Integrating HubSpot and Mailchimp
for Better Email Marketing
Table of Contents
Introduction
Benefits of Integrating
HubSpot and Mailchimp
- More Robust Email Campaigns
- Expanded Audience Reach
- Enhanced Tracking and Analytics
- Improved Workflows
- Consistent Branding
How to Integrate HubSpot and
Mailchimp
- Using PieSync
- Step 1: Create Accounts
- Step 2: Select Contact Lists
- Step 3: Configure Sync Settings
- Step 4: Set Sync Frequency
- Using Zapier
- Step 1: Create Accounts
- Step 2: Choose Trigger App &
Event
- Step 3: Select Action App &
Action
- Step 4: Provide Required Info
- Step 5: Turn On Your Zap
Optimizing Your Email Marketing
Strategy
- Coordinate Campaigns Between Platforms
- Segment Your Lists
- Monitor Analytics
- Test Different Strategies
- Automate Workflows
- Clean Your Lists
The Power of Integrated Email
Marketing
At What Scale Should You
Integrate?
Best Practices for Migrating
Your Emails
Driving Further Engagement
After Integration
The Importance of Consistent
Branding
Measuring the Success of Your
Integration
Tools to Troubleshoot Issues
The Future of Integrated Email
Strategies
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Introduction
Email marketing 📧
remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels for reaching and
engaging your target audience. But juggling multiple tools like HubSpot and
Mailchimp can be a challenge. Integrating the two platforms allows you to
leverage the unique strengths 💪 of each for more
powerful email campaigns.
In this guide, we'll explore the
key benefits of integrating HubSpot and Mailchimp and walk through two easy
methods for connecting them. We'll also provide tips for optimizing your
integrated email marketing strategy. Let's dive in!
Benefits of Integrating HubSpot and
Mailchimp
HubSpot and Mailchimp are two of
the most popular email marketing platforms, each with their own strengths. Here
are some of the key benefits of integrating them:
More Robust Email Campaigns
By connecting your HubSpot and
Mailchimp accounts, you can utilize the different features of each platform for
more advanced email campaigns. For example, you can build emails in HubSpot and
then send them through Mailchimp's superior delivery infrastructure.
HubSpot offers a very intuitive
drag-and-drop email builder for easily creating beautiful, engaging emails.
Mailchimp on the other hand excels at deliverability through advanced list
management and segmentation. Using both together gives you the design capabilities
of HubSpot with the audience targeting and send performance of Mailchimp.
Some other ways the integrated
platforms lead to more robust email campaigns:
- Build complex automations that
trigger emails based on subscriber behavior in both apps. This level of
automation is not easy in just one platform.
- Craft targeted emails by
pulling in dynamic subscriber data from both CRMs for personalization. This is
more data than available in a single platform.
- Develop lifecycle workflows
that leverage strengths of both platforms. For example, onboard new subscribers
with a HubSpot welcome series before passing them to Mailchimp journeys.
- A/B test email content,
designs, subject lines, and send times in Mailchimp while retaining template
design control in HubSpot.
The possibilities are endless
when combining the expansive features of both platforms. Having access to the
full suite of email tools allows you to execute very advanced campaigns not
possible in a single app.
Expanded Audience Reach
With integration, you can sync
your contact lists between HubSpot and Mailchimp. This gives you the ability to
reach your entire audience no matter which platform you are working in.
If you have been building up
contacts in Mailchimp for years, that list is now accessible in HubSpot after
integrating the platforms. You can market to those legacy subscribers directly
in HubSpot without having to export and import lists.
Similarly, any new contacts you
generate through HubSpot landing pages and forms can be automatically shared
with Mailchimp, expanding the reach of your campaigns.
This cross-pollination of
audiences is incredibly powerful. You are no longer limited to just the
contacts in one platform. Integration gives you one unified subscriber base
that your entire marketing team can access across both tools.
Some key ways expanded audience
reach through integration helps your marketing:
- Send to your full list by
merging legacy and new contacts from both apps
- Remap data between apps to
combine subscriber details into more comprehensive profiles
- Avoid excluding contacts who
are only in one platform from campaigns
- Access previously segmented
groups when building new campaigns in the other tool
- Grow your lists faster by
capturing more leads directly in each platform
With combined contacts, every
campaign and asset you create reaches more of your target customers. Overall,
this grows your audience, boosts engagement, and drives more conversions.
Enhanced Tracking and Analytics
HubSpot offers in-depth tracking
and analytics for email performance. Integrating with Mailchimp provides
expanded insight into your campaigns from subscriber engagement to
deliverability.
