Setup and Send HubSpot Marketing Emails

(This post is part of the comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Efficiently Setting Up Your HubSpot Portal, which covers every aspect of optimizing your HubSpot environment, including email marketing tools for impactful communication with your leads.)

Understanding the Different Types of HubSpot Emails

As your lead list grows within HubSpot, email becomes an essential tool for nurturing these contacts. There are three primary types of emails in HubSpot:

• Transactional Emails: For non-marketing purposes, like invoices and password resets.
• Sales Emails: Personalized messages sent directly to a lead.
• Marketing Emails: Designed to send marketing content to targeted lists.

This guide focuses on marketing emails, which can keep leads updated with newsletters or guide them through nurturing campaigns.

Setting Up Your HubSpot Marketing Emails

To create effective marketing emails, start by configuring your HubSpot settings:

1. Configure Footer Information: In Settings > Marketing > Email, enter your company details. HubSpot requires this for compliance.

2. Design Presets: Set email design defaults (colors, fonts, etc.) to align with your brand. These can be edited per email but save time overall.

3. Default Personalization Tokens: Personalize your emails with tokens like “First Name” (e.g., “Hello [First Name]”). Set a default value if the token is missing, such as using “friend” if a lead’s first name is unknown.

4. Subscription Types: Define the types of emails you send (e.g., Newsletters, Product Updates) to manage consent and segmentation.

5. Tracking Options: Enable tracking to monitor email performance, including opens, clicks, and more.

6. Set Frequency Caps (if available): Limit the number of marketing emails sent within a timeframe to prevent overwhelming leads.

Creating a Marketing Email

Now that your settings are configured, you’re ready to create an email.

1. Go to Marketing > Email: Click Create Email to access the email editor, where you’ll find options to create:
   • Regular Emails: Sent at a specific time to a defined list (e.g., newsletters).
   • Automated Emails: Sent in response to a specific action (e.g., filling out a form). Typically used in workflows to personalize journeys for each lead.
   • RSS Emails: These emails automatically share updates, such as recent blog posts.

For a lead-nurturing campaign, select Automated Email and then choose a template. HubSpot’s “Plain Email” template is great for simple, personal communication.

2. Compose and Customize:

   • Use HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor to add text, images, buttons, and more.
   • Personalize your content with tokens (like “Hello [First Name]”).
   • Use A/B Testing if available to experiment with different elements and optimize engagement.
     
     

3. Set Email Settings: Once your email content is ready:

   • Sender Name and Address: Define who the email is “from.”
   • Subject Line and Preview Text: These are crucial for open rates. Aim for something engaging and clear.
   • Internal Email Name: Label emails with names that clarify their purpose (e.g., “B2B_Nurture_LeadGen”).
   • Subscription Type: Assign the correct subscription type (e.g., Newsletter, Product Update).
   • Campaign Assignment: If part of a larger campaign, link it to track performance across multiple emails.
     
     

4. Send a Test Email: Always preview and send a test email to ensure personalization tokens and formatting appear correctly.

5. Schedule or Publish:

   • For Automated Emails: Publish them to activate within a workflow.
   • For Regular Emails: Schedule them for a specific date and time. You can define recipient lists and exclude lists as needed.

Analyzing Your Email Performance

After your email sends, HubSpot provides in-depth analytics:

• Open Rate and Click Rate: Measure initial engagement.
• Click Map: See where recipients are clicking within the email.
• Top-Clicked Links: Identify popular content.
• Engaged Contacts: Track who’s actively engaging.
• View Duration: See how long people are reading your emails.

If nurturing leads, workflows can add value beyond one-off emails by enabling a full nurturing sequence. HubSpot Pro users can create advanced workflows that align emails with the lead journey.

Mastering HubSpot’s marketing email features can significantly enhance your engagement efforts. For further insights and best practices, explore my full Ultimate Guide to Efficiently Setting Up Your HubSpot Portal to unlock your HubSpot potential.