Invalid Emails that are also marked as Unsubscribed

[Arnell_Ignacio]

I am working on cleaning up our database by focusing on removing invalid emails who are not leads. I know, for the most part that the best practice is to keep unsubscribes in the database so that we do not send to these contacts in the future. Though, if an unsubscribed contact is also categorized as invalid, can I remove the contact from our database or is the best practice to keep the lead in our database?

[Grace_Brebner3 · Accepted solution]

Hey Arnell,

Technically, if you're using the default unsubscribe field, deleting leads who have unsubscribed from your comms doesn't put them at risk of receiving future emails if they get re-added, because of Marketo's durable unsubscribe functionality (see Durable Unsubscribe - Marketo Docs - Product Documentation).

So I wouldn't make this your primary reason for keeping leads in the system when they've unsubscribed - there's plenty of very valid reasons for doing so (or, equally, not doing so), but maintaining their unsubscribe status isn't one of them.

[Arnell_Ignacio]

Hi Grace, thank you for the feedback. This helps with my plans moving forward.

[Grace_Brebner3]

Glad to hear it

If it resolves your question sufficiently please mark my reply as correct so this thread is shown as answered!