
custom security or filtering rules set by the receiving organization
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to prevent an email from ending up in spam.
What can you do?
Momice has technical agreements in place with multiple parties to improve email deliverability.
Are you seeing a lot of soft bounces, or do you suspect that emails are being blocked? Please contact Momice. We are happy to help you investigate.