HubSpot

Intro to HubSpot Email Sequences & Best Practices

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By Sam Meza

4 min read

Sequences are one of the many HubSpot tools designed to make life easier for sales professionals.

But what exactly are HubSpot sales sequences, and how do they work?

You’ve come to the right place to tackle these questions and more. We’ll explain what HubSpot email sequences are and how they differ from workflows. You’ll also discover a collection of HubSpot sequence best practices that can help you get the most out of the tool.

What Are HubSpot Sequences?

With sequences, HubSpot users can put prospect nurturing and lead outreach on autopilot. Best used for one-on-one follow-ups, sequences allow you to:

Use personalized email templates to create a series of emails you’d like to send to a certain prospect over time
Schedule the times and dates you’d like each email to be sent
Create automated task reminders for yourself, so you never forget to follow up with a manual email, phone call, or connection request.

If a prospect responds to one of your emails or books a meeting through your HubSpot Meetings Tool link (or any other scheduling page), they’ll be automatically unenrolled from the rest of the emails in the sequence. HubSpot also offers tips on how to automatically unenroll contacts who take specified actions or contacts from the same company.

HubSpot Sequence Example

Let’s take a look at some HubSpot sequence examples to give you a better idea of how they work. Imagine you’ve just returned from a trade show with a purse or wallet full of prospects' business cards.

Given that this isn’t your first rodeo, you know that shooting each a single follow-up email is unlikely to produce the best results. You find yourself with one of two options.

You can send out the first round of emails to each prospect and attempt to manually keep track of who responds and who requires additional follow-ups.
You can turn to your HubSpot sales setup and schedule a series of follow-up emails that will be sent to each prospect from your own email account.

The second option can save you a great deal of time and not just because it will spare you the chaos of manually tracking replies. When you use sequences, HubSpot allows you to either create your own emails from scratch or personalize a series of pre-made sales templates.

You can enroll up to 50 prospects in the same sequence at once and use personalization tokens to include each recipient's name. If you only want to follow up with a handful of prospects, you can even create different sequences for each.

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HubSpot sequences and workflows are both automated email tools

Sequences are more personalized sales tools

Workflows are designed for large-scale marketing campaigns

What is the difference between HubSpot workflows and sequences?

If you’ve already been through HubSpot onboarding, you may be thinking something along the lines of, “What is a sequence in HubSpot vs a workflow?” Excellent question!

While both are automated email tools, sequences are intended to be more personalized sales tools. Workflows, on the other hand, are designed for large-scale marketing campaigns. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between the two and when to utilize each.

HubSpot Sequences

Subscription Type. The sequences tool is only available with certain subscriptions, including Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise and Service Hub Professional or Enterprise

Email Type. When you use sequences, HubSpot emails contacts from your own connected email account.

Sales Templates. Sequences come with a series of customizable sales templates that are designed to help you book a meeting.

Enrollment. Contacts can only be enrolled in sequences manually.

Unenrollment. When a prospect replies to an email or books a meeting, they'll be automatically unenrolled from the sequence.

Tracking. You can use HubSpot email tracking software with sequences to track open rates and gain insights on which messaging performs the best.

Contacts. You can add contacts to a sequence from your email inbox, whether they’re already a HubSpot contact or not.

HubSpot Workflows

Subscription Type. Only available with a Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription.

Email Type. Workflow messages are sent from HubSpot and allow you to customize the “from” address.

Marketing Templates. Workflows are automated marketing emails that you can create using customizable marketing templates or HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor.

Enrollment. Contacts can be enrolled either manually, from lists, or automatically based on pre-set triggers.

Unenrollment. Contacts are not automatically unenrolled from Workflows unless you set up goal-based criteria.

Tracking. Instead of tracking replies, Workflows track performance statistics like open rates and clicks.

Contacts. Recipients must be entered as HubSpot marketing contacts to be eligible for Workflows.

How to Create a Sequence in HubSpot

To create a new Sequence in HubSpot, first make sure that you have an assigned seat and sequences permissions in a qualifying Sales or Service account. You’ll also want to ensure that you’ve connected your email account, as a team address will not do.

To create a new Sequence from your HubSpot dashboard:

From the main menu, select Automation > Sequences.
Click on the Create Sequence option that will appear in the top right corner.
From the panel on the left, choose whether you want to Start from Scratch or use a Pre-made Sequence Template.
Once you’ve made your choice, click the Create Sequence option again.
Click on the pencil icon to create a name for your sequence.
From this point, you’ll be able to customize your sequence by clicking the + plus icon to add various steps.

If you want to delve deeper into the specifics of sequences, HubSpot has a thorough guide available in the HubSpot Knowledge Base. It’ll walk you through all the possibilities the tool has to offer step by step.

Best Practices for Managing HubSpot Sequences?

HubSpot’s sequences tool can save you a great deal of time and energy by automating prospect outreach. But it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not a completely hands-off solution. Taking the time to customize your sequences before launch can make or break your success. Here are some HubSpot sequences best practices to keep in mind:

Keep in mind that personalization is key - avoid spammy or impersonal content.
Use personalization tokens and placeholders when customizing templates.
Map out your sequences with the buyer’s journey in mind.
Keep each message short, sweet, and easily scannable.
Highlight solutions to your prospect’s industry-specific pain points
Offer helpful resources.
Prompt a reply by ending with a CTA or question.
Include your contact info and calendar link to make booking a meeting as easy as possible.

Conclusion

There you have it! We hope this has helped answer your questions about HubSpot sales sequences and how to use them. With a little upfront effort, you’ll never have to worry about letting a great lead slip through the cracks.

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