When viewing the Contacts page, you’ll see several tabs and status options. Each one represents how a contact can receive (or not receive) communications. Below is a clear explanation of each status.
Active and Inactive Contact Status
Active Contact
An active contact is someone who has a valid email address and is able to receive both marketing and transactional communications.
Inactive Contact
An inactive contact is someone whose status has been manually set to “inactive.”
This acts as a master on/off switch for all communications. While a contact is inactive:
- They will not receive any content
- This includes both marketing and transactional messages
- This applies even if they are otherwise subscribed
No communications will be sent until the contact is set back to active.
Email Statuses: Active, Unsubscribed and Bounced
Active Contact
An active contact is someone who not only receives emails but also engages with them.
Engagement can include:
- Opening emails
- Clicking links
- Responding to messages
- Interacting with calls to action (CTAs)
Unsubscribed
A contact is marked as “unsubscribed” when they choose to opt out of marketing communications.
This usually happens when they:
- Submit a preference form
- Click an unsubscribe link in an email
When a contact is unsubscribed:
- They will no longer receive marketing emails
- They can still receive transactional communications (such as order confirmations, account updates, or service alerts)
- This only applies if their Active/Inactive (master on/off) status is set to active
Bounce
Soft Bounce
A soft bounce means an email could not be delivered due to a temporary issue.
Common causes include:
- Full mailbox
- Out-of-office responses
- Temporary server issues on the recipient’s side
If a contact continues to soft bounce repeatedly over time (typically around six months), their status will be changed to a hard bounce.
Hard Bounce
A hard bounce means the email address is permanently unreachable.
Common causes include:
- Invalid or non-existent email address
- Domain issues
- Closed or deleted accounts
Once a contact is marked as a hard bounce:
- Future delivery attempts will not succeed
- It is recommended to stop sending to these addresses
This helps maintain good deliverability and overall list health.
SMS Statuses
Active
An active SMS contact has a valid phone number and can receive both marketing and transactional messages.
Unsubscribed
An SMS contact is marked as “unsubscribed” when they opt out of marketing messages.
When this happens:
- They will no longer receive marketing SMS messages
- They can still receive transactional messages (such as order confirmations)
Custom
A “Custom” status usually indicates a status that does not match the platform’s standard categories.
In most cases, this means the contact is set to not receive email and/or SMS.