HubSpot Automation: Turn Website Visits Into Leads

Many marketers struggle to effectively use practical tutorials to enhance their campaigns, leading to wasted time and resources. Is it possible to create an automated email sequence that actually converts? Absolutely. This guide will walk you through building a simple, yet effective, automation using HubSpot Marketing Hub in 2026.

Step 1: Defining Your Goal and Audience

Before jumping into HubSpot, it’s vital to define what you want to achieve with your automation. Are you trying to nurture leads, onboard new customers, or re-engage inactive users? Your goal will dictate your audience and message.

Understanding Buyer Personas

• Identify your ideal customer. What are their pain points, goals, and demographics? Give them a name. I like to call mine “Marketing Mary”.
• Map the buyer’s journey. What stages do they go through before making a purchase? Awareness, Consideration, Decision.

Choosing Your Target Segment

• Create a list in HubSpot based on specific criteria. For example, “Website Visitors – Viewed Pricing Page in Last 30 Days.” This list will automatically update as people meet the criteria.

• In HubSpot, navigate to Contacts > Lists.
• Click Create list in the upper right corner.
• Choose Active list.
• Give your list a descriptive name like “Pricing Page Visitors – Last 30 Days”.
• Set the filter type to Website activity > Page view.
• Enter the URL of your pricing page.
• Set the date range to “within the last 30 days.”
• Click Save.

• Pro Tip: Segment your audience based on behavior, demographics, or lifecycle stage for more personalized messaging.

• Common Mistake: Not defining your target audience clearly, leading to irrelevant emails and low engagement.

• Expected Outcome: A highly targeted list of contacts who have shown interest in your product or service by visiting your pricing page.

Step 2: Crafting Your Email Sequence

With your audience defined, it’s time to create the email sequence that will deliver value and drive conversions.

Planning Your Email Flow

• Map out a series of 3-5 emails. Each email should have a specific purpose and call to action.

• Email 1: Welcome and introduction (sent immediately).
• Email 2: Highlight key benefits (sent 3 days later).
• Email 3: Offer a case study or social proof (sent 5 days later).
• Email 4: Provide a limited-time offer or discount (sent 7 days later).

• Pro Tip: Use storytelling to connect with your audience emotionally and make your emails more memorable.

Creating Your Email Templates

• Design visually appealing email templates in HubSpot. Use your brand colors, logo, and high-quality images.

• In HubSpot, go to Marketing > Email.
• Click Create email.
• Choose a template from the gallery or start from scratch.
• Customize the template with your brand assets and content.
• Use drag-and-drop modules to add text, images, buttons, and other elements.
• Be sure to add your company’s physical mailing address to the footer. This is legally required in many jurisdictions, including the United States under the CAN-SPAM Act.

• Write compelling copy that speaks to your audience’s needs and desires. Use clear and concise language, and focus on the benefits of your product or service.

• Personalize your emails using contact properties. Include the recipient’s name, company, or other relevant information.

• To add personalization, click the Personalize button in the email editor.
• Select the contact property you want to use (e.g., First Name).
• Set a default value in case the contact property is empty. For example, if the first name is unknown, use “Friend.”

• Add clear calls to action (CTAs) that guide your audience to take the next step. Use action-oriented language and make your CTAs visually prominent.

• Common Mistake: Writing generic emails that don’t resonate with your audience.

• Expected Outcome: A series of engaging and personalized email templates that are ready to be used in your automation.

Step 3: Setting Up Your Workflow

Now that you have your email templates, it’s time to create the workflow that will automate the sending process. If your ads are falling flat, this is a great way to fix it!

Creating a New Workflow

• In HubSpot, navigate to Automation > Workflows.
• Click Create workflow in the upper right corner.
• Choose Start from scratch and select a Contact-based workflow.
• Give your workflow a descriptive name, such as “Pricing Page Nurture Sequence”.

Defining Enrollment Triggers

• Set the enrollment triggers to automatically enroll contacts who meet your criteria. In this case, we’ll enroll contacts who are members of the “Pricing Page Visitors – Last 30 Days” list.

• Click Set enrollment triggers.
• Choose List membership as the trigger type.
• Select the “Pricing Page Visitors – Last 30 Days” list.
• Choose whether to enroll contacts who are currently on the list or only those who join in the future.
• Click Save.

• Pro Tip: Use multiple enrollment triggers to target a broader audience. For example, you could also enroll contacts who have submitted a specific form or clicked on a particular link.

