As a HubSpot user, you have two primary options when it comes to sending emails: connected inbox and marketing email. While both allow you to communicate with leads and customers, they serve very different purposes. Understand the distinctions and you‘ll be able to make the right choice to engage your audience and drive your business forward.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know about connected inboxes and marketing emails in HubSpot. We‘ll cover:
- Definitions and key features
- Use cases and examples
- Deliverability considerations
- Personalization and targeting
- Performance benchmarks and optimization tips
By the end, you‘ll have a clear gameplan for integrating both email methods into your inbound strategy. Let‘s dive in.
Connected Inbox: One-to-One Outreach at Scale
When you connect your inbox to HubSpot, you unlock the power to send direct, one-to-one emails that sync automatically with your CRM. It‘s your go-to for highly targeted, personal outreach to individual leads and customers.
Key Features
HubSpot‘s connected inbox is more than just email. It‘s command central for managing all your one-to-one communications. Key capabilities include:
- 2-way email sync with Gmail and Outlook
- Email tracking and notifications
- Inbox profiles with contextual CRM data
- Meeting scheduling and calendar sync
- Templates and sequences for standardizing outreach
- Automated logging of activity data
With connected inbox, you can tailor outreach to a contact‘s unique characteristics and behaviors. Personalization tokens allow you to customize emails with CRM properties like first name, company, and job title. Conversation history and interaction data help you craft hyper-relevant messages. And reply tracking lets you stay on top of engagement.
Use Cases
So when should you fire off that connected inbox email vs enrolling a contact in a marketing email sequence? The short answer: when you need to communicate one-on-one.
Some prime examples:
- Following up with an inbound lead who filled out a form
- Sending a customized demo or consultation offer
- Providing resources related to a contact‘s industry or role
- Answering specific product questions
- Alerting key customers about a relevant product update
- Checking in post-purchase to ensure satisfaction
If your message requires personalization to the individual contact, the connected inbox should be your weapon of choice.
Deliverability and Compliance
Of course, no matter how on-point your email content, it‘s all for naught if it doesn‘t actually reach the inbox. Deliverability should be top priority for connected inbox emails, as they rely on your individual email domain reputation.
Some key tips:
- Authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records
- Maintain a clean, opted-in database and avoid purchasing lists
- Keep email volume and frequency in check to avoid throttling
- Use double opt-in to ensure contacts actually want to hear from you
- Monitor bounce rates and unsubscribes to identify potential issues
As for compliance, CAN-SPAM and GDPR still apply to one-to-one commercial emails. Include your mailing address and an unsubscribe link. And always get consent before adding someone to a sequence.
Marketing Email: Engaging Your Audience at Large
Marketing emails are designed for wider distribution to a subscribed database of contacts. They‘re your primary tool for sharing thought leadership, announcing events and offers, and nurturing leads at scale.
Key Features
With the HubSpot email marketing tool, you can build beautiful, on-brand emails and send them to targeted lists of contacts. Key features include:
- Drag-and-drop email editor
- Pre-designed templates
- Personalization and smart content
- A/B testing
- Automated email sequences
- In-depth performance reporting
Marketing emails are typically focused on providing value and driving action among segments of your audience. You can promote your latest blog post, invite contacts to a webinar, or offer a special discount.
By leveraging list segmentation and smart content, you can still add an element of personalization to your mass emails. For example, you could send one version of a newsletter to executives and another to practitioners based on list criteria.
Use Cases
Marketing emails are your swiss-army knife for maintaining mindshare and engagement. Common use cases include:
- Sending a regularly-cadenced newsletter
- Promoting gated content offers like ebooks and tools
- Inviting segments to events and webinars
- Announcing new products and features
- Distributing product education and customer success content
- Automating a lead nurturing flow based on lifecycle stage
Essentially, if you‘ve got a message, resource or offer valuable to a subset of your audience, marketing email is your bullhorn.
