Opt-Outs, Bounces, & Suppressions

• Manage Your Spam Complaints

  Spam complaints are a strong signal that recipients do not want your email. If your complaint rate stays high, inbox placement can drop and some providers may block your sending domain.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Track complaints in each Sent Message Report, or use the Rollup report to calculate the rate. Target an overall complaint rate below 0.1%. Reduce frequency and s...

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• Hard Bounces, Soft Bounces, & Suppressions

  Use this article to understand what hard bounces, soft bounces, and suppressions mean in Act-On, and how they impact sending and deliverability.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Hard bounces are suppressed automatically. Soft bounces are not suppressed automatically unless you configure an inactivity threshold. Use Sent Message Reports and bounce reasons to spot patterns. Email...

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• Email Bounce Reasons

  Use bounce reasons in Sent Message Reports to understand why messages were not delivered or were suppressed, and what each reason typically means.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Open a Sent Message Report and click the Not Sent / Suppressed count. Match the reason shown to the table below. Use trends (not single events) to decide next steps. Details on the bounce reasons that...

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• Hard Bounces with Act-On Contacts

  If you use All Contacts, this article shows how to move hard-bounced contacts back to Soft Bounces so you can attempt delivery again, or delete them if needed.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Audience Center > All Contacts > Segments > Hard Bounces to review hard-bounced contacts. Use the contact actions menu to change to soft bounce. Optionally delete hard bounce contacts (CR...

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• Removing a Contact from the Hard Bounces List

  Use this article to remove an email address from the Hard Bounces list so Act-On can attempt delivery again.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Open Lists > Other Lists > Bounces & Opt-Outs, then open Hard Bounces. Search for the address. Move it to Soft Bounces using the action icon. A hard bounce is an email that was sent to the specified address but was returned as a terminal ...

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• Scrubbing Opt-Outs, Bounces, and Spam Complaints from a Marketing List

  Use this process to remove opted-out contacts, bounces, and spam complaints from a Marketing List. Scrubbing a list helps reduce suppressed sends, improves reporting accuracy, and supports healthy deliverability.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to ExpandThis removes suppressed contacts from a Marketing List only.It does not resubscribe contacts or change global suppression status.Use af...

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• How do I resubscribe a contact who mistakenly opted out?

  If a contact accidentally unsubscribes, you can remove them from the Opt-Out list to resubscribe them. Instructions Go to Lists > Other Lists > Bounces & Opt-Outs. Click and open your Opt-Out list. Search for the appropriate email address. Click the Remove Opt-out button to the left of the email address. Be careful! Please pay attention to pertinent privacy and compliance regulations when rem...

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• Managing Soft Bounces

  Use this article to understand soft bounces and set a consecutive soft bounce threshold that moves chronically bouncing contacts to Inactive Soft Bounces.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to Expand Review Soft Bounces and Inactive Soft Bounces lists under Lists > Bounces & Opt-Outs. Set a threshold based on sending frequency. Temporarily set threshold to infinity to move contacts back an...

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• Customize your Opt-Out Confirmation Page

  Update the default Act-On opt-out confirmation page to match your branding. Every marketing email must include an Opt-Out link for contacts to unsubscribe. The link takes your contact to a web page where the unsubscribe action is confirmed. Act-On's default page contains generic language which you can edit. Instructions Editing Go to Content > Email Footers. Hover over Custom Opt-Out Confirmat...

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• Add Email Addresses to your Opt-Out List

  You can unsubscribe email addresses manually, for example, if someone cannot click the unsubscribe link for some reason, or if you receive an email message from someone asking to unsubscribe. About Opt-Outs Every email message you send from your Act-On account includes an Opt-Out link, usually in the footer. A Contact can click that link to unsubscribe their email address from future mailings. ...

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• Managing Opted-Out or Unsubscribed Contacts in Bulk

  Act-On allows you to manually unsubscribe a group of recipients by adding contacts to your opt-out list through segmentation, automated program, or by using Act-On's API. 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 ...

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• Suppressing Recipient Email Domains

  Use this article to suppress recipient domains so Act-On automatically blocks sends to addresses at those domains.Quick Reference (Advanced Users) - Click to ExpandOpen Lists > Other Lists > Bounces & Opt-Outs > E-mail Suppression Domains.Enter one domain per line (example.com).Use sparingly and review periodically.Specify domains to automatically be suppressed from all message sends on your ac...

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• Defining Email Fatigue Suppression Rules

  Prevent your contacts from receiving too many emails using email fatigue rules. When you create a rule, you set a message limit & time period (for example, five emails in seven days). Once the contact reaches that limit, Act-On will suppress emails to that contact for the rest of the period. Once this period ends (for example, at the end of seven days), the count resets and the contact can rec...

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• Handling Generic and Role-based Email Addresses

  Role-based email addresses, such as info@company.com or sales@company.com, are notorious for generating spam complaints and affecting deliverability. These addresses are automatically suppressed from email campaigns in Act-On and will appear on the Sent Message report as a "Prohibited System Address." Here's why: These addresses are mailing lists, not individual contacts Even if one contact o...

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