HubSpot's reporting dashboard
clearly displays email metrics like opens, clicks, and unsubscribes
campaign-by-campaign. When integrated with Mailchimp, you gain access to that
platform's more granular email activity data including:
- Advanced list engagement
metrics like unique opens, click rate, and click maps
- Graphical representations of
your audience like geo-location breakdowns
- Email client and device data
giving insight into inbox placement
- Detailed delivery and bounce
tracking with spam test scores
- A/B test performance
comparisons to gauge impact of testing
Bringing together the analysis
capabilities provides a holistic view of email performance. At a glance, you
can see high-level metrics as well as drill down into detailed subscriber
activity.
More robust analytics informs
better decision making around your email program. You can zero in on
underperforming campaigns, compare subscriber engagement levels, identify list
growth opportunities, and craft targeted content based on performance data.
Ongoing optimization driven by
the comprehensive email analytics available through HubSpot and Mailchimp
integration leads to continually improving results over time.
Improved Workflows
Integration allows you to trigger
actions between the two platforms based on subscriber behavior. For instance,
you can automatically add contacts to a Mailchimp list when they download an
asset from a HubSpot form.
Automating tasks between the
platforms streamlines your processes and improves workflows. Some examples
include:
- Sending subscriber activity
data from Mailchimp to HubSpot for centralized reporting
- Automating contact syncing with
tools like PieSync or Zapier
- Using Zapier to push new
HubSpot contacts into targeted Mailchimp workflows
- Triggering lifecycle emails
from Mailchimp when contacts hit certain criteria in HubSpot
- Creating workflows across tools
that nurture subscribers based on their engagement
- Building complex sequences
involving both platforms such as signup in HubSpot to welcome series in
Mailchimp
Every automated action saves time
and keeps subscribers moving seamlessly through your workflows. This drives
more value through better engagement, conversion rates, and ROI from your
campaigns.
Consistent Branding
Maintaining consistent branding
across platforms is crucial. Connecting HubSpot and Mailchimp ensures your
emails look uniform regardless of the tool used to build and send them.
Branding slippage is a risk when
managing newsletters in multiple platforms. But by using HubSpot as your
centralized template design center, you can easily maintain consistent branding
with Mailchimp campaigns.
This unified visual identity
strengthens your brand in subscribers' inboxes. It also provides a
professional, polished look across all touchpoints.
Some tips for ensuring branding
consistency:
- Build a library of branded
email templates in HubSpot for use across both platforms
- Use the same images, logos,
colors, and fonts aligned to your brand guide
- Leverage templates to quickly
replicate content in either tool
- Use a CSS inliner tool to port
CSS across platforms
With the ability to flow
templates and content between your HubSpot and Mailchimp accounts, you can
easily protect and control your brand identity.
How to Integrate HubSpot and
Mailchimp
Now that you know the benefits,
here are two popular methods for integrating your HubSpot and Mailchimp
accounts:
Using PieSync
PieSync is a powerful automation
tool that offers seamless two-way contact syncing between HubSpot and
Mailchimp. Here's how to set it up:
Step 1: Create Accounts
First, you'll need to create free
PieSync accounts for both your HubSpot portal and Mailchimp account. Use your
existing credentials to connect PieSync to each platform.
Step 2: Select Contact Lists
Next, you can choose which
specific contact lists in HubSpot and Mailchimp you want to sync. This allows
you to connect just the relevant subscriber groups.
Step 3: Configure Sync Settings
In this step, configure your sync
preferences like opt-in requirements, any automatic tagging, and custom field
mappings across platforms.
Step 4: Set Sync Frequency
Finally, decide real-time
continuous syncing or scheduled automation based on your needs. Frequent
syncing ensures the most up-to-date subscriber data.
That's it! PieSync will now
automatically push contact updates between your connected HubSpot and Mailchimp
accounts. This ensures your lists stay completely in sync across both platforms.
PieSync makes it simple to get
started with integration. And their automated syncing saves you countless hours
manually exporting and importing contact lists. It's the fastest way to get
your HubSpot and Mailchimp audiences united.
Using Zapier
Zapier is an integration platform
that connects apps through automations called Zaps. It provides pre-built
integrations between HubSpot and Mailchimp.
Here are the steps to integrate
using Zapier:
Step 1: Create Accounts
Like PieSync, you'll first need
Zapier accounts connected to both your HubSpot and Mailchimp platforms if you
don't already have them.
Step 2: Choose Trigger App &
Event
Decide whether HubSpot or
Mailchimp will be your "trigger" app for this integration. The
trigger app initiates the automated action.
For example, if you select
HubSpot as the trigger when "New form submission" occurs, it will
kick off the Zap.