Adding Email Actions

• Add email actions to send your email templates at specific intervals.

• Click the + icon to add an action.
• Choose Send email.
• Select the first email template in your sequence.
• Set the delay to “0 days” to send the email immediately after enrollment.
• Click Save.

• Repeat this process for each email in your sequence, adding appropriate delays between each email. For example, you might wait 3 days between Email 1 and Email 2, and 5 days between Email 2 and Email 3.

Adding Delay Actions

• Use delay actions to create time gaps between emails. This prevents overwhelming your contacts and gives them time to engage with your content.

• Click the + icon to add an action.
• Choose Delay.
• Set the delay duration to the desired number of days, hours, or minutes.
• Click Save.

• Common Mistake: Sending too many emails too quickly, which can lead to unsubscribes and negative brand perception. We had a client last year who made this mistake, and their unsubscribe rate skyrocketed.

• Expected Outcome: A fully automated workflow that enrolls contacts, sends personalized emails at specific intervals, and nurtures them towards a desired action.

Step 4: Testing and Activating Your Workflow

Before launching your workflow, it’s essential to test it thoroughly to ensure that everything is working as expected.

Testing Your Workflow

• Enroll yourself or a colleague in the workflow to test the email sequence. Make sure the emails are sending correctly, the personalization is accurate, and the links are working.

• Go to the Contacts tab in your workflow.
• Click Enroll contacts.
• Search for your contact record and enroll it in the workflow.

• Check your email inbox to verify that the emails are arriving as expected.

• Click on the links in the emails to make sure they are directing to the correct pages.

• Pro Tip: Use HubSpot’s workflow testing tools to simulate different scenarios and ensure that your workflow is behaving as expected.

Activating Your Workflow

• Once you are satisfied that your workflow is working correctly, activate it to start enrolling contacts.

• Click the Review button in the upper right corner of your workflow.
• Carefully review all of your settings and triggers.
• Click Turn on to activate the workflow.

• Common Mistake: Activating a workflow without testing it first, which can lead to embarrassing errors and negative user experiences.

• Expected Outcome: A live workflow that is automatically enrolling contacts and sending personalized emails to nurture them towards your desired goal.

Step 5: Monitoring and Optimizing Your Workflow

The work doesn’t stop once your workflow is live. It’s crucial to monitor its performance and make adjustments as needed to maximize its effectiveness.

Tracking Key Metrics

• Monitor key metrics such as email open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. This data will give you insights into how well your workflow is performing and where you can make improvements.

• In HubSpot, go to the Analytics tab in your workflow.
• View the Email performance report to see detailed statistics for each email in your sequence.
• Track the number of contacts enrolled, emails sent, opens, clicks, and conversions.

• Identify areas for improvement. Are your open rates low? Try tweaking your subject lines. Are your click-through rates low? Try improving your email copy or making your CTAs more prominent.

• A IAB report found that personalized emails have 6x higher transaction rates.

A/B Testing

• Conduct A/B tests to optimize your email templates and workflow settings. For example, you could test different subject lines, email copy, or CTAs to see which ones perform best.

• In HubSpot, you can create A/B tests for individual emails within your workflow.
• Click the A/B test button in the email editor.
• Create two versions of your email with different elements (e.g., subject line, image, CTA).
• HubSpot will automatically split your audience and send each version to a portion of your contacts.
• Track the performance of each version and choose the winner based on your chosen metrics.

• Pro Tip: Only test one element at a time to accurately measure the impact of each change.

• Common Mistake: Failing to track and analyze your workflow’s performance, which prevents you from identifying areas for improvement.

• Expected Outcome: A continuously optimized workflow that delivers increasingly better results over time.

I remember when I first started using HubSpot workflows; I didn’t pay enough attention to the analytics. My open rates were abysmal, and I couldn’t figure out why. Once I started A/B testing my subject lines, I saw a dramatic improvement. Here’s what nobody tells you: the real magic happens in the optimization phase.

Running effective practical tutorials doesn’t have to be daunting. By following these steps, you can create a powerful automation that nurtures leads, engages customers, and drives conversions. The key? Define your goals, segment your audience, craft compelling emails, test your workflow, and continuously monitor and optimize its performance. Now go and build that automation! And if you want to take it further, explore how Ad Tech 2026 can help with copy that converts. If you need help building a campaign, consider the Creative Ads Lab.