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Troubleshooting Marketing Cloud Email Sends

Дата публикации: Nov 21, 2025
Описание

Summary


There are multiple ways to send an email to your Subscribers, and numerous reasons an email isn’t sent depending on the email sending method you use. This article focuses on identifying the common root causes of emails not being sent to the expected number of subscribers. When sending Emails using Automation Studio, Journey Builder, or Triggered Sends there are some additional situations to consider which are articulated at the end of the document.  


Table of Contents:
 

 

Identifying the JobID


Each time you send an email from your Marketing Cloud account, an account-specific 'JobID' is automatically assigned to that specific instance of the email sent. The JobID is a unique identifier used by the system to associate all tracking data to individual send instances.

To find the JobID in question, use the Tracking section of Email Studio. The email's tracking information is stored in the same folder hierarchy as the email. Clicking the Email Name tied to the job takes you to the Tracking Overview Tab for the specific email.

The Tracking Overview Tab provides important tracking information such as the job encountered an error, the number of subscribers sent the email, the number of bounces, and subscriber activities such as opens and clicks.

Journey Builder and Triggered Sends have a JobID, but the Triggered Send Tracking section of Email Studio shows email Sends by the Triggered Send Name rather than the JobID. You can use the TriggeredSendID or JobID to troubleshoot triggered sends.

The following video shows how to find a Job ID:




 

Alert Manager


Alert Manager provides an Admin the ability to be notified of Email Send errors such as system issues or subscriber limits. It’s recommended you set up Alert Manager so you can identify job-level issues and react as soon as possible.

Watch this quick video to learn how to set up Alert Manager and review the Marketing Cloud Alert Manager Errors Knowledge Article for error details and recommended actions.




 

Email Audience Considerations


There are several reasons that may not be obvious and cause the email audience count to be greater than the number of emails sent. Review the following sections to confirm if they are causing an unexpected difference in your audience counts and email send counts.
 

 

Subscriber Status


For an overview of Subscriber statuses, review the following video or steps.




To check a Subscriber Status, note down the SubscriberKey of the record and follow these steps.
 

  • Within Email Studio, go into the Subscribers tab
  • Under Subscribers, select the All Subscribers option
  • Click the Search button towards the top left of the screen
    • You can also select Browse in the top right to limit the Search for a particular List you'd like to look within
  • Select Email Address or SubscriberKey within the Criteria section
  • Add in the value you have for EmailAddress/SubscriberKey
  • Hit Find Now to search for the records


Review the Subscriber Status that is returned and ensure the Subscriber is Active for the email to be delivered.


 

Duplicate Subscribers


Marketing Cloud uses the SubscriberID value to determine if a Subscriber is a duplicate in lists, groups, and data filters created from a list. Data Extensions are de-duplicated by email address. If you're attempting to apply multiple Lists or Data Extensions to a Send, Subscribers who appear on multiple Lists or Data Extensions are sent a single email. To check for duplicate Subscribers export each List and Data Extension you are sending from and combine them into a single file. Then review the file to confirm if you have duplicate Subscribers.

Perform the following steps to Export a List:
 

  • Within Email Studio, hover over the Subscribers option and select Lists within the menu
  • Navigate into the folder the List is contained
  • Click into the List and ensure you're on the Subscribers tab
  • Select the Export option on the left-hand side
  • Complete the pop-up wizard to Export the List
    • Ensure you select SubscriberKey as an Attribute to export
  • Repeat the previous steps for each List associated with the Send


Perform the following steps to Export a Data Extension:
 

  1. Click Subscribers.
  2. Click Data Extensions.
  3. Click the check box next to the desired data extension to export. Select only one data extension for export.
  4. Click Export.
  5. Complete the fields in the next section:
    • Data Extension - The name of the data extension selected to export. If file size exceeds 20 MB, you must use the FTP option.
    • Filename - Enter a name for the export filename.
    • File type:
      • Comma-separated values - If you choose this file type, the file exports as a .csv file.
      • Tab-separated values - If you choose this file type, the file exports as a .txt file.
      • Other - If you choose this file type, you must enter a 1-character delimiter in field.
    • Export options:
      • Include column headers - Export the data extension field names as column headers.
      • Compress file - The system compresses the file when the export runs. The filename export with a .ZIP extension.
      • Encrypt file - The system encrypt the file when the export runs. Only available when using the FTP delivery option. If you select this checkbox, you must select PGP or GPG and a Key.
    • Delivery location:
      • Browser download - To export to your computer. If file size exceeds 20 MB, you must use the FTP option.
      • FTP - To export to your enhanced FTP location
  6. Click Export.




