Every marketer has been there: the sales pipeline is looking thin, a vendor promises a “verified” database of decision makers, or someone on your team uncovers a list buried in a spreadsheet. Your cursor hovers over HubSpot’s import button. One click could flood your CRM with hundreds—or thousands—of contacts who may or may not want your emails.
Before you press “import,” know this: sending marketing emails to purchased lists is a fast track to damaging your sender reputation, throttling your HubSpot portal, and running afoul of privacy laws. But all is not lost. Here’s a practical guide to what you can—and absolutely shouldn’t—do.
Email remains one of the top-performing channels for converting prospects. Some stats to keep handy:
~376 billion emails are sent every day
81% of businesses use email in the buying journey
On average, 2.4% of email traffic drives B2B sales
45% of emails are considered spam
The key takeaway: email works best when your recipients actually want to hear from you. ESPs are cracking down on spam, which means sending to people who haven’t opted in is not just ineffective—it’s dangerous.
HubSpot is crystal clear in its Acceptable Use Policy: you can store purchased contacts in your CRM for record-keeping or sales outreach—but you cannot send marketing emails to anyone who hasn’t explicitly opted in. Attempting to do so can result in blocked emails, suspended tools, or worse.
Different jurisdictions treat consent differently:
EU & UK (GDPR): explicit opt-in required
US (CAN-SPAM): technically allows emails without prior consent, but strict opt-out and identification rules apply
Global trend: rules are tightening each year, so what works today may be illegal tomorrow
Skating around the rules is a short-term win with long-term consequences.
Even if you dodge the legal bullet, purchased lists are notorious for:
High bounce rates: 20–30% on older lists
Spam traps: addresses planted by ISPs to catch spammers
Low engagement: no opens, no clicks
These factors damage your overall sending reputation, meaning your emails to legitimate contacts may start landing in spam folders too.
If you’ve already bought the data, it’s not all doom and gloom. Consider these safer strategies:
Store as “non-marketing” contacts for record-keeping or 1-to-1 outreach
Run ads by uploading the list to LinkedIn, Google, or Meta as a “Custom Audience”
Clean and enrich first with services like NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, or Clearbit
Use Sales Hub sequences for personalized, one-to-one messages instead of blasting marketing emails
Audit & clean your file with an email verification tool
Set contact status to “non-marketing” during import
Segment & tag clearly (e.g., “Source = Purchased List Sept 2025”)
Train your team so no one accidentally emails contacts without consent
If you want leads without compliance headaches:
Content marketing & SEO: inbound leads convert 2–3x better than purchased leads
Intent data partnerships: platforms like Bombora or G2 Buyer Intent track in-market buyers
Event-based opt-ins: collect emails legally at conferences or webinars
Referral partnerships: team up with non-competing companies to share leads
HubSpot is anti-spam—and for good reason. Purchased lists can be useful for targeted ads or one-to-one outreach, but dumping them straight into email campaigns is a recipe for disaster.
If you’re unsure how to segment, clean, or safely integrate a purchased list, we help clients do this every week—without burning their HubSpot portal or reputation.