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About HubSpot Emails
Maricopa Community Colleges uses HubSpot’s Email tool to engage with prospective students, applicants, enrolled students, and alumni. From encouraging students to complete the application process, promoting programs, offering information about scholarships, or sharing key updates on student services, this tool allows us to personalize and tailor content to ensure each message resonates with our audiences.
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Best Practices
1. Implement Email Filtering/Segmentation
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Send Emails to the Right Lists
Why Does Email Segmentation Matter?
Email segmentation helps you target specific groups with content relevant to their needs and interests, making your communications more effective. By segmenting your list, you ensure you are reaching your target audience. For instance, prospective students receive information about admissions, current students stay updated on events and deadlines, and alums receive updates on giving opportunities or news.
Determine List Criteria
Use HubSpot's list criteria to group contacts based on specific characteristics, such as program interest, geographic location, engagement level, or academic progress. You can create active and static lists (which update automatically). Identify the data in your CRM (like academic programs, previous event attendance, or engagement history) and use that to build your lists.
More details can be found here: HubSpot List Criteria Guide | Create and use lists
2. Components of a Successful College Marketing Email
9 Critical Components for Optimized Marketing Emails
To effectively communicate with prospective students, current students, and alums, here are the critical components of a successful college email:
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Creating the correct list to send an email ensures the right messages reach the right people. Creating and segmenting the proper email list is a crucial first step in crafting effective email campaigns.
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See our Knowledge Base article on Lists.
Ensure Proper Email Branding
Following our brand standards in email marketing is essential because it ensures consistency, professionalism, and recognition across all communications.
District Marketing, in collaboration with college marketing teams, has created many templates for your use, which can save your team time by eliminating the need for branding, design, coding, and user experience setup from scratch.
Write Meaningful Copy
The body of your email should be consistent with your institution's voice, whether formal, friendly, or academic.
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Use the Maricopa Community Colleges editorial style guide to create proper and consistent writing.
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Stick to one main topic, such as an upcoming event, application deadlines, or new program announcements.
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Example: "Join us for our Virtual Open House to learn more about our nursing program!"
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Brand Standards
Follow Brand Standards in email marketing are essential because they ensure consistency, professionalism, and recognition across all communications.
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Tailor your email content based on the recipient's specific interests, program of study, or lifecycle stage in the admissions process.
Create an Engaging Subject Line and Preview
Use clear, actionable, and enticing subject lines. Ensure they align with the body of the email and are personalized when possible.
The preview text is the snippet of text that appears next to or below the subject line in an email inbox, providing a brief summary of the content. It is the first piece of information recipients see after the subject line and plays a crucial role in the email's open rate and engagement.
Use Images That Resonate With Your Audience
Choose high-quality, optimized images that look great on any device. Images of campus, student life, or recent events help capture attention and create visually
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engaging emails.
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Example: Use photos from recent campus activities or virtual tours to bring your email to life.
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Use Calls-to-Action (CTA)
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A well-crafted
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CTA
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is crucial in any email
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. It eliminates confusion, providing a clear, direct path for the recipient to follow. Whether it's applying for a program, signing up for a campus tour, or registering for an event, the CTA needs to clearly define the action you want the recipient to take.
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Example: "Apply Now for Fall 2024" or "Sign Up for Our Campus Tour."
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CTAs are also important in that the create email engagement, which promotes Click Rates and Click-Through Rates (CTR), both of which are essential to HubSpot’s email health.
Time Your Emails Correctly
According to studies, emails sent on Tuesday at 11
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a.m. have the highest response rates. For colleges, consider timing emails around essential events like admissions deadlines, enrollment periods, or mid-semester updates.
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Responsiveness:
Since 55% of emails are opened on mobile devices, ensure your email is optimized for all screen sizes. This includes using mobile-friendly layouts, readable fonts, and images that scale correctly.
Example: Students often check emails on their phones, so make sure all the links and forms are easily accessible
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Personalization:
Personalization goes beyond just adding a student's name to the subject line. You should tailor content based on the recipient's specific interests, program of study, or lifecycle stage in the admissions process.
Example: "Hi [First Name], are you ready for orientation next month?" or "Hey [First Name], explore financial aid options for [Program Name]."
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Subject Line:
Use clear, actionable, and enticing subject lines. Ensure they align with the body of the email and are personalized when possible.
Example: "Your Next Step to Becoming a [Program Name] Student" or "Explore Scholarship Opportunities at [College Name]."
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Email Preview Text:
The preview text is the snippet of text that appears next to or below the subject line in an email inbox, providing a brief summary of the content. It is the first piece of information recipients see after the subject line and plays a crucial role on the emails open rate and engagement.
