BlogMessaging
Handling bounces and complaints automatically
By Micah Ondiwa, Senior Software Engineer 1 min read
Process bounce and complaint notifications to keep lists clean and sender reputation healthy.
Every bulk email produces bounces and, occasionally, spam complaints. Ignoring them damages deliverability for all future messages.
Hard and soft bounces
Hard bounces — the address does not exist — should be suppressed immediately. Soft bounces — mailbox full, temporary errors — can be retried, and suppressed after repeated failures.
Complaints
When a recipient marks a message as spam, stop sending marketing messages to them.
Automate with webhooks
Email providers can notify your system of bounces and complaints. Update contact records automatically.
Watch the rates
Rising bounce or complaint rates signal list problems or unwanted content. Investigate before reputation suffers.
Separate streams
Keep transactional and marketing email on separate streams so marketing issues do not block receipts and password resets.
See our email delivery services.
About the author
Micah Ondiwa
Senior Software Engineer
Micah Ondiwa writes about software engineering — application architecture, APIs and integration, data and AI-assisted development, and reliable delivery.