How to handle unsubscribes & suppression lists in HubSpot
HubSpot unsubscribes explained: rules, fixes, resubscribe, exclusions.
Unsubscribes in HubSpot suck, but they’re a normal part of marketing.
When someone opts out of a campaign you carefully designed, it is unpleasant, but it’s also an opportunity to keep your data clean and respect contact preferences.
So, what happens to a contact when they unsubscribe in HubSpot? And how can you get them back? This guide breaks it down.
How contacts unsubscribe in HubSpot
HubSpot tracks opt-outs using the “Unsubscribed from all email” property on each contact record.
There are four primary ways this property is updated.
- When a contact unsubscribes from a marketing email
- You remove a subscriber manually on the contact record
- You import your opt-out list into HubSpot
- An integration marks the contact as unsubscribed
The important distinction is that if a contact unsubscribes themselves through an email link, you cannot resubscribe them manually.
If the opt-out came from your team or an integration, you can correct it.
Manually unsubscribing and resubscribing contacts
To manually unsubscribe a contact, you can either import an opt-out list, mark them as unsubscribed through an integrated system, or select “Opt out of email” under Actions on the contact record.
If a contact was unsubscribed by mistake, you can reverse it.
Go to your Contacts list and filter for the individual.
Select the contact, click “More,” then “Edit communication subscriptions.”
From there, choose the subscription types the contact should receive, mark them as "Subscribed" and remove the opt-out, and provide an explanation of how the contact gave consent.
This process only applies to manual errors.
If the contact opted out themselves, HubSpot does not allow you to override it.
How contacts can resubscribe on their own
For Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise accounts, you can enable resubscription emails.
When an unsubscribed contact fills out a form, HubSpot prompts them to resubscribe.
They receive an automated resubscription email with a confirmation link. Clicking the link opts them back in and allows them to finish submitting the form.
This only works if “Unsubscribed from all email” is set to True.
If they opted out of just one subscription type (not all), the resubscribe prompt will not appear.
To turn this feature on, go to Settings → Marketing → Email → Subscriptions, and publish a resubscription email.
What happens after a contact unsubscribes
Once a contact unsubscribes, they no longer receive marketing emails from your account.
They can still receive transactional and one-to-one sales emails, and they still count in your estimated send counts and workflow enrollments unless you exclude them.
This can inflate your send numbers and drag down performance reports. To keep reporting accurate, you should build exclusion lists.
Creating and using an exclusion list in HubSpot
To create an unsubscribed and bounced list, go to Contacts → Lists and create a new active list called “Unsubscribed and Bounced.”
Apply filters so that either “Unsubscribed from all email = True” or “Email hard bounce reason is known.”
Once you have this list, you can add it to the “Don’t send to” field when scheduling an email, which will automatically update your recipient count.
You can also add the list to suppression settings before activating a workflow.
This prevents unsubscribed or bounced contacts from enrolling and ensures your workflow metrics remain accurate.
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