Exclusion, Suppression and Auto-Suppression Lists


When an Exclusion and Suppression List is applied to a send, Subscribers who are in your audience and an Exclusion or Suppression List aren’t sent the email.

Watch this quick Salesforce Support video to learn more about Exclusions and Suppressions lists and how to confirm if they have prevented an email from being sent or follow the steps after the video to check if a subscriber has not been sent due to an Exclusion or Suppression List. 

 




To review if the Send excluded a Subscriber, you can check the Tracking information for the Job.
 

  • Move into Email Studio and select Tracking from the menu
  • Within the Sends area, find the Job you created within the Folder selected during the Send
  • On the Overview tab of the Job, review the Summary panel and look at the Excluded section
  • Notice how many Subscribers are listed within the parenthesis showing how many were Excluded from that List


Perform the following steps to find which Subscribers were excluded from the Send.
 

  • Move into Email Studio and hover over Subscribers, and select Lists from the menu
  • Move into the folder that contains the Exclusion List
    • For Suppression Lists, look further down for Suppression Lists and the folder it's located within
  • Click into your List and stay on the Subscribers tab
  • Use the Search button to look for a Subscriber by SubscriberKey or EmailAddress within that List


An Auto-Suppression List is different from an Exclusion and Suppression List because it’s automatically applied to a Marketing Cloud send without user intervention. A Subscriber excluded from a Send because they're part of an Auto-Suppression List appears in the Tracking Summary for the Send.

To review the Subscribers in an Auto-Suppression List, perform the following steps.
 

  • Move into Email Studio and select the Admin tab from across the top
  • Under the Send Management section on the left, find the Auto-Suppression Configuration section
  • Check the box of the Auto-Suppression List you want to review and then select Subscribers

 


List Detective


List Detective prevents email addresses that are known to be invalid, inactive or spam traps from being sent an email. For Lists, the email addresses are checked during the import process. For Data Extensions, the email addresses are checked at the time of sending.

Watch this quick screencast from our Support YouTube Channel or read the information after to learn about List Detective and how to check if it is preventing the email from being sent to a Subscriber.




There are two ways in which you can check if List Detective prevents an Email Send; Import into a List or REST API.

Use the following steps to verify if a Subscriber will be excluded from an email due to List Detective:
 

  • Create a .csv file with two fields; SubscriberKey & EmailAddress
  • Go into Email Studio and select Subscribers from the menu
  • Within the Subscribers menu, select Lists
  • Find the folder the List is saved within
  • On the right-hand side, select the icon for Import
  • Follow the pop-up to Import the List from the .csv file you created
    • Ensure your email is populated in the field before clicking Begin
  • When the Import has finished, review the Results File to see if List Detective prevents the email from being added


For more detailed instructions, review the Import into a List Help documentation.

If you're familiar with REST API, you can use the validateEmail resource to check if an EmailAddress is likely to be excluded by List Detective. The following is an example of the body of the request you can use to validate an EmailAddress.
 

{
  "email": "example@example.com",
  "validators": [ "ListDetectiveValidator" ]
}
 

Contact Delete


When a Contact is submitted for Deletion, the Marketing Cloud prevents Sends to the Contact and prevents them from being processed by the Marketing Cloud. Note the following point in our Contact Delete Best Practices documentation.

⚠️: You can’t reintroduce a contact that is in suppression or in the process of being deleted once the suppression period is over. During this time, you can’t perform any sends, including transactional sends, to that Contact.

