If one of your Contacts didn’t receive a message you sent through Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Enterprise, there are several common reasons why this might occur. This guide walks you through the key steps to identify and resolve the issue.
NOTE: This guide applies to messages sent from the Messages > List; if the Contact didn't receive a campaign message, review your campaign logic first.
Confirm the Contact is an active subscriber
- Navigate to Contacts > List.
- Click the magnifying glass icon to expand the search bar; look up the Contact’s email address.
- Click to select the Contact, and then click the History button above the list.
- You can verify their status on the Subscription, Unsubscribe, and Suppression tabs.
- If the Contact is suppressed, they will not receive messages
- To allow them to receive future messages, remove them from the suppression list or Contact your account administrator.
Check your unsubscribe setting
Your account’s unsubscribe setting determines how Contacts are removed from future sends when they click the Unsubscribe link in a message.
There are three settings:
- Unsubscribe from Specified Group – When clicking the unsubscribe link in the message, a Contact will be unsubscribed from the Group the message was sent to.
- Unsubscribe from Message Category – When clicking the unsubscribe link in the message, the Contact will be unsubscribed from the message's Message Category.
- Unsubscribe from All – This is a global unsubscribe, meaning when a Contact clicks the unsubscribe link they will be suppressed and receive NO future communications from your account.
To see which method your account uses:
- Navigate to Settings > Account Profile.
- Look at your account's unsubscribe setting.
NOTE: If you'd like to change your unsubscribe setting, contact Support.
Verify Group status
Check if the Contact's email address is in the Group the message is being sent to; if it's not, they will not receive the message.
To verify:
- Navigate to Contacts > Groups.
- Search for and select the Group used for the message.
- Click Contacts to view who’s in the Group.
- Confirm the Contact’s email is listed.
If the Contact was added to the Group after the message was sent, they will not have received that message.
TIP: If your Groups are managed through an integration (like an AMS or CRM), make sure the Contact exists in the integration’s query and sync the data again before sending your message.
Verify Message Category subscription
If your account uses the Unsubscribe from Message Category unsubscribe setting and a contact unsubscribed via a message, they will only be unsubscribed from the Message Category that was assigned to the message.
NOTE: Refer to the Check your unsubscribe setting section above to learn about each unsubscribe setting.
To check a contact's subscription status:
- Navigate to Contacts > List and search for the Contact.
- Click to select the Contact, and then click More > Subscriptions.
- Review the Message Categories.
If the button says Resubscribe, the Contact is unsubscribed and will not receive messages in that Category.
Check for duplicate Contacts
If you have multiple records for the same email address, one may be suppressed.
To check:
- Navigate to Contacts > Tools > Advanced Search.
- Check the E-mail box under Contacts and click Search.
- Enter their email address to look for duplicates.
Check for email allowlisting (private domains)
If the Contact’s email address is part of a private or company domain (e.g., @organization.org), their mail server may be blocking your messages.
In this case, ask them to:
- Allowlist your sending IP address. You can find your IP under Settings > Account Profile.
- If issues continue, review the Email Authentication setup for your account or contact your account administrator for help.
Tips to prevent delivery issues
- Regularly review your suppression and unsubscribe lists.
- Avoid sending to role-based addresses (like info@, sales@, support@), as these are often blocked.
- If you use integrations, ensure your Group data is synced before sending.
- Send test messages before your full send to confirm Contacts are receiving messages as expected.