Ep11 - Email Bounces and GDPR in HubSpot

Email is still one of the best ways to connect with customers — but only if your messages actually land in their inboxes. A strong email reputation keeps your emails visible and your brand trusted.

Your reputation affects how email providers see you. High bounce rates, spam complaints, or low engagement can push your emails straight to spam. Keeping a clean, engaged list helps protect your sender score.

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Managing Bounced Emails in HubSpot

HubSpot makes it easy to track and handle bounces so they don’t hurt your reputation.

• Check bounce rates regularly to catch issues early.

• Create exclusion lists for invalid or problem emails.

• Clean your lists to remove inactive or outdated contacts.

• Manually unbounce contacts if it’s a one-time delivery error.

Ignoring bounces leads to poor deliverability, spam flags, and lost trust. Keeping your lists clean ensures better open rates and helps you maintain a solid sender reputation.

You should also:

1. Warm Up Your Email Domain

Before sending large campaigns:

• Start small with engaged contacts.
• Slowly increase email volume.
• Monitor opens, clicks, and bounces.
• Use a subdomain for outbound campaigns to protect your main domain.

2. Let Contacts Choose Their Preferences

Set up a preference center in HubSpot so contacts can choose what types of emails they want. This reduces unsubscribes, spam complaints, and keeps engagement high.

3. Use HubSpot’s Scoring Tools

HubSpot’s new scoring features help you:

• Identify your most engaged contacts.

• Personalize emails based on behavior.

• Use data to guide your campaigns.

Good email reputation = better deliverability + stronger brand trust.