Step 3: Select Action App &
Action
Next, choose your action app (the
other platform) and which action you want to happen.
Continuing the example, Mailchimp
would be the action app and "Add subscriber to list" would be the
action when a new HubSpot form is completed.
Step 4: Provide Required Info
Provide any additional details
required to complete the integration steps.
This might include selecting
which HubSpot form, the corresponding Mailchimp list, any mapping fields,
opt-in consent, etc.
Step 5: Turn On Your Zap
Once configured, turn on your Zap
and it will now automatically add HubSpot form submissions to your selected
Mailchimp list.
Zapier makes it easy to customize
which specific actions you want automated across the platforms. The flexibility
allows you to set up the integrations that best suit your particular needs and
workflows.
Optimizing Your Email Marketing
Strategy
Integrating HubSpot and Mailchimp
solves the disconnected platform problem. But to maximize results, you need to
optimize your email marketing strategy across both tools. Here are some best
practices:
Coordinate Campaigns Between
Platforms
Plan complimentary email
campaigns and triggers between the platforms. This amplifies impact through
coordination.
For example, send a promotional
email via Mailchimp offering a discount on an ebook. Then trigger a follow up
email through HubSpot to subscribers who downloaded it.
Carefully planned nurture
sequences that cross between apps boost engagement. Avoid redundant campaigns
and leverage both tools strategically.
Segment Your Lists
Leverage segments and groups in
both HubSpot and Mailchimp for more personalized, targeted messaging.
Mailchimp's extensive
segmentation options can be applied to assets created in HubSpot before
sending. Similarly, use behavioral data from HubSpot to group contacts for
tailored Mailchimp campaigns.
Personalized content improves
deliverability, opens, and conversion rates. Shared segments amplify this
effect through subscriber data from both platforms.
Monitor Analytics
Review email metrics in HubSpot
and Mailchimp to identify successes and areas for improvement. Optimize based
on the insights.
Set up dashboards in each
platform to easily track performance over time. Look for trends and actionable
data that will have the biggest impact if addressed.
Continuously optimizing your
approach based on analytics lifts the results of campaigns, automations, and
overall program performance. Monitoring data identifies optimization
opportunities.
Test Different Strategies
Try A/B testing different email
content, designs, send times, etc. to determine what resonates most with your
subscribers.
Leverage Mailchimp's advanced
testing capabilities with content created in HubSpot. See which version of your
email works best when sending to small test groups before full deployment.
Testing allows you to validate
what marketing strategies work for your audience. Use data-driven results from
A/B tests to create higher performing emails.
Automate Workflows
Use PieSync, Zapier, or built-in
automation tools to create workflows that nurture subscribers based on their
engagement and activity.
Automating campaigns across tools
creates a streamlined experience. Triggers and context-based interactions are
powerful ways to engage your audience.
Clean Your Lists
Keep lists trimmed by
automatically removing inactive subscribers over time. This improves
deliverability.
Regular list hygiene ensures you
are only marketing to engaged recipients. Less clutter also helps with inbox
placement and sender reputation.
The Power of Integrated Email
Marketing
When executed strategically,
integrated email marketing delivers exponential returns compared to using
either platform alone. Each additional connection and automation you build
between HubSpot and Mailchimp expands what's possible.
Some examples of powerful
combinations:
- Send automated behavioral
trigged campaigns based on subscriber actions across both platforms
- Use Zapier to add new HubSpot
leads to hyper-targeted Mailchimp workflows
- Combine consumer data from each
platform to create 360-degree subscriber profiles
- Track email analytics in
Mailchimp then push key metrics to your main HubSpot dashboard
- Build complex sequences with
tailored content PieSync'd to subscribers based on their combined profile data
Even just syncing your contacts
expands your reach. But leveraging the broader features of both apps unlocks
transformative new capabilities.
Truly optimized integration leads
to more impactful campaigns, deeper subscriber insights, accelerated growth,
and ultimately greater customer lifetime value. The more strategic coordination
between your platforms, the bigger the results.
At What Scale Should You Integrate?
For smaller email lists, manually
exporting and importing subscribers as needed between HubSpot and Mailchimp may
suffice. But for most established email programs, automating integration offers
tremendous efficiency and performance gains.
Here are a few scenarios when it
makes sense to integrate your platforms:
- You have several thousand or
more email contacts distributed across apps
- Multiple team members are
accessing and managing different contact lists
- You plan to run multi-message
campaigns involving both platforms
- You have existing audiences in
each platform you want to combine
- You are noticing inconsistent
reporting numbers between apps
- Your team workflows are complex
involving both tools
- You need to track detailed
subscriber activity across platforms
Even if you are just getting
started with one app, setting up integration early simplifies data flows down
the road. But it becomes especially beneficial once your programs scale to
thousands of subscribers and beyond.
