You can edit text on your website by double clicking on a text box on your website. Alternatively, when you select a text box a settings menu will appear. your website by double clicking on aManaging subscribers is a fundamental part of successful email marketing in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC). Understanding the different subscriber status helps you control deliverability, prevent issues, and maintain compliance.
This blog explains what each subscriber status means, how SFMC handles it, and what actions you can take. Perfect for beginners, marketers, and Salesforce admins!
What are Subscriber Status?
In Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a subscriber’s status indicates their deliverability and interaction state. The system automatically updates these status based on engagement, bounces, and unsubscribes.
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Common Subscriber Status and Their Meaning
| State | Description | Can Receive Emails? |
|---|---|---|
| Active | The subscriber is valid and can receive emails. | Yes ✅ |
| Bounced | Recent sends to this subscriber failed (e.g., mailbox full, server error). | Yes (after retry) ⚠️ |
| Held | Repeated bounces have occurred. The subscriber is now on hold. | No ❌ |
| Unsubscribed | The subscriber opted out of your emails (manually or via unsubscribe link). | No ❌ |
| Deleted | The subscriber has been removed from the list or All Subscribers list. | No ❌ |
How Salesforce Updates Subscriber Status Automatically
- After 3 hard bounces, a subscriber is marked as Held
- When a user clicks "Unsubscribe", status changes to Unsubscribed
- Subscribers removed from All Subscribers are marked Deleted
What You Can Do Based on Subscriber Status
- Active: Continue sending, monitor engagement
- Bounced: Retry send, but monitor bounce reason
- Held: Remove or re-confirm address outside SFMC
- Unsubscribed: Do not re-add without new opt-in
- Deleted: Re-import with proper opt-in only
Best Practices for Subscriber List Hygiene
- Use confirmed opt-in (double opt-in) wherever possible
- Monitor bounce reports and clean held addresses regularly
- Segment subscribers based on engagement
- Never force re-subscription after unsubscribing
- Use Automation Studio for regular list cleansing