Building Email Automations in HubSpot: Complete Guide

HubSpot Automation Basics

HubSpot's workflows are visual automation builders. They work like this:

1. Trigger — What starts the workflow (form submit, list join, property change)
2. Actions — What happens (send email, update property, create task)
3. Delays — How long to wait between actions
4. Branches — Different paths based on conditions

Everything visual, drag-and-drop, no code required.

Workflow Types

HubSpot offers different workflow types:

Type	Use Case	Tier Required
Contact-based	Email marketing, lead nurture	Starter+
Company-based	Account-based marketing	Professional+
Deal-based	Sales process automation	Professional+
Ticket-based	Support automation	Professional+
Quote-based	Proposal automation	Professional+

For email automation, you'll primarily use contact-based workflows.

Building Your First Email Workflow

Step 1: Create Workflow

1. Go to Automation → Workflows
2. Click "Create workflow"
3. Choose "Start from scratch" or use a template
4. Select "Contact-based"

Step 2: Set Enrollment Triggers

Triggers define who enters the workflow:

Form submission:

Trigger: Contact has submitted form
Form: Newsletter signup form

List membership:

Trigger: Contact is a member of list
List: Leads - Marketing Qualified

Property change:

Trigger: Contact property has changed
Property: Lifecycle stage
Value: Became Customer

Step 3: Add Actions

Click "+" to add actions:

• Send email — Marketing email from your library
• Delay — Wait hours, days, or until specific time
• If/then branch — Different paths based on conditions
• Set property — Update contact data
• Add to list — Add to static list
• Remove from list — Clean up list membership

Step 4: Build the Sequence

Example welcome sequence:

[Trigger: Form submitted]
        ↓
[Send: Welcome email]
        ↓
[Delay: 2 days]
        ↓
[If/then: Opened welcome email?]
    ├─ Yes → [Send: Getting started guide]
    └─ No → [Send: Did you get our email?]
        ↓
[Delay: 3 days]
        ↓
[Send: Feature highlight email]

If/Then Branching

Branches create personalized paths:

Engagement-Based Branching

If contact has opened any email in workflow:
  Yes → Continue nurture
  No → Send re-engagement

Data-Based Branching

If contact property "Industry" equals "SaaS":
  Yes → Send SaaS-specific content
  No → Send general content

Multiple Conditions

If contact meets ALL criteria:
  - Opened email in last 30 days
  - Has not unsubscribed
  - Lifecycle stage is Lead
Then → Continue sequence

Practitioner note: Don't overcomplicate branching initially. Start with simple linear workflows, then add branches where data shows different paths would help. Premature branching creates maintenance nightmares.

Email Actions

Send Marketing Email

1. Click "Send email"
2. Select from email library or create new
3. Choose send timing (immediately or specific time)

Marketing Email vs Simple Email

Feature	Marketing Email	Simple Email
Templates	Yes	Basic
Personalization	Full	Basic
Tracking	Complete	Basic
Unsubscribe	Automatic	Manual
Deliverability	Optimized	Standard

Use marketing emails for automated sequences.

Send Timing

Options for when to send:

• Immediately — As soon as action reached
• On a specific date/time — Schedule for exact moment
• When recipient's timezone is... — Time-of-day optimization

Delays and Timing

Delay Types

Time-based:

Delay for 2 days

Until specific time:

Delay until 9:00 AM in contact's timezone

Until day of week:

Delay until next Tuesday at 10:00 AM

Timing Best Practices

• Don't send too fast: 1-3 day minimum between emails
• Consider time zones: Use contact timezone when available
• Avoid weekends: Tuesday-Thursday typically perform best
• Match audience: B2B → Business hours; B2C → Evenings/weekends

Deliverability Considerations

Workflows can hurt deliverability if poorly designed:

Engagement Suppression

Don't email unengaged contacts:

[Enrollment trigger]
        ↓
[If/then: Engaged with email in last 90 days?]
    ├─ Yes → [Continue workflow]
    └─ No → [End workflow]

Pacing

Don't flood inboxes:

• Minimum 2-day delays between emails
• Consider total email frequency across all workflows
• Use suppression lists for recent sends

List Hygiene

Keep bounces and unsubscribes out:

Enrollment filter:
  - Email is known
  - Has not hard bounced
  - Has not unsubscribed

Practitioner note: The biggest deliverability mistake in HubSpot is running multiple workflows without considering total email frequency. A contact in 3 workflows might get 3 emails in one day. Use suppression or frequency caps.

Workflow Settings

Enrollment Settings

Re-enrollment: Should contacts re-enter if they meet trigger again?

• One-time only (default)
• Re-enroll on trigger

Unenrollment: When should contacts exit early?

• Meeting certain criteria
• Manual removal
• Never (run to completion)

Timing Settings

When to execute:

• Any time
• Only business hours
• Specific days

Time zone:

• Portal time zone
• Contact time zone

Common Workflow Patterns

Welcome Series

[Form: Newsletter signup]
        ↓
[Send: Welcome + expectations]
        ↓
[Delay: 2 days]
        ↓
[Send: Best content roundup]
        ↓
[Delay: 3 days]
        ↓
[Send: Product introduction]
        ↓
[Update: Lifecycle stage → Lead]

Lead Nurture

[Property: Lifecycle stage = Lead]
        ↓
[Branch by industry]
    ├─ SaaS → [SaaS email series]
    ├─ Ecom → [Ecommerce email series]
    └─ Other → [General email series]
        ↓
[Delay: 7 days]
        ↓
[Branch: Engagement score > 50?]
    ├─ Yes → [Create task for sales]
    └─ No → [Continue nurture]

Re-engagement

[List: No email open in 60 days]
        ↓
[Send: We miss you]
        ↓
[Delay: 5 days]
        ↓
[Branch: Opened re-engagement?]
    ├─ Yes → [Send: Special offer]
    └─ No → [Send: Last chance]
        ↓
[Delay: 7 days]
        ↓
[Branch: Any engagement?]
    ├─ Yes → [Move to active list]
    └─ No → [Mark as unengaged]

Testing Workflows

Before Launching

1. Test with yourself: Enroll your email and verify each step
2. Check timing: Verify delays work correctly
3. Test branches: Ensure both paths work
4. Review emails: Check personalization renders

Monitoring Live Workflows

• Performance tab: See enrollment, completion, email metrics
• History: Review individual contact paths
• Goals: Set conversion goals to measure success

Tier Comparison

Feature	Starter ($20/mo)	Professional ($890/mo)
Workflows	10	300
If/then branches	Basic	Advanced
A/B testing	No	Yes
Custom goals	No	Yes
Predictive send time	No	Yes
Multi-touch attribution	No	Yes

For serious email automation, Professional tier is required.

See our HubSpot deliverability guide for platform-specific optimization tips.

If you're building complex HubSpot workflows and want help designing automation that maximizes engagement without hurting deliverability, schedule a consultation for expert guidance.

Sources

• HubSpot Workflows
• HubSpot Marketing Hub
• HubSpot Email Deliverability
• HubSpot Workflow Templates

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v1.0 · March 2026