1) Exact HubSpot fields to review (30 minutes)
Start with the built‑in flags HubSpot uses to control email: the Marketing contact flag (Marketing contact status / is marketing contact) and the global email opt‑out property (Opted out of email / unsubscribe all). Confirm these are consistent: marketing contact = yes should not pair with opt‑out = true.
Check Subscription types and statuses (the subscription object): for each subscription type you use (newsletters, product updates, events) look at the contact's Subscription status values (Subscribed, Unsubscribed, Not set). Also look for any custom consent properties you use—common names are Legal basis / Lawful basis for processing and Explicit consent checkbox; these often hold the reason you can email someone under GDPR.
Finally, review source/provenance fields: Original source, Original source drill‑down, form name, and any integration provenance fields you added. These tell you whether consent likely came from a form, import or a third‑party sync.
2) Quick filters to find risky records and practical fixes (30–45 minutes)
Use saved lists to surface common mismatches (each is a one‑line filter):
- Marketing contact is Yes AND Opted out of email is True
- Marketing contact is Yes AND (Subscription status for X is Unsubscribed OR Subscription status is Empty)
- Opted out of email is False/Empty AND Legal basis is Empty
- Contact created by import OR form name contains "import" AND consent properties are Empty
Fixes you can apply quickly: standardise property values with bulk edit or a short workflow; map form consent checkboxes to your lawful basis and subscription properties; change integration syncs to one‑way until mappings are fixed. For imported contacts add a provenance tag like "import_no_consent" so you can hold them back from automations until verified.
3) Simple gating workflows and a short testing plan (15–30 minutes)
Create a single boolean property (e.g. consent_verified) set to True only when a contact has: marketing contact = Yes, at least one subscription status = Subscribed for the relevant type, and a non‑empty lawful basis/consent property. Build a suppression list that excludes contacts without consent_verified and require that list or the property as an enrolment condition for all marketing workflows.
Testing plan: make three test contacts to cover the main paths (fully consented, marketing contact but unsubscribed, imported/no consent). Run a staged send to the test contacts and confirm only the fully consented contact receives mail. Check workflow history, the contact's email status, and the Subscription log; then flip one of the test contacts to an edge state to confirm the gating blocks sends. Keep a short rollback step: disable the gating criteria and snapshot affected workflows if you need to revert.
If you want a quick walkthrough of these checks in your HubSpot account, Optira can run the checklist with your team in an hour and document the fixes to keep your automations safe.