Default marketing statuses for newly created contacts

If your account has access to marketing contacts, every newly created contact in your HubSpot account will have a marketing contact status. When you first purchase a Marketing Hub subscription, or gain access to marketing contacts, all of your existing contacts will be set to non-marketing by default. For new contacts, each HubSpot tool that creates contacts sets a default value for the Marketing contact status property. For most tools, the default cannot be customized, but certain tools can be customized to set the default value you want.

Understand defaults that cannot be customized

The default value set in the Marketing contact status property for these tools cannot be changed. By default, the following contacts will be initially set as non-marketing:

• Contacts created in a multiple object import
• Contacts created in the HubSpot mobile app
• Contacts created through logging one-to-one emails
• Contacts created through emails sent to a connected team email
• Contacts created through document opens
• Contacts created in the meetings tool through using a meetings link
• Contacts created through HubSpot email extensions: Chrome, Outlook, and Office 365

If you want to market to these contacts, you can set them as marketing after they’re created.

Customize default marketing contact status for certain tools

For certain tools, you can change which marketing contact status is set for newly created contacts. The default value set for the Marketing contact status property can be customized within the following tools.

Chatflows

The chatflows tool, both live chats and bots, by default will set contacts as non-marketing. For each individual live chat or bot, you can set the default marketing contact status of a newly created contact via the chatflow.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Service > Chatflows.
2. Click the chatflow you want to set the default for.
3. Click the Options tab.
4. In the Marketing contacts section, the Set contacts created as marketing contacts switch is toggled off by default. If you want contacts created from this chatflow to be set as marketing contacts, toggle the switch on.
5. Click Save.

HubSpot forms

The HubSpot forms tool sets contacts as marketing by default. On a per form basis, you can set the default marketing contact status for contacts who submit the form. When this setting is turned on, any existing non-marketing contact who submits the form will be updated to a marketing contact, regardless of how they were originally created.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Forms.
2. Click the form you want to set the default for. If it’s a live form, in the upper right, click Edit.
3. Click the settings configure icon.
4. The Set new contacts as marketing contacts switch is toggled on by default.
5. Toggle the switch off to set contacts created from the form as non-marketing contacts.
6. Finish configuring your form.

Non-HubSpot forms

Non-HubSpot forms set contacts as marketing by default. You can set the default marketing contact status for contacts created by all non-HubSpot forms. When this setting is turned on, any existing non-marketing contact that submits a non-HubSpot form will also be updated to a marketing contact, regardless of how they were originally created.

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Marketing > Forms.
3. Click the Non-HubSpot Forms tab.
4. By default, the Set new contacts created through non-HubSpot forms as marketing contacts switch is turned on.
5. Toggle the switch off to set the default marketing contact status of these contacts to non-marketing. Learn more about non-marketing contacts.

Single object contact import

The import tool sets contacts as non-marketing by default. If you’re completing a multi-object or multi-file import, the import tool will always set contacts as non-marketing. When creating contacts via a single object import, you can set the contacts in the file as marketing contacts. Learn how to set contacts as marketing via a single object import.

Integrations or API

Any integration or API sets contacts as non-marketing by default. Learn how to customize each integration’s or API’s default setting for marketing contacts.