Suppose you attempt to send to a Contact that is being deleted, and they're not excluded by the process populating the Data Extension. In that case, the Contact appears in the NotSent Data Extract showing as the following:
 

  • SendID = JobID of the Send
  • EventType = NotSent
  • Reason = Subscriber Deleted


For more information on setting up a NotSent Data Extract, review our Report on 'Not Sent' subscribers through email sends Knowledge Article or watch the following short video from the Support YouTube Channel.




 

Scheduled Sends


If you scheduled the Email to be sent at a future Date and Time, the List or Data Extension may have changed between the time it was scheduled and sent. The audience can be modified directly using ad-hoc Imports or an Import Definition within an Automation. You can review Import Definitions in Automation Studio or Email Studio.

Via Automation Studio:
 

  • Select the Activities tab within Automation Studio
  • Navigate to Imports on the left to review all Imports
  • Click into an Import you wish to review
  • Under the Configuration tab, within Destination check, the following is true
    • Subscriber List = Name of the List
    • Subscriber Type = Email
      • If the Import is to a Data Extension, the section will state Data Extension instead of List


Via Email Studio:
 

  • Hover over Interactions and select Imports within the menu
  • Click into the Import you wish to review
  • Within the configuration of the Import, two settings identify an Import into a List
    • Destination Type = Subscriber List
    • Subscriber Import Type = Email & the List is selected from your folder


⚠️: Import Definitions in Contact Builder only show Imports to Lists within Mobile Studio


 

Sendable Data Extension Configuration


When using a Sendable Data Extension as your Email audience there are two situations that may cause emails to not be sent as expected.

Watch this quick video to learn how to configure a sendable data extension and verify if the current configuration is preventing an email from being sent to Subscribers or read the information after the video. 





 Subscriber Relationship of Data Extensions

The field you set as the Send Relationship of the Data Extension is key to ensuring the right Subscriber (and EmailAddress) is sent to within your Marketing Cloud Sends. The value of this field is used to find the EmaillAddress of the Subscriber on the All Subscribers List. Getting this field wrong can lead to duplicate Subscribers, incorrect Tracking data, and sends to EmailAddresses that have opted out previously.

To check your subscriber relationship, watch the following short video from the Support YouTube Channel or follow the steps outlined after. 





Within Email Studio:
 

  • Hover over Subscribers and select Data Extensions from the menu
  • Move into the folder where your Data Extension is located
  • Click into the Data Extension name
  • Within the Properties tab, look for the SUBSCRIBER RELATIONSHIP section
  • Review the value before relates and ensure it properly maps to your Data Extension field that identifies Subscribers


Within Contact Builder:
 

  • Select the Data Extensions section across the top
  • Move into the folder where your Data Extension is located
  • Click into the Data Extension name
  • Within the Properties tab, look for the SUBSCRIBER RELATIONSHIP section
  • Review the value before relates and ensure it properly maps to your Data Extension field that identifies Subscribers


Note: If you’ve sent an Email to a Data Extension using the wrong Subscriber Relationship, it can result in invalid Subscriber records being created on the All Subscribers List. Consider using the Contact Delete framework to remove these duplicates from your account.


 EmailAddress Field Data Type:

If Subscribers within a Data Extension don’t exist in the All Subscribers List, they’re added to the All Subscribers List at send time. In order for the system to add the Subscriber, the Data Extension must be sendable and have a field linking back to the All Subscribers List, AND it must have an EmailAddress DataType field.

If your Data Extension doesn't contain an EmailAddress DataType field, you can use a Query Activity to check which Subscribers don’t exist on the All Subscribers List and weren’t sent to in your Send. Join your Data Extension to the _Subscribers DataView and perform a check where the row isn’t present on the _Subscribers Data View, which is your All Subscribers List.

The following example query returns all Subscribers in a Data Extension that don’t exist on the All Subscriber's List.

SELECT DE.SubscriberKey, S.SubscriberKey 
FROM [Name of Data Extension] AS DE
LEFT OUTER JOIN _Subscribers AS S
    ON DE.SubscriberKey = S.SubscriberKey
WHERE S.SubscriberKey IS NULL


Suppose your Data Extension contains more than one EmailAddress DataType field, and the Subscriber isn’t on the All Subscribers List. In that case, the Marketing Cloud fails to create that Subscriber because it can't confirm which EmailAddress DataType field to use to create a Subscriber in the All Subscribers List.

