Once Hubspot suppresses an email address, is it forever suppressed in our database?

[LKoz]

We have contacts that Hubspot is suppressing per its rule around unengaged contacts. But weeks or months later, after Hubspot makes this determination, some contacts see our digital ads, click thru, and fill in our web form. At that point, is the contact STILL not getting any emails from us? The contacts are "re-engaging" and starting fresh, if you will. 

If the answer if yes, Hubspot is still suppressing emails from them, can we create a workflow or something to have them be un-suppressed when they "re-engage"?

I am also concerned this cohort is not eligible to recieve our automated thank you emails that go out as a result of a form fill. Thanks. 

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @LKoz,

The choice to suppress unengaged contacts is one that you can make for each email (in the Sending tab).

Personally, I don't check this box for the majority of sends I'm responsible for as I find that, since iOS 15, it's not especially reliable anymore. Contacts might engage with an email, that engagement might not register, and the contact might be incorrectly excluded: https://community.hubspot.com/t5/Email-Marketing-Tool/iOS-15-let-s-talk-about-it/m-p/513936/highligh...

When you create a filter based on the property 'Sends since last engagement' anywhere in the tool, you'll see a small hint about that. In the 'Sending' tab, this is for some reason not displayed.

Regarding your ads, this checkbox only refers to emails: 'Unengaged contacts are those who haven't opened your last 11 emails. You can improve your deliverability and engagement rates by not including them in your send.' https://knowledge.hubspot.com/marketing-email/what-is-graymail-and-how-can-i-avoid-sending-my-email-...

For any emails that you're sending as a confirmation, reminder etc (such as an email after a web form submission, thank you emails etc), you definitely want to turn this setting off.

There is no way to further configure or reset the default system field 'Sends since last engagement'. If you want certain emails to be sent, you simply uncheck the box (see screenshot above). To do so, open your automated marketing emails, uncheck the box, republish them.

(Yes, a contact will leave the list if they choose to engage with an older email of yours (open, click) but that's not part of an expected conversion path if they submit a new form after while.)

Hope this helps!

[SteveHTM]

@LKoz - in all the cases I've seen, the option to suppress sends to unengaged contacts is a checkbox determination as you set up the email. So you definitely would NOT check that box for a 'thank you for filling our form" automation.

Getting a contact off the unengaged list is a function of them responding to a marketing email send (open/click) - they are not unsubscribed in any sense (unless you take specific action to make them so), just silent until they indicate otherwise.

Hope this helps!

Steve