Managing Opted-Out or Unsubscribed Contacts in Bulk

Act-On lets you opt out a group of recipients at once — through segmentation and an Automated Program, or via the API — instead of removing them one at a time. The API can also remove contacts from your opt-out list in bulk.

Opt-Out Multiple Contacts

If you have a specific list of email addresses, you can upload them to the Opt-Out List. To opt-out an entire list/segment in bulk, follow the steps below.

Create a Segment

The first step is to create a segment of one of your lists that contains the contacts that you want to unsubscribe from.

1. Click Contacts, and click Marketing Lists, or click Other Lists for Signup, or Webinar Lists.
2. Hover over the list or segment and click the dropdown menu for More.
3. Choose to Create a Segment.
4. Choose the Query option in the Method drop-down.
5. Combine expression with AND.
6. Click the Behavior option in the drop-down for the criteria.
7. Select in all-time as the date criteria and choose Opted Out equals none for the behavior (this keeps out contacts who are already in the Opt-Out List).
8. Click on the plus sign to add any additional criteria that will identify which contacts to opt-out.

Create an Automated Program

Next, you should create an Automated Program that will push your segment to the Opt-Out list automatically.

1. Navigate to Automation > Automated Programs, then click the plus sign to create a new program.
2. In the Source Lists section, click Add and select the segment that you created above.
3. Set the other program details, including the schedule that the program should use to run.
4. Under Program Flow, drag and drop the Add to Opt-Outs step to the program flow.
5. Click Done to save your program.

Remove Contacts from Opt-Outs

If you're using Act-On's API, the Remove Opt-Outs endpoint allows you to bulk add opted-in contact records to remove them from the opt-out list. Learn more about this endpoint in our API documentation.

There is no bulk method to remove contacts from your Opt-Out List in the Act-On application itself. If you're not using Act-On's API, we recommend either removing opt-outs individually or using a form to encourage customers to opt-in again:

1. Create an Act-On form and host it on a landing page or your marketing website.
2. Create a form confirmation email that will be sent after a contact submits that form. (These are considered transactional, so they will still be sent to opted-out contacts.)
3. Include an opt-out link as the main CTA for that confirmation email – when the contact clicks, they will be taken to a page where they can manage their subscription.

If you need to have your entire Opt-Out list removed, Act-On will not be able to fulfill the request due to legal reasons. The only exception is if you uploaded the wrong Opt-Out list to our system.