Review your Data Extension and ensure only one EmailAddress DataType is set up. Use the following steps to confirm you’ve exactly one EmailAddress DataType on your Data Extension.


Within Email Studio:
 

  • Select Subscribers from across the top and Data Extensions in the menu
  • Locate the Data Extension within your folder structure
  • Click into your Data Extension and review the Properties tab
  • Review all the fields and look specifically at the Data Type column for more than one field with EmailAddress as the Type


Within Contact Builder:
 

  • Select Data Extensions from across the top
  • Locate the Data Extension within your folder structure
  • Click into your Data Extension and review the Properties tab
  • Review all the fields and look within the Name column; a field with the @ character indicates an EmailAddress Data Type


You can Import into the All Subscribers List before sending and map the EmailAddress field within the Import to ensure all Subscribers are sent the email.


 

Reporting Best Practices


There are a few common Marketing Cloud reporting features available to assist in troubleshooting email sends. The following sections provide a brief explanation of each of these features.
 


NotSent Tracking Extracts

Tracking Extracts provide granular tracking data of email send jobs, such as clicks, bounces, and survey data. To identify why a subscriber didn’t receive an email, we use the NotSent extract to receive a reason each Subscriber wasn’t sent an email.

Follow the steps in the Report on 'Not Sent' subscribers through email sends Knowledge Article or watch the following video for steps to set up, run, and view a NotSent extract for your jobID.




Send Logging Data Extensions

Send Logging Data Extensions provide the ability to obtain run-time information about email send data not available via standard reporting functions. Send Logging can be a powerful tool for reporting on and troubleshooting email sends.

The following video provides steps to set up and use a send logging data extension. 



When configuring your Marketing Cloud account or a new Business Unit, consider setting up a Send Logging Data Extension. To create a Send Logging Data Extension, follow the steps outlined in Create an Email Send Logging Data Extension and follow the Send Logging Best Practices and Tips.

Email Send Logging Data Extensions can be configured in one of two ways:

 

  1. Single Data Extension containing all sends from the Marketing Cloud Account (including Business Units)
  2. Individual Data Extension per Business Unit (MID)


For more information about this configuration of the Send Logging Data Extension Contact Salesforce Customer Support.

Send Logging Data Extensions allow you to join its data with Data Views to collect Subscriber level tracking information that isn’t available in standard Reports or Tracking and can be customized to your use-case. An Email Send Log is created with the SubID, JobID, ListID & BatchID fields to join Data Views. Ensure you're joining all four fields (where applicable) to create optimized SQL queries to collect tracking data from email Sends for Subscribers.

It’s a best practice to configure a Data Retention Policy on the SendLog Data Extension to ensure it’s manageable and performant through its use within the Marketing Cloud. (⚠️ Also consider our documentation for optimizing SQL Queries).

Review our Send Logging Marketing Cloud Email Sends article for more information.



RaiseError AMPscript function


The RaiseError function allows you to pragmatically skip a subscriber during an email send due to a subscriber-specific condition. RaiseError is intended to prevent an entire email send from going to an errored state when it encounters an unexpected situation within your subscriber data. A good practice is to have a Data Extension log when a subscriber is skipped by the RaiseError function so you can review these Subscribers to understand why they weren’t sent an email.

The following video provides steps to set up and use the Raise Error AMPScript function with a send logging data extension. 



⚠️ The RaiseError function should not be used as an exclusion or suppression process.

If you use the RaiseError function and specific subscribers didn’t receive your email, check to see if they met a condition for your RaiseError function. If you have a RaiseError logging setup, you can check the RaiseError data extension to confirm if the Subscriber triggered RaiseError and prevented the system from sending the email.

The following example RaiseError function, logs the JobID, EmailName, SubscriberKey, and associated AMPscript to a Data Extension.

