When an email you send from Rex can't be delivered, it "bounces". Rex lets you know when this happens and stops sending to the failing address, so you can fix it and keep your contact list clean.
This article covers what an email bounce is, how Rex handles bounces, and how to find and fix addresses that are bouncing.
What Is an Email Bounce?
An email bounce means your email didn't reach the recipient's inbox. Common reasons include:
- The recipient's mailbox is unavailable
- The recipient's mailbox is full
- Your email is too large
- There's a problem with the recipient's email server
- A filter blocked your email because the recipient's email provider thought it was spam
- The email address doesn't exist
How Does Rex Handle Bounced Emails?
Rex sends your email to the contact's primary email address. If it bounces, Rex receives a message explaining why, and lets you know what went wrong.
The address is then added to Rex's bounce list and marked invalid, and Rex won't try to send to it again until you fix it or mark it as valid. For more on this, see - Invalid Emails in the Contact Module.
How Will I Know an Email Has Bounced?
If your email bounces, Rex sends you a notification by email. These notifications are turned on for all users by default. If you send a lot of bulk email, you can turn them off. For more on this, see - Email Bounce Notifications.
How Do I See All Bounced Emails Across My Agency?
Use Email Health, under Other Lists > Communication Centre. It shows your agency's bounce rate over the last 7 or 30 days, every address that's failing and why, which bulk sends had bounces, and which team members' emails are bouncing. You can fix each address from the same screen.
For more on this, see:
- Communication Centre: Introduction to Email Health
- Communication Centre: Fixing Failing Email Addresses
❗ Please Note: 🔒 Email Health needs the Access Email Health privilege. Admins have it already.
How Do I Find and Fix Invalid Email Addresses?
- Filter your contacts for invalid email addresses. See - Filtering for Invalid Emails.
- Use Email Health to see failing addresses and those marked invalid, and fix them one at a time.
Rex also checks the format of every new email address as it's entered. If it spots a mistake, such as a comma instead of a full stop, the address is underlined in red. This only checks that the address looks like an email address. It can't tell whether the address actually exists. If an incorrect address does get saved, Rex will let you know when you try to send to it. For more on this, see - Invalid Email Addresses.
❓ FAQs
Why won't Rex send to an address that bounced?
Once an address bounces, Rex stops sending to it to protect your agency's sending reputation. Fix the address, or mark it as valid if you're sure it works.
I'm getting too many bounce notification emails. Can I turn them off?
Yes. See - Email Bounce Notifications.
What's a good bounce rate?
Aim to keep it under 2%. Email Health shows your agency's bounce rate and highlights it if it goes above 5%. See - Communication Centre: Reading the Email Health Dashboard.