marcloudconsulting.com 24 Managing email Bounces vs opting out In short, opt-outs are controlled by the prospect, whereas bounces are not. Let’s dig in a little more here. A hard bounce is recorded when an email is classified as ‘invalid’. This can be for several reasons, including: • An unknown email recipient • A non-existent domain • The email is suspected as spam by the email server If an email is classed as invalid, then it will continuously bounce back. This will automatically tick the ‘Do Not Email’ box, and suppress the prospect from all future marketing communications. The ‘Hard Bounced’ field will also be checked in Pardot and this will sync over in the corresponding Salesforce record. Note: The Hard Bounce field can not be manually unselected on a prospect record in Pardot, but the Do Not Email checkbox can be. When it comes to opt-outs, the most defining characteristic here is that the prospect has complete control - and there are a few ways it can be done, including: • Clicking an unsubscribe button or link displayed on the preference page or in an email. • Reporting an email as spam. • Being manually imported as ‘Opted Out.’ • A user has manually opted out the prospect in Pardot.