Automatically Enable Email Do Not Disturb for Bounced Emails

Why Automatically Enable Email DND for Bounced Emails

When an email bounces, it indicates the address is either temporarily or permanently unreachable. Continuing to send emails to these addresses can negatively impact your sender reputation, reduce overall deliverability, and waste resources. Automatically enabling Email Do Not Disturb (DND) for bounced contacts helps maintain a clean contact list and protects your account health.

Building the Workflow

This workflow uses two main components: an Email Events trigger set to detect bounces and a DND Contact action to restrict future email sends.

Step 1: Create the Workflow and Add the Trigger

Navigate to Automation → Workflows and create a new workflow or edit an existing one. Click Add New Trigger and search for "Email Events." Select it to add the trigger to your workflow.

Step 2: Configure the Trigger for Bounced Events

Name your trigger clearly, such as "Email Bounce Trigger." Under Filters, add a filter for Event and set it to "Bounced." This ensures the workflow only runs when an email bounce occurs.

Step 3: Add the DND Contact Action

Click the + button below the trigger to add an action. Search for and select "Enable/disable DND." Give the action a descriptive name, like "Enable Email DND on Bounce."

Step 4: Configure the DND Settings

In the action settings, configure the following:

• DND Direction: Set to "Outbound" to block messages sent to the contact.
• DND: Choose "Enable DND for specific channels" to restrict only email communications.
• Channels: Select "Email" from the available options.

Step 5: Save and Publish the Workflow

Click Save on both the trigger and action panels. Once configured, toggle the workflow status from Draft to Publish to activate it.

Understanding Hard and Soft Bounces

Not all bounces indicate a permanently invalid email address. Hard bounces occur due to permanent issues like invalid mailboxes or domains, while soft bounces are often temporary, such as a full inbox or server error. This workflow applies DND equally to all bounces. If you need to differentiate between hard and soft bounces, consider adding a condition step before the DND action or implementing a manual review process.

Example Use Case

A company sends a weekly newsletter to its contact list. Over time, some email addresses become invalid. By implementing this workflow, any bounced email automatically triggers DND for that contact's email channel, preventing future sends while leaving other communication methods unaffected. This maintains list quality without manual intervention.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will DND be automatically removed if the email becomes valid again?

No. Once enabled, DND remains in place until manually disabled or removed by another workflow action. You would need to create a separate process to re-enable email communications for contacts.

Does this affect other communication channels like SMS or phone calls?

No. Since the DND action is scoped specifically to the email channel, other contact methods remain fully functional and unaffected.

What is the difference between Inbound and Outbound DND?

Outbound DND controls whether you can send messages to a contact. Inbound DND controls whether you receive messages from them. For bounce handling, Outbound DND is appropriate since the issue is with delivering your messages to the contact.

Can I trigger DND only after multiple bounces?

The Email Events trigger activates on every bounce. To require multiple bounces before enabling DND, add a condition step to check bounce history or use a custom field to track bounce counts.