Evaluate whether your email
marketing could benefit from unified contacts, expanded features, and automated
processes. For most grown programs, integrated HubSpot and Mailchimp unlocks
bigger results.
Best Practices for Migrating Your
Emails
When integrating existing
platforms, you'll need to migrate legacy emails and templates into your new
unified system. Here are some best practices for ensuring a smooth transition:
- **Audit existing content** -
Document all emails, campaigns, and assets in both tools. Identify what needs
to be recreated or retained.
- **Map data flows** - Understand
subscriber interactions across apps so you can maintain continuity
post-integration.
- **Standardize templates** -
Consolidate designs from both platforms into a master template library for
consistency.
- **Transfer campaigns
methodically** - Move over components strategically in stages. Don't rush the
full migration.
- **Review and test rigorously**
- Validate all aspects - content, flows, branding, deliverability, tracking
etc. Fix issues pre-launch.
- **Develop a subscriber
transition plan** - Be thoughtful about how and when you will migrate users to
the new unified lists.
- **Freeze and align messaging**
- Halt new campaigns as you transition. Coordinate across old and new platform
versions.
- **Create redirects** - Redirect
links from old emails so user experiences remain seamless.
- **Communicate changes** - Tell
your subscribers about new integrated system, features, and benefits.
With careful planning and phased
execution, you can migrate platforms smoothly with limited subscriber impact.
Take your time to get the transition right.
Driving Further Engagement After
Integration
Once your platforms are
integrated, look for opportunities to further boost subscriber engagement
across email, your site, and other channels.
A few ideas:
- Send a re-engagement campaign
to inactive subscribers who are now back in the fold through unified lists.
Offer them personalized content and calls to action tailored to their interests
based on expanded profile data post-integration.
- Develop engaging lifecycle
campaigns involving both platforms. For example, trigger a HubSpot nano-course upon
email sign up in Mailchimp then drive course completers to gated offers.
- Use Zapier to add new email
subscribers to workflows and sales automation in your CRM for extended
nurturing beyond email.
- Build multi-channel journeys
that engage email subscribers across your blog, social channels, and site pages
for a more immersive brand experience.
- Create dynamic segments in your
CRM based on email engagement metrics sourced from Mailchimp via Zapier to
inform web personalization in HubSpot.
Your entire subscriber base is
now accessible across tools. Identify ways to engage them more deeply by fully
leveraging your new unified ecosystem.
The Importance of Consistent
Branding
When integrating different email
platforms, maintaining a consistent brand experience is critical. Subscribers
engage most with emails that reinforce your visual identity through aligned
design.
Here are some key benefits of
keeping branding consistent across your platforms:
- **Stronger brand recognition**
- A cohesive look triggers subscriber memory and awareness of your brand when
engaging across channels.
- **Improved deliverability** -
Gmail and other providers favor branded emails as more professional, helping
inbox placement.
- **Heightened engagement** -
Open and click rates improve when subscribers recognize your email style.
- **Greater trust** - Consistent
branding makes your communications more credible by presenting a unified image.
- **Cleaner data** - Avoid
confusing subscribers with different branding on the same list, which could
lead to unnecessary unsubscribes.
There are a few ways to ensure
consistent branding between your platforms:
- Maintain the same style guide
standards for color scheme, logo placement, imagery, etc.
- Leverage templates to
efficiently replicate your designed emails across platforms.
- Use CSS inliners to easily
transfer CSS styling between apps.
- Set up master content modules
you can plug into either platform.
- Use interchangeable design
elements like modular layout blocks between emails.
Take the extra time to coordinate
visual branding. It strengthens engagement, deliverability, and ultimately your
marketing results.
Measuring the Success of Your
Integration
Once your HubSpot and Mailchimp
integration is up and running, you need to accurately measure its impact and
success. Some key metrics to track include:
- Traffic referred between apps
using UTM parameters
- Lift in email subscribers from
capturing leads in both platforms
- Time savings from eliminated
manual processes
- Open and click rate increases
from expanded segmentation
- Revenue growth from higher
conversion rates
- Changes in unsubscribe rates as
you shift subscribers to new lists
- Differences in deliverability,
spam rates, and other performance metrics
- Reduction in mismatched contact
data as integration improves syncing
- Improvements in workflow
efficiency between teams and platforms
Properly set up analytics
tracking and reporting cadences to quantify the impact of your integrated
platforms against these KPIs over time. The data validates your integration
efforts and helps guide further optimization.
