Tips, Tricks & Best Practices

pina
Contributor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

I just ran this report: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/articles/kcs_article/email/how-do-i-export-a-list-of-unsubscribes

and it gave me a list of all contacts that have unsubscribed, marked our email as spam, or bounced. 

 

What is the best way to deal with these contacts? In your experience, have you just deleted them from Hubspot completely? Tried to salvage them in any way? 

 

Let me know!

 

Thanks. 

3 Accepted solutions
edileo
Solution
HubSpot Employee
HubSpot Employee

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

No problem!  I would say so, given the definition (included below).  Also, here's a guide for removing the "ineligibles."  How can I delete all contacts who have unsubscribed from email or bounced?

- Evan

  • Hard Bounce - A hard bounce means that the address is invalid and should not be sent to again. The email might belong to an unknown user, the content of your email might have triggered their spam filter, or the server might have seen too many other contacts marking your email as spam. When a contact’s email returns a hard bounce, they will be marked as ineligible the next time you include them in a send.

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SparkReaction
Solution
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

We create an automated workflow that sends anyone who bounced or unsubscribed to a smart list.

We periodically check this list (to make sure there isn't anyone in there by mistake!) and bulk delete the list of contacts.

A couple caveats though:

  • You might want to rule out existing or past customers so you can maintain their data and look back on their journey through your website
  • Not everyone who bounces once will always bounce, so I usually set up the "bounce" criteria for "bounced more than once"

Good luck!

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KeyWestScott
Solution
Key Advisor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

I'd assume something of this nature....  Bounced.JPG

 

Scott

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19 Replies 19
charltonhua
Member

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

I'd like to know if any of you users have problems with Hubspot list reporting? I'm constantly cynical regarding Hubspot's data and the reason I bring this up is to see if users of this platform who are created lists for bounced contacts are trusting the reporting. I seriously laugh at how they're becoming one of those companies where they'll gladly take your money however spend $0 on R&D. 

 

This knowledge article on how to create a list of global bounces. You have to download and reimport to create a list just to mass delete unsubscribed / global bounced contacts. Hubspot for whatever reason doesn't even offer you to create such a list within the platform is ridiculous. 

 

https://knowledge.hubspot.com/articles/kcs_article/email/how-can-i-send-an-email-to-a-contact-that-h...

AndrewDream
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

How can we automate that if an email bounces it just removes that email from the contact? we dont want the contact deleted, just the bad emails removed. This way sales team can go in and try to update email. Also these bad emails dont keep randomly being added into various lists/srequences. Thanks!

0 Upvotes
agnsob
Contributor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

hey guys, one thought here.

If the email bounces (marketing or sales), we mark its lead status as Bad Data (via workflow) and add it to the smart list for further review.

The problem occurs when the bounce is global (it appears on HS prior to sending any email) so it can't trigger the workflow for setting their lead status to Bad Data.

Does this piece of information that Contact has bounced globally live in some contact property? I want to set up a workflow for adding these to the smart list as well. Ideas?

edileo
HubSpot Employee
HubSpot Employee

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Hi There,

 

Here's a great guide that goes over identifying -- and auditing -- these addresses while keeping your sender reputation intact:  Article: How can I send an email to a contact that has previously bounced?

Here's another that I've found helpful, for context:
Article: What is the difference between a hard bounce and a soft bounce?

And one more for re-engaging those "accidental" unsubscribers: How do I enable resubscription emails for forms?

Hope this helps!

Evan 

usadreamclean
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Hi Evan - is there a way to filter opted-out contacts rather than to delete them? Please advise and thanks...

 

-JP

0 Upvotes
pina
Contributor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Thank you! 

So would deleting hard-bounced contacts from Hubspot be a logical solution to keep our list clean?

 

0 Upvotes
SparkReaction
Solution
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

We create an automated workflow that sends anyone who bounced or unsubscribed to a smart list.

We periodically check this list (to make sure there isn't anyone in there by mistake!) and bulk delete the list of contacts.

A couple caveats though:

  • You might want to rule out existing or past customers so you can maintain their data and look back on their journey through your website
  • Not everyone who bounces once will always bounce, so I usually set up the "bounce" criteria for "bounced more than once"

Good luck!

KateElizabeth
Contributor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Hi there - I want to do this to keep our lists clean, however I'm struggling with the fact that our sales guys might want to refer back to the notes on these contacts records. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks!

0 Upvotes
KeyWestScott
Key Advisor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Hey Kate.  What I do here is for our sales people, assuming that they have been designated as the Contact Property Owner.  I exclude anyone that is assigned to these people.

 

Does that help?

 

Scott.

jennysowyrda
Community Manager
Community Manager

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

@SparkReaction do you mind sharing your workflow set up with the Community? 

0 Upvotes
KeyWestScott
Solution
Key Advisor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

I'd assume something of this nature....  Bounced.JPG

 

Scott

l007oneil
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Awesome, Scott! Thanks for sharing. I set up a smart list to include something similar. 

0 Upvotes
KeyWestScott
Key Advisor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Make sure to exclude anyone that you may not want to be included here...  For Example your own staff or others.  Though the bounced setting should clear most of the deadbeats.

 

Scott

0 Upvotes
l007oneil
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Can you please share how you set the workflow up? 

ChurchWest
Participant

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

What steps did you take to create the spam workflow? Unsubscribes was easy, but I don't see an option to trigger the workflow if *any* email is marked as spam ... 

pina
Contributor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Thank you! This is so helpful. Great tips! 

edileo
Solution
HubSpot Employee
HubSpot Employee

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

No problem!  I would say so, given the definition (included below).  Also, here's a guide for removing the "ineligibles."  How can I delete all contacts who have unsubscribed from email or bounced?

- Evan

  • Hard Bounce - A hard bounce means that the address is invalid and should not be sent to again. The email might belong to an unknown user, the content of your email might have triggered their spam filter, or the server might have seen too many other contacts marking your email as spam. When a contact’s email returns a hard bounce, they will be marked as ineligible the next time you include them in a send.
KeyWestScott
Key Advisor

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Thanks for the article, but does HS do this internally, YET????  I know that HS makes its money from a per contact basis.  But this is foolish.  Evidently the information exists.  You just need to make a way for us to access it.

kbento
Contributor | Diamond Partner
Contributor | Diamond Partner

What is the best way to manage unsubscribed and bounced contacts?

SOLVE

Is there anything on the product's team horizon to bring this data to the contact level?  The solution posted doesn't allow us to automate this process.