Outreach Consent and Suppression Log Template

Consent and Suppression Log (fill-in)

When to use: One row per contact, with the source, relevance, preference, opt-out date and a suppression check, plus an owner and a completion check.

Consent and suppression log

One row per person. Update the row the same day anything happens: you add them, they reply, they bounce or they ask to stop.

Campaign: [campaign name] - Log owner: [name] - Do-not-contact list link: [URL or tab]

Per-row detail (fill for every contact)

• Contact source: [published page, directory, event, referral], with the URL you took the address from
• Lawful basis / preference: [consent given / legitimate interest / objection / unknown]
• First contact: [date + channel] - last contact: [date + channel]
• Stop signal: [none / reply quote / unsubscribe / bounce / objection], with the date and exact wording
• Suppression: [not needed / added to do-not-contact list on YYYY-MM-DD]
• Last suppression check: [date the list was checked before the next send]

Next action

• Log owner: [name] - task: add new opt-outs to the do-not-contact list the same day
• Outreach owner: [name] - task: check every row against the list before the next send by [date]
• Data owner: [name] - task: screen any imported or bought list against suppression before use by [date]

Completion check

• Every row names a source URL, a relevance line and a preference value.
• Every opt-out or objection has a date and is on the do-not-contact list.
• No row was sent after its opt-out date. The suppression check shows a date before each send.
• Each row has one owner. Stopped rows are kept, never deleted.
• The do-not-contact list was checked before this campaign went out.

Preference and Lawful-Basis Picker

When to use: Set the preference value and basis for each row the same way every time, so a cold contact and a hard stop never look alike.

Preference and lawful-basis picker

Pick the value once per row from the same short list. Write it in the preference column, and note the basis in the detail list.

Basis notes to keep in the row

• Consent given: they opted in. Note where and when, and keep the proof.
• Legitimate interest: a relevant, limited reason to contact a business address. Write the reason in the relevance column.
• Objection: they told you to stop. This overrides any basis. Suppress.
• Unknown: no signal yet. Treat the first send as careful and relevant, and record a basis.

Under UK GDPR the right to object to direct marketing is absolute, and as a team rule "do not contact" always wins over any reason to send. Check the rules that apply to your contacts and country.

Use the relevance column to prove the contact fits. The Link Insertion Relevance Review Template is a tighter way to score fit before a page goes in the log.

Pre-Send Suppression Check

When to use: A short routine to run against the do-not-contact list before any batch goes out, so a stopped contact is never emailed again.

Pre-send suppression check

Run this before every send, not when you build the list. People opt out while a batch sits in the queue.

Steps

• Open the do-not-contact list. Match on the person, not one address: email in lower case, plus any second address or domain you hold.
• Remove every matched row from this send. Mark its suppression check with today's date.
• Screen any imported, scraped or bought rows against the list before they ever enter a campaign.
• Treat a reply that says stop, a spam complaint and a hard bounce as a stop. When unsure, suppress.
• Check the whole account or domain when a company asks you to stop, not just one inbox.

Check fields

• Checked by: [name] on [YYYY-MM-DD]
• Rows removed by suppression: [count or IDs]
• Imported list screened: [yes, source + date / none this batch]

One master list beats a flag inside each tool. A sequencer's "unsubscribed" mark is a copy; the master list is the record every send checks.

Keeping contacts, tasks and history in one place gets hard in a sheet. A CRM such as crmsoftware.pro can hold the master suppression list and check it at send time.

Opt-Out Handling Rules

When to use: Handle a stop request the same way every time, with the US and UK rules written down so nobody guesses the deadline.

Opt-out handling rules

Write these at the top of the log. When a stop signal arrives, the row stops that day, whoever owns it.

US rule (CAN-SPAM)

• Honor an opt-out within 10 business days. The opt-out route must work for at least 30 days after you send.
• There is no exception for business-to-business email. You can't charge a fee or ask for more than an email address.
• After an opt-out you can't sell or transfer that address.

Source: the FTC CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business, checked 13 November 2026.

