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.
🏆 Email Best Practices
Send Emails to the Right Lists
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. 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. Use the Maricopa Community Colleges editorial style guide to create proper and consistent writing.
Stick to one main topic, such as an upcoming event, application deadlines, or new program announcements.
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 engaging emails.
Use Calls-to-Action (CTA)
A well-crafted CTA is crucial in any email. 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.
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 a.m. have the highest response rates. For colleges, consider timing emails around essential events like admissions deadlines, enrollment periods, or mid-semester updates.
đź’» Watch Our Video on Emails
https://vimeo.com/1023432952?share=copy
đź“„ Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating and Managing Emails
 1. Access Email Templates
To 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.
Here, you will see the emails already in place for your college. If you have questions about existing emails in the system, contact your local college Marketing department for clarification. In general, District Marketing and your college marketing team have collaborated on your college’s emails, so these will have consistent branding, proper formatting, and compliance.
To see your college’s emails in HubSpot, navigate to Marketing and then Email.
 1. Identify the goal of your email
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.
Consider these common Email use cases.
| Promotional | Enrollment/Admissions |
|---|
Important Dates: Remind students of critical dates, like the start of the semester, drop/add deadlines, and tuition payment deadlines. Financial Aid Notifications: Provide updates on the status of financial aid applications, deadlines, or disbursement details. Resource Updates: Provide students with information about scholarships, financial aid, counseling, advising, tutoring, and other essential resources.
| New Programs and Bachelor's Degrees: Share information about new programs available at your college, including bachelor's degrees, certifications, and micro-credentials. Early College Programs: Share Information regarding programs for high school students looking to earn college credit. Upcoming Events: Promote campus events, workshops, job fairs, graduation ceremonies, information sessions, and more.
| Registration Updates: Inform students about their class registration status, including waitlist updates or changes to their schedule. Inquiry Follow-ups: Ensure students who inquire about programs receive timely responses and feel supported during enrollment. Re-enrollment Reminders: Encourage students who have paused their studies to re-enroll by highlighting upcoming deadlines and available support.
|
 2. Define Your Audience
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 Colleges can group students and prospective applicants based on their declared major or areas of interest. This way, emails can focus on relevant programs, upcoming deadlines, or new course offerings specific to their interests. Example: "Students interested in health care programs can receive emails about upcoming classes, certifications, and career fairs in the medical field."
| Lifecycle Segmentation HubSpot allows colleges to tailor emails based on the contacts lifecycle. Prospect Application Started Applicant Matriculate Enrolled Graduate Employee
Example: "Send Prospects reminders about application deadlines, while Enrolled receive updates on course registration or academic advising."
|
Behavioral Segmentation Segment based on student behavior, such as engagement with email, event attendance, or website activity.
| Email Engagement Segmentation |
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.
 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.
Watch Our Video on Lists
https://vimeo.com/1021075197?share=copy 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.
Understand Your Audience: Tailor your email timing and frequency based on audience preferences and engagement.
Test & Optimize: Use A/B testing to find the right cadence.
Consistency: Maintain a balance—frequent enough to stay relevant, but not overwhelming.
Personalization: Ensure content feels relevant to recipients.
Give Control: Allow users to set their preferred email frequency.
Track Performance: Use analytics to adjust cadence as needed.
What is Email Cadence? What Marketers Should Know + Best Practices