How to Set Marketing Contacts in HubSpot

Managing which contacts count toward your email and marketing limits in HubSpot is essential for accurate billing and clean outreach. This guide explains how marketing contacts work, how to set them correctly, and how to avoid common mistakes that can inflate your contact tier.

Use these steps to configure marketing status for individual records, bulk updates, and automated workflows while staying within your subscription limits.

Understanding Marketing Contacts in HubSpot

In HubSpot, contacts can be categorized as marketing or non-marketing. Only marketing contacts count toward your billable contact tier and can receive marketing emails.

Key points:

• Marketing contacts can receive marketing emails, ads audiences, and other promotional communications.
• Non-marketing contacts are excluded from marketing sends and do not count toward your paid marketing contact tier.
• You can adjust marketing status monthly within your account limits.

Before you start changing contact status, review your subscription limits in your account settings to confirm how many marketing contacts you can have at one time.

Where to View and Edit Contact Marketing Status in HubSpot

You can set or update whether a contact is marketing or non-marketing from several places inside HubSpot. Each method is best suited to a different type of task, such as updating one record versus thousands at once.

Common Ways to Manage Marketing Status in HubSpot

• From a single contact record
• From the contacts index page
• Via imports
• With workflows
• Through form submissions

The following sections walk through each option step by step.

Set a Single Contact as Marketing in HubSpot

Use this method when you need to update just one contact at a time.

1. Navigate to Contacts > Contacts in your account.
2. Click the name of the contact you want to edit.
3. In the contact record, locate the Marketing contact status property (or similarly named field based on your subscription).
4. Change the value to Marketing.
5. Save your changes.

The contact will now be counted as a marketing contact for the current billing period, subject to your contact tier limits.

Bulk Set Marketing Contacts in HubSpot from the Contacts Index

When you need to update many records at once, use the bulk edit tools in the contacts table.

1. Go to Contacts > Contacts.
2. Filter or search to find the group of records you want to update.
3. Select the desired contacts using the checkboxes beside each row. To select all filtered results, use the select-all option at the top of the table.
4. Click Edit.
5. In the edit sidebar, search for the Marketing contact status property.
6. Set the value to Marketing (or Non-marketing as needed).
7. Apply and confirm the bulk update.

Bulk updates are useful when you have segmented lists or filters that clearly define which records should be treated as marketing contacts in HubSpot.

Set Marketing Contacts via Import in HubSpot

If you are adding contacts from a CSV file or another system, you can set their status during the import process.

1. Prepare your CSV file with a column for marketing status, such as Marketing contact status.
2. Use values supported by your account, e.g., Marketing or Non-marketing.
3. In HubSpot, navigate to Contacts and click Import.
4. Choose to import contacts and upload your CSV file.
5. Map your CSV column to the marketing status property when prompted.
6. Complete the import.

All imported records will be created (or updated) with the specified marketing status, helping you control which contacts count toward your HubSpot tier from the moment they enter the database.

Use Workflows to Manage Marketing Contacts in HubSpot

Workflows allow you to automatically set marketing status based on triggers and conditions, keeping your database aligned with your lifecycle and consent policies.

Create a Workflow to Set Marketing Status

1. Go to Automation > Workflows.
2. Create a new contact-based workflow from scratch or from a template.
3. Set enrollment triggers, such as form submissions, lifecycle stage updates, or list membership.
4. Add an action to Set marketing contact status (wording may vary by subscription).
5. Choose whether to set enrolled contacts as Marketing or Non-marketing.
6. Review and turn on the workflow.

With workflows, you can automatically set new leads as marketing contacts while keeping certain operational or internal records non-marketing in HubSpot.

Control Marketing Contacts from Forms in HubSpot

Forms often represent clear intent to receive communication, making them an ideal place to control marketing status.

Set Marketing Contacts from Form Submissions

1. Open Marketing > Forms.
2. Select the form you want to edit or create a new one.
3. In the options or automation tab (depending on your account), look for settings related to marketing contacts.
4. Enable the option to set contacts created by this form as Marketing.
5. Save and publish the form.

Every new submission that creates or updates a contact can now adjust marketing status according to your configuration, helping you scale your list safely in HubSpot.

Best Practices for Managing Marketing Contacts in HubSpot

To keep your account healthy, follow these best practices when working with marketing contacts.

• Monitor your contact tier: Regularly check your marketing contact count against your subscription limits.
• Audit segments: Use lists and filters to review contacts set as marketing to ensure they have valid consent and engagement.
• Downgrade inactive records: Periodically set unengaged or obsolete records to non-marketing status to free capacity.
• Use automation: Rely on workflows and forms to keep your settings consistent and reduce manual errors.

Support, Resources, and Next Steps

For detailed, product-specific instructions and screenshots, review the official documentation on marketing contacts directly on the HubSpot Knowledge Base: Set contacts as marketing.

If you need strategic help designing segments, lifecycle rules, or automation around marketing contacts, consider working with a specialists agency such as Consultevo for implementation and process optimization.

By carefully managing who is treated as a marketing contact in HubSpot, you protect your budget, respect contact preferences, and improve the performance of every email and campaign you send.

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