Marketing emails remain one of the most effective ways to nurture leads and engage clients—when done right. HubSpot’s built-in email marketing tools make it easier than ever to design beautiful, responsive emails that actually perform.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create, design, and optimize your HubSpot marketing emails, whether you’re sending a simple newsletter or building a complex automated workflow.
Quick Win: Scroll down for pro tips on personalizing emails for HR, Payroll, and Legal audiences.
HubSpot Emails: Automated vs. Manual
Before diving into the design, it’s important to understand the two types of marketing emails in HubSpot:
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Manual (Regular) Emails: One-off sends like newsletters, announcements, or promotions.
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Automated Emails: Triggered by workflows (e.g., deal stages, form submissions) to nurture leads automatically.
No matter which type you’re creating, the email editor works the same way.
How to Design a HubSpot Email (Step-by-Step)
1. Start with a Template (or Build Your Own)
HubSpot offers dozens of pre-built templates organized by category (e-commerce, engagement, events). If you’re on Marketing Hub Pro or Enterprise, you can also create and save your own branded templates.
2. Drag-and-Drop Sections
Use HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor to add:
You can even adjust column widths to mimic elements like signatures.
3. Save Custom Sections
Once you’ve built a section you love (e.g., a CTA block with image, text, and button), save it for future use. This saves tons of time when building emails at scale.
Pro Tips for Professional Service Firms
Pro Tip: Create saved sections specific to your niche. For example, HR firms can have a pre-built section for promoting compliance webinars, while legal firms might save blocks for client success stories.
Use Case: A payroll company could use smart rules to display different contact signatures based on the client’s assigned rep—building trust and familiarity.
Personalization & Smart Content: Make Every Email Feel 1:1
Use Personalization Tokens
Pull in contact data like:
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First Name
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Company Name
- Recent activity (e.g., last webinar attended)
Leverage Smart Rules
Take it a step further by changing content based on:
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List membership
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Lifecycle stage
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Industry
Example: Swap the email signature and headshot based on the assigned account manager.
Don’t Forget Email Settings (Deliverability Matters)
Optimizing design is only half the battle. Make sure your email settings are dialed in:
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From Name/Address: Use real people, not “no-reply” (improves open rates)
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Subscription Types: Set up clear subscription types and preference centers
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Footer: Include your physical address and unsubscribe link
Pro Tip: Segment your lists to avoid blasting the same message to everyone. HR and legal clients have very different needs—use HubSpot’s list filters to tailor your sends.
Closing Thoughts: Build, Automate, Optimize
Designing emails in HubSpot is simple, but optimizing them for performance takes strategy. Focus on:
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Building reusable, on-brand templates
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Personalizing content for your specific audience
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Monitoring metrics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) to improve over time
If you’re ready to start sending smarter emails but need help setting up HubSpot, we’ve got you covered.
Want Help With HubSpot Email Strategy?
We help professional service firms like yours implement and optimize HubSpot every day. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you turn email into a lead-generation machine.
