What Are HubSpot Marketing Contacts? A Simple Guide
If you’re using HubSpot, you may have come across the term marketing contacts. If this sounds a little confusing, don’t worry—you’re not alone. In this blog post, we’ll break down exactly what marketing contacts are, how their status changes, how they’re billed, and what you need to know about managing them.
What Are Marketing Contacts?
Marketing contacts in HubSpot are the people you want to reach through your marketing campaigns. These are the individuals you’re actively sending emails to, showing ads to, or including in any marketing initiatives. Since these contacts are central to your marketing efforts, they count toward your billing. In contrast, non-marketing contacts—who might be in your database for other purposes, such as customer service or sales—do not count toward your marketing billing limit.
In short, marketing contacts are the leads and customers you actively engage for marketing, and they’re the ones HubSpot bills you for based on the size of your contact list.
How Does the Marketing Contact Status Property Change?
A contact’s status as either a marketing contact or non-marketing contact is flexible and can change based on how you choose to interact with them. However, there’s an important catch—status changes aren’t instant. When you switch a contact to or from marketing status, that change will only take effect at the beginning of your next billing cycle.
This is important to remember if you’re looking to optimize your billing and manage your contacts more efficiently. You might decide to shift certain contacts to non-marketing status if you won’t be marketing to them for a while, but note that you won’t see the impact on your bill until the next update date.
How Are my HubSpot Marketing Contacts Billed?
HubSpot’s billing for marketing contacts is straightforward. You’re charged based on the number of contacts you have marked as marketing contacts. HubSpot uses a tiered pricing model, meaning that as your number of marketing contacts grows, you may move to a higher pricing tier.
For example, if your plan includes up to 2,000 marketing contacts and you exceed that number, HubSpot will automatically shift you into the next tier, which includes more contacts. This way, your plan adjusts as your contact list grows, so you can continue to reach more people with your marketing without being cut off due to a cap.
It’s also worth noting that if you lower your number of marketing contacts before your billing cycle ends, you won’t see an immediate reduction in cost. The update happens at the start of the next billing cycle, so you’ll have to wait until that point for your adjusted list size to reflect in your bill.
Can I Manually Edit the Status of HubSpot Marketing Contacts?
While you can designate whether a contact is a marketing or non-marketing contact, you cannot change this status instantaneously. HubSpot has set these rules to ensure billing accuracy and to give users a predictable schedule for how changes will affect their marketing budget.
When you change the status of a contact, HubSpot queues that change for your next update date, which happens monthly or annually, depending on your plan. This means you should plan ahead when managing your contact list, especially if you’re trying to stay within a specific pricing tier. You won’t be able to make last-minute status changes to reduce your bill before it’s processed.
Best Practices for Managing Marketing Contacts
To stay on top of your marketing contacts and ensure you’re only paying for those who matter to your campaigns, you can set up simple workflows and reports in HubSpot. Here are some tips:
- Create a Contact Lifecycle Report: Set up a report that tracks your contacts’ lifecycle stages to easily identify those who have become inactive or are no longer engaging with your marketing. Consider marking these as non-marketing contacts until they’re ready to be marketed to again.
- Use Workflows to Automate Contact Status: Workflows in HubSpot can help automate the process of moving contacts between marketing and non-marketing statuses. For example, you could set up a workflow that moves contacts who haven’t engaged in three months to non-marketing status.
- Monitor Contact Growth Regularly: Keep an eye on your contact list growth with regular reporting. This helps you plan for upcoming billing changes and ensure that your active marketing contacts are truly worth the investment.
By setting up simple workflows and leveraging HubSpot’s reporting features, you can better manage your marketing contacts and ensure you’re maximizing your budget effectively.
HubSpot’s marketing contacts feature is a powerful way to keep your contact list clean and focused. With a little planning and the right workflows, you can easily manage your list and keep your costs under control.
