Use Hubspot RSS Email for External Blog Subscriptions

Using Hubspot, you can automatically send email updates to your subscribers whenever a new post is published on an external blog via its RSS feed. This guide explains how to configure RSS emails so your audience receives consistent, branded notifications without manual work.

How Hubspot RSS Email Works

The Hubspot RSS email feature checks a specified RSS feed for new content at regular intervals. When new posts are found, the system generates and sends an email based on your chosen template and settings.

This is ideal if you:

• Publish content on a non-Hubspot CMS but manage marketing in Hubspot.
• Curate content from partner or industry blogs.
• Want fully automated subscription emails with minimal maintenance.

Before you begin, confirm that your external blog exposes a valid, publicly accessible RSS feed URL such as /feed or /rss.

Create a Hubspot RSS Email

To start sending automated blog subscription messages for an external site, you first need to build a dedicated Hubspot RSS email.

Step 1: Open the Hubspot Email Tool

1. In your Hubspot account, navigate to Marketing > Email.
2. Click Create email.
3. Select the Regular email type if prompted, then choose an email template that supports RSS modules.

Select a simple template to keep your content focused on the blog articles fetched from the RSS feed.

Step 2: Insert an RSS Module in Hubspot

In the email editor, add an RSS module if one is not already included in the template:

1. In the left sidebar, locate the RSS listing or similar RSS module.
2. Drag it into the body of your Hubspot email layout.
3. Place it where you want your external blog posts to appear.

The RSS module is responsible for pulling in post titles, links, summaries, and other data from your external feed.

Step 3: Configure the External RSS Feed URL

Next, connect the module to the external blog source:

1. Click the RSS module in the Hubspot editor.
2. In the right sidebar, locate the field where you enter the RSS feed URL.
3. Paste the full URL of your external blog RSS feed.
4. Click the option to Test or preview the feed if available, confirming that posts load correctly.

If the feed is valid, Hubspot will display a sample list of posts for review.

Customize Hubspot RSS Email Content

Once the feed is connected, customize exactly how your content looks and how many posts appear in the Hubspot email.

Step 4: Choose the Number of Posts

Inside the RSS module settings:

• Set how many blog posts should display in each email.
• Choose whether to show only the latest post or multiple recent posts.

Keeping the number of items small improves readability and click-through rates.

Step 5: Configure Post Details in Hubspot

You can determine which post elements will appear in the email:

• Title: Usually required as the main link to the article.
• Publish date: Optional, but helpful for readers.
• Author name: Use when authorship is important.
• Featured image: Only if the feed provides image URLs.
• Summary or snippet: Show part of the content to encourage clicks.

Adjust the template so the layout remains consistent with your overall Hubspot branding and email design.

Step 6: Edit Static Content and Footer

Outside the RSS module, you can edit:

• Header text that introduces the newsletter.
• Call-to-action buttons linking back to your site.
• Footer elements, including your company address and unsubscribe links.

Make sure all required CAN-SPAM or GDPR information is present in the Hubspot email footer.

Set Up Hubspot RSS Email Sending Schedule

After configuring the appearance and content, you need to define how often Hubspot checks the RSS feed and sends updates to subscribers.

Step 7: Choose Send Frequency in Hubspot

In the email settings or automation section:

1. Locate the Send or Schedule options.
2. Select an RSS-based sending frequency such as:
   • Daily
   • Weekly
   • Monthly
3. Choose the exact day of the week and time of day, depending on your schedule.

Hubspot will only send an RSS email if new posts are available since the last send, preventing empty updates.

Step 8: Select Recipients for Your RSS Email

Define who should receive your external blog updates:

1. Go to the Recipients tab in the Hubspot email editor.
2. Choose Saved lists or specific contact segments.
3. Select your blog subscriber list or any relevant audience list.
4. Exclude internal test contacts, if necessary.

Always verify that your Hubspot lists are permission-based and that contacts have opted in to receive marketing emails.

Test and Publish Your Hubspot RSS Email

Before activating your automation, it is important to test how the Hubspot RSS email renders for recipients.

Step 9: Preview and Test in Hubspot

Use the preview tools:

• Click Preview to see the desktop and mobile versions.
• Use the option to send a test email to yourself or colleagues.
• Check that links from the RSS module point correctly to the external blog posts.
• Confirm that unsubscribe and preference links work properly.

If any part of the design looks incorrect, adjust your Hubspot template or RSS module settings and repeat the test.

Step 10: Turn On Automated Sending in Hubspot

When everything looks ready:

1. Review the Subject line and From name to ensure clarity and brand consistency.
2. Click Review and send or the equivalent option in Hubspot.
3. Confirm the schedule and recipients.
4. Activate the RSS email so Hubspot can begin sending updates automatically.

From this point forward, Hubspot will handle email creation and delivery based on new entries in the RSS feed.

Manage and Optimize Hubspot RSS Email Performance

Ongoing monitoring helps you refine your Hubspot RSS strategy and improve engagement over time.

Track Metrics Inside Hubspot

After several sends, open the email analytics to review:

• Open rate and click-through rate.
• Top clicked articles and links.
• Bounce and unsubscribe metrics.

Use this data to adjust subject lines, layout, or send times in Hubspot for better results.

Maintain a Healthy External RSS Feed

For the integration to remain stable, the external RSS feed must stay valid and updated:

• Monitor the feed for changes to structure or URL.
• Ensure images and links in posts are accessible.
• Test the feed periodically with online validators.

If the RSS feed changes, update the feed URL in your Hubspot RSS module to avoid delivery issues.

Additional Resources for Hubspot RSS Email Setup

For the official documentation and step-by-step examples, read the original Hubspot knowledge base article: Send blog subscription emails for external blogs using RSS feeds.

If you need broader marketing automation strategy support beyond Hubspot configuration, you can learn more at Consultevo.

By combining a reliable external RSS feed with the Hubspot email tool, you can keep subscribers informed about new content automatically, while maintaining consistent branding and performance tracking across all your campaigns.

Need Help With Hubspot?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Hubspot , work with ConsultEvo, a team who has a decade of Hubspot experience.

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