%%[
VAR @ABC
SET @ABC = 'ABC'
]%%

Raise Error Function example:

%%[
IF @ABC == 'ABC'
THEN 
]%%

<p> ABC is displayed </p>

%%[ 

ELSE THEN

InsertDE('RaiseErrorLog',
   'JobID',JobID,
   'EmailName',EmailName_,
   'SubscriberKey',_SubscriberKey,
   'AMPscript',@ABC
   )

RaiseError('Variable not correct',1,'123','12345',0)

]%%

<p> ABC not Displayed and RaiseError hit </p><p>

%%[
ENDIF
]%%</p>
 



Test Send or Send Preview Not Received


When attempting to complete a Test send, you may find that it isn’t coming through after previewing against a subscriber in a List or Data Extension.

You can check whether the Test Send was successful or still processing by looking at Tracking in Email Studio. Test Sends are usually found within the ‘Test Send Emails’ folder. Check to see if the job has been completed, and the number of Emails Sent equals the number you’re expecting.

Test Sends emulate the exact sending and email build process for the selected subscribers but is instead sent to the specified email address.

Check the following to identify why a subscriber wasn’t sent the email.
 

  • Subscriber Status
    • If Previewing against a List - make sure the Subscriber is Active in that List
    • If previewing against a Data Extension - make sure the Subscriber is Active in the All Subs List
  • Ensure the Data Extension has exactly one EmailAddress DataType type (more or less than one can cause issues when sending to new Subscribers)
  • Ensure the EmailAddress in the Data Extension is valid (List Detective)
  • AMPscript in the Email causes the Subscriber to either fail or hit a RaiseError function


More information can be found in our Marketing Cloud Send Preview or Test Sends Don’t Arrive in Inbox Knowledge Article.

 

 

Triggered Email didn’t send to expected Subscribers


Triggered Sends are slightly different than a Data Extension or List send as they’re generally created through an action a Subscriber has taken and are more transactional. Triggered Emails in Email Studio involve using either the SOAP or REST API , adding another layer of complexity when troubleshooting whether a Send was successful.

Check the following to identify why a subscriber wasn’t sent the email from a Triggered Send.

These points are for Triggered Emails in Email Studio, not the new Transactional Messaging API .

 

  • What was the Marketing Cloud API response to the API call
    • If the request was successful, check the following bullet points
    • If the request was unsuccessful, was the call made Synchronously or Asynchronously
      • Synchronously provides more details in the Response
      • Asynchronously shows the call as Queued and does not provide the reason
    • If using and configured to do so, a Triggered Send Data Extension. can help review the API call
  • Check the Triggered Send Definition status
    • A Definition in a Running state accepts and processes calls
    • A Definition in a non-Running state returns an error or queues the requests
  • Exclusion Management

 
More information can be found in the Marketing Cloud Triggered Send Not Sent to Subscriber Knowledge Article.


 

Automation Studio Email didn’t send to expected Subscribers


Automation Studio can be used to schedule a recurring Email to be sent on a regular cadence and to different Subscribers. Check the following to identify why a subscriber wasn’t sent the email.

As email Sends via Automation Studio are repeat sends to the same Audience, the same points to check for Sends to Lists or Data Extensions are applicable after you've reviewed the Automation has completed successfully.

 

  • Did the Automation and Email Send Activity complete successfully
    • Is the Email Send Definition green within the Activity tab of Automation Studio
    • Is there a JobID in the Tracking Overview section of Email Studio
  • Does the Automation update the Audience used within the Email Send
    • Check the Update Type of that Activity
      • Overwrite removes all existing records in the Data Extension before importing them into the Data Extension
    • How often is the Activity updating the Audience to perform troubleshooting
  • If the Send was a scheduled send, were there any changes to the Lists or Data Extensions between the Send being Scheduled and the Send being performed

 
More information can be found in the Email Send via Automation Studio Doesn’t Send to All Subscribers Knowledge Article.


 

Journey Builder Email didn’t send to expected Subscribers


Journey Builder sends use the Triggered Send method of sending, so consider the points in the Email to Triggered Send section and the following points. Both Multi-step and Single Send Journeys use Triggered Sends, but multi-step Journeys may allow you to review more information outlined in the following points.

 

  • Has the SubscriberKey or EmailAddress (ContactKey in Journey Build) of the Subscriber been injected into the Journey
  • Has the ContactKey processed through the Email Activity and shows a Successful status
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