We received a complaint on an email that was obtained from ZoomInfo. For background, these aren't huge emails but carefully created leads which on average total 125 contacts per month. The list is GDPR compliant (geographic areas, opt-out, etc.). However, we don't want to be barred from HubSpot as the user policy states no 'bought lists'.
So my questions are:
Does HubSpot consider any contacts from ZoomInfo as a bought list and thus, cannot be used?
Has anyone else had this issue?
How are others using this information and emailing prospective customers?
Are you using a separate email system to send initial email and then transferring them to HubSpot once they sign-up and provide explicit consent?
When you say the email was obtained from Zoominfo, do you have any more details?
If the email came from your client's own Zoominfo database, then it is okay to email them, but if the email was given to someone else, not your client, and your client is now the one emailing them, then this is not okay.
The specifics HubSpot Acceptable Use Policy for email sending are listed here
Does HubSpot consider any contacts from ZoomInfo as a bought list and thus, cannot be used? - Not necessarily. This depends on whether or not you bought those contacts. If you have consent to contact a person, and have their details in Zoominfo, then this is okay. As long as the consent is expressed by an action the customer took through a verifiable method then it will be okay.
Has anyone else had this issue? - We regularly discuss email sending policies with our customers, this is not limited to Zoominfo
Are you using a separate email system to send initial emails and then transferring them to HubSpot once they sign-up and provide explicit consent? - This is not a setup I am aware of. Again, the main thing is: you need to show verifiable implied consent in order to email contacts. Once we can see that you have that, then everything will be fine.
Hope this helps!
If we were able to answer your query, kindly help the community by marking it as a solution. Thanks and Regards.
Contacts that originate from third-party sources are strictly prohibited from use within HubSpot’s marketing email tool by the Acceptable Use Policy. This includes email addresses that were sourced directly from a third-party provider like ZoomInfo and other list vendors. Purchased, rented, or borrowed lists are considered third-party, as well as any email address that was not provided directly to your brand by the individual owner of the email address.
In HubSpot, opt-in is generally means that contacts themselves provide their own email address directly to your business along with expressed and verifiable consent to receive bulk mail from your business. Third-party contacts often do not meet this requirement. They are also more likely to cause excessive bounces, spam complaints, unsubscribes, or blocklistings, all of which are detrimental to your brand's sending reputation, go against email best practices, and violate the Acceptable Use Policy. Be sure to check out the AUP above and HubSpot's email sending requirements here.
Are you using a separate email system to send initial email and then transferring them to HubSpot once they sign-up and provide explicit consent?
Please keep in mind that third-party contacts cannot be emailed in HubSpot. If you use services such as ZoomInfo to acquire email addresses, one approach is to send 1:1 emails from your inbox or an external email service provider that may not require opt-in permission to send mail. 1:1 sends can be used to drive those contacts to an email sign-up form on your website where they can provide the expressed and verifiable permission needed for email sends in HubSpot. I'd generally recommend steering clear of emailing third-party contacts altogether.
To @webdew's point, providers like ZoomInfo often offer other services such as data enrichment that will provide helpful insights about the contact or their company. So for contacts who meet the opt-in definition above and HubSpot’s sending requirements, it is okay to use data enrichment services for this purpose and ensure you are sending valuable, relevant, and wanted mail.
Contacts that originate from third-party sources are strictly prohibited from use within HubSpot’s marketing email tool by the Acceptable Use Policy. This includes email addresses that were sourced directly from a third-party provider like ZoomInfo and other list vendors. Purchased, rented, or borrowed lists are considered third-party, as well as any email address that was not provided directly to your brand by the individual owner of the email address.
In HubSpot, opt-in is generally means that contacts themselves provide their own email address directly to your business along with expressed and verifiable consent to receive bulk mail from your business. Third-party contacts often do not meet this requirement. They are also more likely to cause excessive bounces, spam complaints, unsubscribes, or blocklistings, all of which are detrimental to your brand's sending reputation, go against email best practices, and violate the Acceptable Use Policy. Be sure to check out the AUP above and HubSpot's email sending requirements here.
Are you using a separate email system to send initial email and then transferring them to HubSpot once they sign-up and provide explicit consent?
Please keep in mind that third-party contacts cannot be emailed in HubSpot. If you use services such as ZoomInfo to acquire email addresses, one approach is to send 1:1 emails from your inbox or an external email service provider that may not require opt-in permission to send mail. 1:1 sends can be used to drive those contacts to an email sign-up form on your website where they can provide the expressed and verifiable permission needed for email sends in HubSpot. I'd generally recommend steering clear of emailing third-party contacts altogether.
To @webdew's point, providers like ZoomInfo often offer other services such as data enrichment that will provide helpful insights about the contact or their company. So for contacts who meet the opt-in definition above and HubSpot’s sending requirements, it is okay to use data enrichment services for this purpose and ensure you are sending valuable, relevant, and wanted mail.
This is unfortunately not something that can be easily answered in a community thread. It depends on where your company is doing business, the type of business (B2B, B2C), which legislations apply and the exact context of how these contacts are being generated.
I would always recommend to discuss with a legal / data privacy professional. These professionals can be hired via agencies, law offices or as freelancers. Considering the potential fines for companies under GDPR and other frameworks, this is budget well invested.
It's not possible to generalize and say say that implicit consent can be assumed by default based on certain user actions. In the case of a complaint or a law suit you don't want to rely on a generalized rule.
(This post does not constitute legal advice.)
Probably not the answer you were looking for but I hope it helps with your next steps.
Karsten Köhler HubSpot Freelancer | RevOps & CRM Consultant | Community Hall of Famer
When you say the email was obtained from Zoominfo, do you have any more details?
If the email came from your client's own Zoominfo database, then it is okay to email them, but if the email was given to someone else, not your client, and your client is now the one emailing them, then this is not okay.
The specifics HubSpot Acceptable Use Policy for email sending are listed here
Does HubSpot consider any contacts from ZoomInfo as a bought list and thus, cannot be used? - Not necessarily. This depends on whether or not you bought those contacts. If you have consent to contact a person, and have their details in Zoominfo, then this is okay. As long as the consent is expressed by an action the customer took through a verifiable method then it will be okay.
Has anyone else had this issue? - We regularly discuss email sending policies with our customers, this is not limited to Zoominfo
Are you using a separate email system to send initial emails and then transferring them to HubSpot once they sign-up and provide explicit consent? - This is not a setup I am aware of. Again, the main thing is: you need to show verifiable implied consent in order to email contacts. Once we can see that you have that, then everything will be fine.
Hope this helps!
If we were able to answer your query, kindly help the community by marking it as a solution. Thanks and Regards.
I had a question about this. Hubspot's user policy states we need an opt=in to email, but most of their language is geared towards marketing emails sent using the marketing email functionality. If we are reaching out, unsolicited, in a sales 1-1 capacity (say using sequencing), does this fall under the spam issue? I am seeing a huge gray area. We use Zoominfo (and have used Seamless.ai) in the past and have never had an issue. But my new company is super leery about using Hubspt to reach out to email contacts pulled from Zoominfo based upon the not reaching out to purchased lists etc. Even in a sales capacity. Curious if there is any clarification on this. I also find it weird that Hubspot allows integrations with Zoominfo Seamless etc. if this is such a big issue.