How to Use Hubspot Email Automation Effectively

Marketing teams increasingly rely on Hubspot to automate email communication, save time, and deliver more relevant messages. This guide explains how to use automation with marketing emails so you can send the right message to the right contact at the right time.

Understanding Hubspot Marketing Email Automation

Email automation in Hubspot uses defined triggers and actions to send emails automatically instead of manually sending each message. Automation can be powered by workflows, sequences, and other tools in your account.

With the right setup, you can:

• Welcome new contacts immediately after they convert.
• Nurture leads with targeted content over time.
• Follow up after form submissions or page views.
• Engage subscribers automatically based on behavior.

Before building anything, you need at least one published marketing email that is eligible for automation.

Prepare Your Marketing Emails in Hubspot

To use a marketing email in automated tools, it must be saved for automation and published. Draft or test emails are not available in automation tools until they are published.

Create a Marketing Email in Hubspot

1. In your account, navigate to your marketing email dashboard.
2. Click the option to create a new email.
3. Choose a template or start from scratch.
4. Add subject line, preview text, and body content.
5. Configure from name, from address, and subscription type.
6. Use personalization tokens and smart content as needed.

When your design is complete, run through previews and tests to verify links, images, and personalization tokens.

Publish and Save Email for Automation

After you are satisfied with the email:

1. Click the publish or review button.
2. Resolve any required settings warnings.
3. Publish the email so it can be used by automation tools in Hubspot.

Once published, the email becomes available for selection inside workflows, sequences, and other automation features.

Use Hubspot Workflows to Automate Emails

Workflows are the primary way to automate marketing emails for marketing contacts. A workflow lets you define enrollment triggers and actions, including sending one or more emails.

Create a Workflow for Automated Emails

1. Navigate to Automation > Workflows.
2. Click to create a new workflow.
3. Select the workflow type, such as contact-based.
4. Choose whether to start from scratch or use a template.

Define enrollment triggers, for example:

• Form submissions on a specific page.
• List membership or lifecycle stage changes.
• Contact property value updates.
• Marketing email interactions like opens or clicks.

Add Marketing Emails as Workflow Actions in Hubspot

1. Click the plus icon in the workflow editor to add an action.
2. Select Send email as the action type.
3. Choose a published marketing email from the list.
4. Set any delay before sending, such as a few minutes or days.
5. Repeat with additional send email actions if you are creating a multi-step nurture.

You can mix email actions with other actions, such as:

• Update contact properties.
• Add contacts to lists.
• Set tasks for sales reps.
• Branch logic based on if/then conditions.

After testing, turn the workflow on so new contacts who meet the enrollment criteria receive your automated emails.

Use Hubspot Sequences for Sales-Focused Emails

While workflows are typically used for marketing emails, sequences are designed for one-to-one sales outreach sent from connected inboxes. You can combine automated emails and tasks to follow up with prospects.

Set Up a Sequence in Hubspot

1. Go to Automation > Sequences.
2. Create a new sequence.
3. Add steps that include automated sales emails and tasks.
4. Customize delays between each step.

Sequences are often used for:

• Prospecting follow-up after initial outreach.
• Re-engaging contacts who did not respond.
• Structured sales cadences without manual sending.

Enroll individual contacts or small groups into a sequence directly from the CRM record or from contact views.

Behavior-Based Triggers in Hubspot Email Automation

Behavior-based automation lets you send emails when contacts interact with your website or previous messages.

Examples of Behavior Triggers

• Contact fills out a key form such as a demo request.
• Contact views a pricing page multiple times.
• Contact opens or clicks a specific marketing email.
• Contact reaches a scoring threshold.

To use these triggers, build them into your workflow enrollment criteria or if/then branches. This ensures your automated emails are highly relevant and timely.

Best Practices for Hubspot Email Automation

To get the most from your automated campaigns, follow these best practices.

Plan Goals and Segmentation First

• Define a clear goal for each automated series, such as booking a meeting or downloading a resource.
• Segment contacts by lifecycle stage, industry, or behavior.
• Keep each workflow focused on a single objective.

Optimize Email Content and Timing

• Use concise subject lines and compelling preview text.
• Write clear calls to action in each message.
• Test different send times and delays between steps.
• Review performance metrics such as open rate, click rate, and conversion rate.

Maintain Data Quality in Hubspot

• Ensure contacts have correct lifecycle stages and key properties.
• Regularly clean up lists and outdated workflows.
• Document each automation’s purpose and entry criteria.

Monitor and Improve Your Hubspot Automation

After launching workflows or sequences, ongoing optimization is essential.

• Check workflow performance reports to see how many contacts enroll, complete, or drop out.
• Identify emails with low engagement and update subject lines or content.
• Use A/B testing on key automated emails.
• Pause or clone and adjust workflows that no longer match your strategy.

Automation should evolve with your marketing and sales processes. Revisit your setup regularly to keep it aligned with current goals.

Resources for Advanced Hubspot Automation

For deeper technical consulting and strategy support, you can explore resources and services from specialized partners such as Consultevo. To review the original product documentation used as a reference for this how-to article, see the official guide on using automation with marketing emails in Hubspot knowledge base.

By combining thoughtful strategy with the automation capabilities available in your account, you can use Hubspot to deliver timely, relevant marketing emails at scale while keeping your team efficient and focused on high-value work.

Need Help With Hubspot?

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