HubSpot Email vs Facebook: What Really Wins?

When marketers compare channels, HubSpot often comes up as a benchmark for testing what actually works. By looking at one of its classic experiments on Facebook ads versus email marketing, you can learn a step‑by‑step way to run your own data‑driven campaign test and decide where to invest your budget.

This how‑to guide walks through how the original HubSpot team set up their comparison, what metrics they tracked, and how you can replicate a similar experiment for your business.

Why This HubSpot Test Still Matters

The original experiment from HubSpot's marketing blog is simple but powerful: compare the impact of Facebook promotion to email promotion for the same offer.

It matters because it shows you how to:

• Design a fair A/B style comparison between channels
• Measure traffic, leads, and conversion rates side by side
• Understand how audience behavior differs by channel
• Apply the results to future campaigns and budgets

Instead of guessing whether social or email is “better,” the HubSpot approach lets you prove it with real data from your audience.

Step 1: Clarify Your Goal the HubSpot Way

Before running any campaign, define a single primary goal. In the HubSpot test, the team focused on lead generation for a specific offer.

Do the same for your test:

• Objective: For example, “Generate leads for an ebook” or “Drive demo signups.”
• Primary metric: Leads, not just clicks or impressions.
• Time frame: A fixed testing window (e.g., 7–14 days).

Document this clearly so you can judge Facebook and email on the same terms, just like HubSpot did.

Step 2: Choose a Single Offer Like HubSpot

The HubSpot experiment used one consistent offer promoted across both channels. That makes the comparison clean.

Follow that pattern:

• Pick a single, valuable asset (ebook, webinar, checklist, or template).
• Use one landing page for all traffic.
• Keep messaging and creative aligned between Facebook and email.

Only the channel should change. The offer, landing page, and core message should match as closely as possible.

Step 3: Build Your Landing Page and Tracking

In the HubSpot example, tracking was central to understanding which channel performed better. You should set up:

• One optimized landing page: Clear headline, short form, strong call‑to‑action.
• Unique tracking parameters: Use UTM tags or unique tracking links for Facebook and email.
• Analytics goals: Configure a goal for form completions or lead submissions.

This mirrors how HubSpot attributes leads to different sources and makes it easy to compare results.

Step 4: Create Your Email Campaign HubSpot Style

The email side of the HubSpot test drew on an established list. To build a similar campaign:

• Segment your list: Choose contacts who fit the offer (industry, role, or lifecycle stage).
• Write a focused subject line: Promise a clear outcome tied to your asset.
• Keep copy short: Explain the value in a few sentences.
• Add one main CTA button: Link directly to the landing page with tracking.

Schedule the email during a time when your audience is most active, and avoid overlapping it with other big email sends.

Step 5: Build Your Facebook Campaign Like HubSpot

In the HubSpot comparison, Facebook ads promoted the same offer to a relevant audience. To replicate:

• Choose your objective: Traffic or conversions, depending on your ad account setup.
• Select your audience: Use lookalike audiences, saved audiences, or retargeting.
• Align imagery and copy: Match the core benefit language from your email.
• Use a single destination URL: The same landing page with its own tracking parameters.

Make sure your daily budget is large enough to reach statistical significance within your testing window.

Step 6: Run the Test the HubSpot Way

The heart of the HubSpot experiment is running both channels in a controlled way. To keep your comparison fair:

1. Launch both campaigns within the same period.
2. Avoid other competing promotions that push to the same audience and offer.
3. Keep budgets fixed during the test (no mid‑test changes unless absolutely necessary).
4. Monitor delivery and technical issues: Ensure email goes out correctly and Facebook ads are approved.

Collect data but resist making constant tweaks during the first phase of the test.

Step 7: Measure Results with a HubSpot‑Style Report

The original HubSpot post focused on clear, comparable metrics. You should report on:

• Impressions: How many people saw your email or ads.
• Clicks: Click‑through rate for email and click‑through rate for Facebook ads.
• Leads: Form submissions or signups attributed to each channel.
• Conversion rate: Leads divided by clicks.
• Cost per lead: Especially important for Facebook, where you pay per impression or click.

Put these numbers side by side to see how your channels compare, just as HubSpot did in their test.

What the HubSpot Results Teach You

From the published HubSpot findings, several lessons emerge that you can apply to your own campaigns:

• Email to an engaged list can deliver high conversion rates with low incremental cost.
• Facebook can expand reach beyond your list but may have higher cost per lead.
• Audience familiarity and trust play a major role in how each channel performs.
• The “winner” depends on your list quality, creative, targeting, and offer.

The key HubSpot insight is not that one channel is always better, but that you must test both and let your own data decide.

How to Apply HubSpot Learnings to Your Strategy

After running your test, use a HubSpot‑inspired process to adjust your overall marketing mix:

1. Double down on the top performer for similar future offers.
2. Refine the weaker channel by testing new audiences, subject lines, or creative.
3. Consider multi‑touch journeys: For example, run Facebook ads to build awareness and then follow up with email to drive conversions.
4. Document your results so your team can build on the insight instead of starting from scratch next time.

If you need help designing a data‑driven experimentation roadmap beyond this HubSpot example, you can explore consulting resources like Consultevo for structured optimization support.

Next Steps Inspired by HubSpot

Using the structure of the original HubSpot experiment, you now have a repeatable framework:

• Pick one offer and one landing page.
• Run simultaneous Facebook and email campaigns.
• Track traffic, leads, and cost per lead separately.
• Decide where to invest based on actual performance.

By following this HubSpot‑style, evidence‑based method, you transform channel debates into measurable tests and build a more efficient, scalable marketing engine.

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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