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5.32. All or almost all of my messages bounced
Updated 06.14.17
Note: If you're using a Yahoo, AOL or other "free" email service email account as your sending email address, click here to find out why your NewPanda messages may no longer get delivered. Then update the email address in your NewPanda settings to a corporate or private domain email address.
Other reasons may include....
Usually a super high bounce rate happens when a brand-new list is imported with a formatting error. It may be something like the email field has other data in it (more than one email address, a phone number, etc.) and that data needs to be "separated out" before you import.
Check a few of the records imported individually to see if it appears the import process may need to be re-tried. If your data looks goofy, the easiest thing to do is to open the original data file you used through Microsoft Excel and do any formatting necessary there. (If necessary, you can export your data from NewPanda in Excel format and do your changes). Then resave the updated data as a .CSV file, and re-import. You can either delete the original data and start over or over-write it during the import process.
To delete the original data (We recommend you export a COPY of your entire contact list first, just in case!! Deletions are immediate and they cannot be undone or restored):
If deleting ALL OF YOUR DATA, click Manage Your Contacts tab / Select Contacts section, click All, then click Delete from the Actions menu.
If NOT deleting all of your data, use the Filter feature to locate the group auto-created by our system when you imported the data (you need to know roughly the date and time you imported the data, and you MUST CHECK THE DATA CAREFULLY BEFORE DELETING IT to ensure you don't accidentally delete the wrong group). The Group will be called "Imported <mm/dd/yyyy>". Once the group is filtered and verified, from the Select Contacts section, click All, then click Delete from the Actions menu. Then through Groups feature, you can delete the Group Name once you've verified it no longer has any records associated with it.
Here are some resources for Microsoft Excel Help:
Browse for older versions of Excel
But this isn't a new list! Well.... is it an "old" list? Data is a lot like bread - it just doesn't stay fresh for very long. Email addresses change about as often as cell phone numbers these days. Everyone that used to have AOL is switching to G-Mail, or consolidating everything through their Yahoo account. You get the drift. If you haven't been keeping your bounce notifications up-to-date, it's possible that you need to start doing so, or do a serious cleanup project.
Try sending everyone an individual text-only message WITHOUT the word "test" in it to see what gets through and what doesn't. Yes, we said an individual message. That means one message for each recipient, not one message for all recipients. Why?
- To ensure the whole batch isn't getting held up somewhere
- To ensure the message isn't getting caught as part of a "mass email" by the recipient's spam filters, and sent to their Spam or Junk folders, or auto-deleted
- You'll receive an individual bounce notification for each undeliverable message, quite possibly providing the exact reason the message can't be delivered. Respond accordingly by removing bad email addresses and/or contacting the recipient for updated information.
Don't send a "nonsense" message that could prompt your recipients to unsubscribe. Either send some relevant and timely news, or maybe just let them know you are updating your email list and appreciate their help and feedback.
That sounds like a lot of work, right? It is! But remember, our mantra at NewPanda is: Good eMarketing cannot happen without Good Data. If your data is old or hasn't been kept up-to-date, it's time. The results will be well worth your efforts.
Be sure to check out our Related Pages on Data Management and SPAM filters.