Example: Subject line: "Don’t Miss This Opportunity,” the preview text could add value with something like, "Apply today for Fall 2024 programs before deadlines approach."
3. Use Email Marketing Templates
Email marketing templates are a valuable resource for colleges looking to streamline their email campaigns. These templates can save your team time by eliminating the need for custom design, coding, and user experience setup from scratch.
Our in-house designers and developers have crafted user-friendly templates to simplify the email creation process. This allows your team to focus on what truly matters—crafting compelling content that resonates with prospective students, current students, alumni, and other key stakeholders.
💻 Watch Our Video on Emails
[pending video links for email]
📄 Step-by-Step Instructions for Planning Your Email
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| title | 1. Identify the goal of your email |
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As with any marketing effort, the first step in email marketing is clearly defining your desired outcome. Are you promoting a new program, providing registration updates, or nurturing leads? Each type of campaign requires different strategies and approaches. By determining the purpose of your email campaign, you can create targeted objectives and set clear goals for success.
Email Planning Template Resource - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Fu52Wkh0NtgQs4JjwYXhSAw3045SH_C-iQKFhBMdTk8/edit?usp=sharing
Consider these common Email use cases.
Informative Emails | Promotional | Enrollment/Admissions |
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| title | 2. Define Your Audience |
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Effective emails, whether part of a campaign or standalone, begin with a clear audience understanding. Start by identifying your target audience, which involves understanding their demographics, interests, and pain points. Tailor your messaging to address these pain points and meet the specific needs of your audience. Segmenting your audience and personalizing emails ensures you deliver relevant content to the right people at the right time.
Example Segments
Segment by Program Interest
| Lifecycle Segmentation
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Behavioral Segmentation
| Email Engagement Segmentation
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3. Build Your Email List:
Create an email list with prospects who are excited to hear from you. There are many creative ways to grow your email list. Instead, successful list building focuses on two key components that work together to increase your subscriber count: lead magnets and opt-in forms.
Lead Magnets: Incentives you offer in exchange for a prospect's email address. Examples include newsletter subscriptions, admissions checklists, or guides on specific academic programs.
Opt-in Forms: The RFI forms on your college's website, landing pages, and social media channels are used to capture email addresses.
4. Establish a Timeline
Decide how frequently you'll contact your list and inform your audience of this schedule upfront to set expectations and reduce the likelihood of unsubscribes or spam reports. Consistency is key for building trust and keeping your brand top of mind.
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| title | 3. Build Your Email List |
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Create an email list with prospects who are excited to hear from you. There are many creative ways to grow your email list. Instead, successful list building focuses on two key components that work together to increase your subscriber count: lead magnets and opt-in forms.
Lead Magnets: Incentives you offer in exchange for a prospect's email address. Examples include newsletter subscriptions, admissions checklists, or guides on specific academic programs.
Opt-in Forms: The RFI forms on your college's website, landing pages, and social media channels are used to capture email addresses.
Watch Our Video on Lists
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Decide how frequently you'll contact your list and inform your audience of this schedule upfront to set expectations and reduce the likelihood of unsubscribes or spam reports. Consistency is key for building trust and keeping your brand top of mind.
What is Email Cadence? What Marketers Should Know + Best Practices |
📄 How to Access Email Templates
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| title | How to access email templates |
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In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Marketing Email.
In the top right, click Create email.
In the dialog box, select an email type.
Click the Drag and drop tab.
Existing templates will be listed under the Saved templates section.
Click Manage saved templates in the top right panel.
Click the View dropdown menu or Sort by dropdown menu to filter the list of templates.
To preview, manage, or create a new email from one of your templates, click the Actions dropdown menu, then select an option:
Preview: render the desktop and mobile version of your template.
Edit: modify your template using the drag and drop email editor.
Clone: duplicate a template.
Use this template: create a new email using the template.
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💻 Watch Our Video on Emails
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📄 Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating and Managing Emails
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Access Your College’s Email TemplatesTo see your college’s emails in HubSpot, navigate to Marketing > Email. If you cannot see emails or do not have access to create them, you will need to reach out to your college enrollment and marketing teams for permission.
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Build a New Email
When using tokens, be sure to include a “Fallback Value” to be used if the email recipient’s information is not available. |
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Configure Email Settings
Send Your Email
If this is an automated email, your email will be sent through a workflow. You can learn more about HubSpot Workflows here. |
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For additional instructions on creating and managing emails, view All all HubSpot Marketing Email articles. |