Tools to Troubleshoot Issues
With a complex multi-platform
email setup, occasional issues can arise. Here are some tools that help
troubleshoot problems:
- **Litmus (email testing)** -
Validate rendering, spam rating, and deliverability.
- **Mail-Tester (email
analysis)** - Identify fixes for deliverability issues.
- **250ok (email analytics)** -
Monitor and compare email engagement and conversions.
- **Email Deliverability Grader
(spam check)** - Assess and improve spam filter rating.
- **Contact Monkey (lists)** -
Manage lists and find incorrect or duplicate contacts.
- **Email Validation by
MailerLite** - Validate and fix improperly formatted email addresses.
Proactively optimizing your
campaigns with these tools minimizes disruptions and ensures smoother
performance. But even with best practices, hiccups happen. Having the right
troubleshooting resources helps identify and address problems faster.
The Future of Integrated Email
Strategies
Looking ahead, integrated email
strategies will become even more powerful as platforms expand capabilities and
combining channels becomes best practice.
We can expect:
- More advanced integrations and
tighter connections between email apps
- Integration across more
channels like social media and ads for holistic campaigns
- Leveraging first-party data for
better personalization across tools
- New metrics that quantify
business impact of integrated tech stacks
- Growth of IT and marketing
collaboration to optimize martech integration
- Expanded machine learning to
better predict optimal coordination strategies
- Automated email optimization
between platforms using artificial intelligence
- More affordable plug-and-play
tools for integrated analytics and reporting
As technology improves,
interconnected ecosystems will reshape email and lifecycle marketing. Tight
platform alignment will drive the next generation of customer experiences,
powered by integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: What is the benefit of
using HubSpot and Mailchimp together?
The main benefits are expanding
audience reach, enhancing analytics, improving workflows, increasing
deliverability, and leveraging the unique features of both platforms like
HubSpot's email builder and Mailchimp's campaign segmentation. Integrating
provides a more powerful solution.
Question 2: How do you integrate
HubSpot and Mailchimp contacts?
You can use PieSync's continuous
syncing between the platforms. Or use Zapier to automatically add HubSpot
contacts to selected Mailchimp lists. Both options allow maintaining a unified
contact database.
Question 3: Can you use HubSpot and
Mailchimp together?
Yes, HubSpot and Mailchimp are
commonly integrated to allow users to leverage the benefits of both tools. This
provides expanded email functionality, automation, and data insights.
Question 4: Is Mailchimp better than
HubSpot for email marketing?
For pure email marketing, many
consider Mailchimp better than HubSpot due to its focus on deliverability,
advanced segmentation, and analytics. But HubSpot may be better if you want an
integrated inbound marketing platform.
Question 5: Should I use HubSpot or
Mailchimp?
If focused solely on email,
Mailchimp may be better standalone with its segmentation and deliverability.
For an integrated marketing platform, HubSpot is likely better. Many businesses
find value in integrating both platforms.
Question 6: Can you have two HubSpot
accounts?
Yes, you can have two HubSpot
accounts by signing up with two different emails. This allows creating two
separate HubSpot portals, like for testing and production use.
Question 7: Is HubSpot better than
Mailchimp for email marketing?
For pure email marketing,
Mailchimp is often considered better than HubSpot due to its focus on
deliverability, segmentation, and analytics. But HubSpot may be better as an
integrated inbound marketing platform.
Question 8: What are the
disadvantages of Mailchimp?
Potential Mailchimp disadvantages
include complex pricing for sophisticated features, limited transactional email
capabilities compared to HubSpot, no native CRM or landing pages like HubSpot,
and analytics not as robust as HubSpot.
Question 9: Is HubSpot free?
HubSpot offers a free CRM but
core marketing tools like email, landing pages, and blogging require paid plans
starting around $50/month. They offer tiered plans based on needs and number of
contacts.
Question 10: Should I pay for
Mailchimp?
Mailchimp's free plan is limited
to 2,000 contacts. For more scalable email marketing, their paid plans unlock
additional contacts, automations, and premium features that provide much more
value. Most businesses will benefit from upgrading.
Conclusion
Integrating HubSpot and Mailchimp
unlocks more powerful email capabilities through expanded audience reach,
robust analytics, and leveraging each platform's unique strengths.
Key takeaways:
- PieSync and Zapier enable easy
integration between the two tools
- Optimizing your coordinated
strategy is crucial for maximizing results
- Consider your specific goals
and needs to determine if integration makes sense
Connecting your platforms and
optimizing your approach drives better engagement and conversions. With
integration as just the first step, ongoing optimization is key to email
success.
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