UK rule (right to object)

• The right to stop direct marketing is absolute. There are no grounds to refuse it.
• Act without undue delay, and within one month at the latest.
• An objection can be verbal or written. Record verbal ones. Suppress rather than delete, so the stop holds.

Source: the ICO right to object guidance, checked 13 November 2026. Other countries have their own rules; check them for your list.

Simplest habit: stop the row the same day, well inside any deadline.

Weekly and Monthly Log Review

When to use: A short routine for the log owner: new opt-outs, missing checks, imported lists and a monthly test that a stop request lands.

Weekly and monthly log review

Pick one day a week for the quick checks, and one day a month for the test. The log owner runs them and fixes rows on the spot.

Weekly checks

• New stops: every opt-out or objection this week is on the do-not-contact list, with a date.
• Missing checks: any row sent without a dated suppression check is flagged and fixed.
• Imports: every list added this week was screened against suppression before use.
• Duplicates: one person, one row. Merge rows from different teammates.
• Preference blanks: any row with no preference value gets one.

Monthly test

• Send a stop request from a test address in each tool. Confirm it reaches the master list.
• Sample a few "remove me" replies and check each one was suppressed in time.
• Export suppression data from any tool you plan to drop, so the stops survive the move.

Review fields

• Review date: [YYYY-MM-DD] - Reviewer: [name]
• New stops added: [count] - rows fixed: [IDs]
• Monthly test result: [passed / issue found + fix]

Report the clean campaign up with the Link Building Campaign Report Template, and pair timing with the Outreach Follow-Up Tracker Template.

Spreadsheet Header (CSV)

When to use: A paste-ready header row and allowed values to run the log in Google Sheets or Excel with a separate do-not-contact tab.

Paste-ready spreadsheet header

Paste this row into cell A1 of Google Sheets or Excel, then split text to columns by comma. One row per person and campaign.

person_id,campaign,contact_email,contact_source,source_url,relevance,lawful_basis,preference,first_contact_date,last_contact_date,stop_signal,stop_wording,opt_out_date,suppressed,do_not_contact_added_date,last_suppression_check,owner,notes

Allowed values

• lawful_basis: consent, legitimate_interest, objection, unknown
• preference: ok_to_contact, topic_only, do_not_contact, unknown
• stop_signal: none, unsubscribe, reply_stop, objection, bounce, complaint
• suppressed: yes, no

Sheet tips

• Highlight rows where preference is do_not_contact but suppressed is no. Fix them first.
• Highlight rows where last_suppression_check is blank or older than the last send.
• Keep a separate do-not-contact tab. Check it before adding any new person.
• Never delete stopped rows. They stop a teammate from contacting the same person again.

Feed the relevance column from real prospect research. The Competitor Analysis link gap shows domains that link to competitors but not to you, a pool to check for fit before any address goes in the log.

Worked Example (fictional Brindlemoor houseplant care)

When to use: Four filled rows for an invented houseplant-care brand: one clear to contact, one topic-only, one bounce and one objection.

Worked example: Brindlemoor houseplant care

Example only. Brindlemoor is an invented houseplant-care brand. The sites, URLs, names and dates are made up to show a filled-in log.

Campaign: winter watering guide - Log owner: outreach lead - Do-not-contact tab: shared sheet

How the rows were filled

• Row 1: public byline, no prior contact, so preference is unknown and the first send is relevant and limited.
• Row 2: Dan set a topic limit, so the row is topic only. The winter guide was framed as a soil-season note.
• Row 3: the bounce was treated as a stop and suppressed the same day; the team did not guess another address.
• Row 4: "please remove me" went on the do-not-contact tab the day it arrived, well inside the deadline.

Why this works

• Every row shows a source, a relevance line and a preference, so a cold contact never looks like a stop.
• The two stops were suppressed the same day and checked before the next send.
• No stopped row was deleted, so a teammate can't re-add the same person next month.

Want help building a compliant outreach process for your link campaigns? Book a free consultation with Anatolii Ulitovskyi, or see done-for-you options in SEO and GEO services.