If you use All Contacts, this article shows how to move hard-bounced contacts back to Soft Bounces so you can attempt delivery again, or delete them if needed.
Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand
- Audience Center > All Contacts > Segments > Hard Bounces to review hard-bounced contacts.
- Use the contact actions menu to change to soft bounce.
- Optionally delete hard bounce contacts (CRM-first if you sync).
If you are using All Contacts and have contacts in the hard bounce list that you want to email again or they are there incorrectly, move them to the soft bounce list so you can try again. Although there is no requirement to remove hard-bounce contacts, you can delete them, for example, if you don't want them in your total contact count.
Make Contacts a Soft Bounce
- To see the list of hard bounces, go to Audience Center > All Contacts > Segments area (left) > Contact Preferences filter > Hard Bounces:
- Hover over the contact, on the right click and select Change to soft bounce:
This removes the recorded "hard bounce event" without affecting the contact record.
Delete Hard Bounce Contacts
- To delete a single contact, follow the steps above but select Delete contact.
- To delete all hard bounce contacts, go to Audience Center > All Contacts > Segments area (left) > Contact Preferences filter > Hard Bounces > > Delete all contacts:
Deleting contacts in Act-On does not remove the "hard bounce event" for that email address, so if they get added again, they would be marked as a hard bounce again automatically.