Deliverability and Compliance
Deliverability stakes are high with marketing email, since you‘re sending at scale. One ill-conceived campaign can tank your reputation and subsequent inbox placement.
Some essential deliverability Do‘s and Don‘ts:
- DO: Build your list organically using opt-in forms and gated content
- DON‘T: Purchase, rent, or scrape email addresses
- DO: Set clear expectations about email frequency and content
- DON‘T: Pull a bait-and-switch with misleading subject lines
- DO: Keep your database clean by re-engaging or removing inactive contacts
- DON‘T: Bombard contacts with emails they didn‘t consent to receive
On the compliance front, include an unsubscribe link and your physical mailing address in every email. Use double opt-in signup forms. And ensure you‘re storing proof of consent in case of an audit.
Connected Inboxes vs Marketing Emails: A Comparison
To sum it all up, here‘s a handy table highlighting the key differences between connected inbox and marketing emails in HubSpot:
| Connected Inbox | Marketing Email | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | 1:1 outreach to individual contacts | 1:many engagement with contact segments |
| Sending Infrastructure | Your individual email server | HubSpot‘s shared IP infrastructure |
| Deliverability Factors | Your domain reputation | HubSpot‘s reputation + your list hygiene |
| Targeting | Highly-targeted based on contact properties and behaviors | Targeted to contact list segments |
| Personalization | Extensive using contact record data | Moderate using contact properties |
| Common Use Cases | Demo followups, meeting scheduling, customer check-ins | Newsletters, content offers, lead nurturing |
| CAN-SPAM Compliance | Consent and unsubscribe link required | Consent, unsubscribe link and physical address required |
While each has its own unique strengths, both connected inbox and marketing email deserve a place in your communication toolbox. The key is syncing them as part of a cohesive inbound strategy.
For example, say a lead downloads an ebook and is enrolled in a lead nurturing workflow. Throughout the workflow, they receive a series of marketing emails related to the ebook topic. Then, based on their engagement, a sales rep reaches out via connected inbox to offer a personalized consultation. After the call, the rep enrolls them in a hand-off sequence in HubSpot, seamlessly transitioning them from marketing to sales.
This type of tight orchestration is what inbound is all about. By understanding the unique capabilities of each email type – and how they work together – you can deliver a world-class experience to your contacts.
Best Practices for Email Success
Whichever email avenue you pursue, a few universal best practices apply. To stand out in the inbox and drive engagement, be sure to:
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Nail your subject lines: Keep them short (under 50 characters), actionable, and curiosity-provoking. Avoid spam triggers like "free" and "guarantee".
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Maximize preview text: Use the preview text to expand on your subject line and give contacts added motivation to open. Aim for 50-100 characters.
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Write like a human: Whether sending a one-off reply or mass newsletter, write like you‘d speak to the contact in person. Use simple language, short sentences, and plenty of white space.
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Put CTAs front-and-center: Make your calls-to-action impossible to miss, with action-oriented copy and contrasting colors. Keep them above-the-fold for maximum impact.
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Test, test, test: A/B test your marketing emails to find winning subject lines, content, and designs. For connected inbox emails, experiment with different templates and scripts.
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Measure beyond opens and clicks: Go beyond vanity metrics to gauge true email performance. Track email-attributed leads, MQLs, SQLs and customers in HubSpot.
By prioritizing these fundamentals, you‘ll be well on your way to email excellence.
Conclusion
The inbox is a noisy place. But with the right approach, you can rise above the chaos to engage your audience and drive results.
As a HubSpot user, connected inbox and marketing email are your trusty tools for doing just that. Harnessed correctly, they‘ll power your inbound engine from first touch to closed-won.
So get out there and start sending. Just remember:
Contact needs one-on-one attention? Connected inbox.
Have something to announce or promote? Marketing email.
Tailor your message to the medium and the moment. Personalize with purpose. And always, always deliver value.
Your audience – and your bottom line – will thank you.
