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Why is my Contact not getting my Email? What happens if they unsubscribe?

How to research Unsubscribed or Invalid Contacts & determine subsequent adjustment options

Troubleshooting contacts:

Start by searching the Eloqua Contacts area using a specific email address:

  1. Go to the Audience drop down menu.
  2. Type in or copy the specific email address in question.
  3. Double-click on the line item to open the Contact Details window.

view of contact search screen

Pause at the first screen to view recent activity the contact has had, email address overview, etc. 

Some helpful investigative questions here:

Has the contact received emails?
Have they opened any recently?
Do they seem, "Active?"

If the answers to these are no, this could be an invalid email address or a previously invalid one that may have returned to use recently. Often, Eloqua may not be aware that a former student email address that was no longer valid last year is now valid due to a return to campus.  If this is the case, write to marketingautomation@wisc.edu to inquire.

Continuing to investigate the contact, next, select the preferences tab to see the Email Group information, global subscription status and validity information:


Check the Email Group:

Start by typing in the first few letters of your official email group name to begin a search (see red dot indicator above next to "SMPH." SMPH was the search term used here. Do you see "unsubscribed" for any of these groups that belong to the searched Email Group/department?  If so, they will need to be resubscribed to the Email Group in question before they can again receive emails on this topic.  See Options for resubscribing below.

If you see "no status," that is a good thing. They can receive your emails and have not unsubscribed to any of your groups.  

Check the global subscription status.

All contacts should be subscribed globally by default. If this is not the case, contact marketingautomation@wisc.edu for assistance.

Check the Validity of the Email Address.

In the screen shot above, you will notice this email address has been marked as Invalid. Only the marketing automation team can adjust this. Please contact marketingautomation@wisc.edu for assistance.



What happens when a contact unsubscribes from my email message? 

If a contact unsubscribes in Eloqua, they will, in most cases, be unsubscribed from the Email Group topic they encountered on the email message. This is based on the standard practice configuration for the UW–Madison instance by the Marketing Automation team. 
The contact's email address will not be removed from any Shared Lists or from the wider Eloqua database.  If you continue to upload the contact in to your Shared List and/or Segment, they will be added, but will remain unsubscribed forever and always (even if they get deleted and re-added!). 
If you need to resubscribe them, be sure you have express written consent from the owner of the email address in question. 
  1. Subscription Form Method:

    If your department has an "opt-in" Subscription Landing page and Form, you can use the public URL of the Landing Page holding the form (yourself) to resubscribe a single contact to an Email Topic Group. This ensures the contact will be submitted with your Contact Label, which is by default set up with a hidden field to pass the Contact Label into Eloqua.
  2. Marketing Automation Team Manual Resubscribe:

The MA admin team at UW–Madison resubscribes the contact to your email group on your behalf. Please contact marketingautomation@wisc.edu for assistance. 



Keywords:
contacts unsubscribes unsubscribed status email group invalid not getting email contact email address 
Doc ID:
138038
Owned by:
Monica S. in Eloqua Marketing Automation
Created:
2024-06-21
Updated:
2024-11-04
Sites:
Eloqua Marketing Automation