How to Resolve & Prevent Quarantined Contacts in HubSpot

Getting permission before collecting data is an essential part of the marketing process. Not only does this help you collect more accurate information, but it also creates a stronger sense of trust between you and your users or customers. Luckily, HubSpot carefully monitors your contact lists to prevent your IP from getting a bad reputation for spamming customers. 

If you are a HubSpot user and have not purchased a dedicated IP address, you are using a shared IP address. A shared IP address means that multiple accounts in the system can send from the same address. The actions of those accounts could negatively impact other accounts using the same IP, so it’s crucial that you remain vigilant. Hence, your reputation remains intact, and your data stays accurate. 

What Is a Quarantined Contact?

If a contact on your list has been quarantined, this means that you will no longer be able to send marketing messages or automated workflow emails to this address. HubSpot may quarantine contacts for a variety of reasons. For example, if multiple emails sent through HubSpot experience a 15% bounce rate, the contact will likely be quarantined. While a low bounce rate is standard when it comes to the email industry, the percentage is small, approximately 1%. 

What Causes a Quarantined Contact 

Besides a bounce rate, there are a few more reasons that marketers find themselves with quarantined contacts in their lists. A contact might be quarantined if they were added to HubSpot’s platform in a suspicious manner. If a marketer inputs a purchased or scraped list that is deemed non-organic, this is cause for concern. It is also against HubSpot’s Acceptable Use Policy, which all users must agree to when enrolling in the platform. 

If you have inherited a dirty database, this can also cause HubSpot to flag your lists. Dirty databases are those that have been used previously, have errors, duplications, or incomplete data points. If you have inherited a dirty database, it is essential to cover your bases before using the list of contacts by getting permission from the user. 

Keep this record for future use in case HubSpot flags your account or contacts you regarding suspicious activity. If a third-party spammer adds contacts with the intent of flooding users’ inboxes, this could be another reason for the contact to be quarantined.

How To Ensure Existing Contacts Do Not Get Quarantined 

It is crucial to make sure that your existing contacts meet HubSpot’s permissioning requirements so your account is not at risk of shut down. Also, as an inbound marketer, you should always make sure the contacts you’re emailing are expecting to hear from you. There are a few ways that you can prevent this from happening. 

First, it’s recommended that you use a variety of data points to inform the “Legal basis for processing contact’s data” property in HubSpot. It’s crucial that you keep this field accurate and up to date for all of your contacts. 

You can also ensure that you are collecting data that shows which marketing efforts are working by showing which contacts are engaging with your content. Examine activities such as opens, clicks, or page views. It is recommended that you send an initial email and then a follow-up to those who did not interact the first time. If they haven’t engaged with either message within a week, it is wise to remove them from your contact list. 

Protecting Future Contacts 

Protecting your future contacts from becoming quarantined is an essential part of your marketing strategy. This helps to prevent any confusion in the future that can make communication difficult or skew data. To protect future contacts from being quarantined, it is wise to update your legal processing for new contacts. When importing new lists, make sure to check “Create List From Import” when you’re completing the import flow process. Navigate to the list you just imported and then select all, click edit, and move forward to the legal basis for processing, and select the appropriate option for your list. 

You can also update current subscription preferences for new contacts to protect them from being quarantined in the future. After a list is imported, go to Contacts, then More Filters, followed by List Membership, and select the list created from your most recent import. 

Select all and click More, then Edit Communication Subscriptions, followed by selecting the appropriate option for you.

Are There Any Exceptions?

We’re glad you asked! There are a few exceptions where contacts will be exempt from being quarantined. So, they will remain on all of your marketing lists. For example, if a contact has opened or clicked on a marketing email, you have a strong case to keep them in your database. This is because they are shown to be a real, valid user and credible sources of data. If a contact opted in through a valid submission, they would also avoid being quarantined. Lastly, if a user replies to a one-on-one email, they will be exempt.

We hope this article helps you better understand the quarantine contacts process when managing your HubSpot account. Happy marketing!