Email & SMTP · 1 min read
Email Sending Health: Bounces, Complaints and Opens
The three metrics
| Metric | Healthy target | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | | Bounce rate | Below 2% | Emails that couldn't be delivered | | Spam complaint rate | Around 0.03%, always below 0.1% | Recipients who marked your email as spam | | Open rate | Above 15% | Delivered emails that were opened |
All three are monitored continuously. If your account goes past a limit, sending may be paused until the issue is resolved.
Keep bounces low
- Validate addresses before you import or send.
- Remove hard bounces immediately.
- Don't send to old or purchased lists.
Keep complaints low
- Only email people who opted in.
- Tell subscribers what to expect and how often.
- Keep the unsubscribe link easy to find.
Keep opens healthy
- Send to engaged contacts and sunset people who haven't opened in months.
- Write clear, honest subject lines.
- Authenticate your domain so you land in the inbox, not spam.
If a metric slips
- Pause large campaigns.
- Find the cause in Marketing → Emails → Statistics (bounce types, complaint sources).
- Clean your list and fix the cause.
- Resume with your most engaged contacts and increase volume gradually.