How email marketing automations work: basics and tools

Email marketing automations: The most important things in brief

• Automated emails are sent through defined triggers such as logins, purchases, or inactivity.
• Typical email marketing automations are welcome series, emails following shopping cart cancellations, reactivations, and post-purchase emails.
• HubSpot, Klaviyo, Brevo, ActiveCampaign, and Mailchimp are among the most used tools. HubSpot integrates automation directly into CRM.
• For legally secure shipping Marketing emails have an opt-in obligation, unsubscribe link and the requirements of RevDSG (CH) or GDPR (EU).

What is the basis for email marketing automation?

Email marketing automation uses defined triggers such as form submissions, purchases, page views, or time intervals to automatically send relevant messages. The basis is structured customer data such as behavior, segment membership or interaction history.

In contrast to conventional newsletters, delivery is completely rule-based via workflows. As a result, Emails automatically at the right time and delivered with appropriate content.

systems such as HubSpot, Brevo or ActiveCampaign combine contact information, event data and workflow logic to efficiently control communication chains and make them consistently measurable.

Which email marketing automations are most effective?

The most effective automations are welcome series, shopping cart abandonment messages, reactivation campaigns and post-purchase emails, as they are directly linked to measurable events in user behavior.

Email automation works particularly well when the trigger is clearly defined and the recipient's intent is clearly visible. The most used and effective workflows include:

• Welcome series: Is triggered after registration and provides basic information, initial offers or information on further content. Opening rates are above 60% on average.
• Shopping cart abandonment: Send a reminder and, optionally, a discount code after a certain period of time; according to statistics, can recover up to 10% of lost revenue.
• Reactivation campaign: Identifies inactive recipients and tries to reactivate them through targeted incentives. Success rate: 20% on average.
• Post-purchase email: Follows an order, contains additional information, product recommendations or review links, and measurably increases cross-selling and upselling sales.
• Birthday or anniversary email: Uses set dates as triggers and creates high interaction rates through personalized context.

How do you set up an email marketing automation?

First, set the goal of this email marketing campaign, check the recipient data, and set the trigger. You can then create the content of the emails, test and activate them.

• Define goal: Determine which action should be automated, such as welcome email, shopping cart cancellation, or reactivation. Formulate a measurable goal such as “10% more purchases after shopping cart abandonment.”
• Check recipient data: Make sure that contacts have valid consents (double opt-in) and that the relevant data fields are available, such as name, email, last purchase, or registration date.
• Set triggers: Select the event that triggers email delivery. Examples: Form completed, product purchased, inactive for 30 days.
• Define conditions and times: Decide when and to whom the email is sent. Example: “Ship 24 hours after cart abandonment if no purchase has been made. ”
• Create email content: Create a template with a clear subject line, relevant content, and a working call-to-action. Only use personalizations when the data is reliable.
• Perform a test: First, send the automation to yourself or a test segment. Check the subject line, links, placeholders, and tracking.
• Activate and watch: Start automation and monitor metrics such as click-through rate, conversion, and cancellations. Adjust triggers or content if the values differ from the goal.

Which tools are suitable for email automation?

Suitable tools differ primarily in their range of functions, integrations and costs. HubSpot, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Brevo and ActiveCampaign are among the most used software. Your choice depends on:

• integration with CRM or shop system: This is the only way to automatically use customer and behavioral data.
• Workflow logic: The tool should be able to map multiple triggers, conditions, and actions in a single process.
• Reporting and tracking: Clicks, conversions, and cancellations must be measurable.
• Data protection: GDPR and RevDSG compliant opt-in management, unsubscribe links, and data deletion.
• expenses: Automations are usually billed according to the number of contacts or email volume.

How do email automations work in HubSpot?

HubSpot combines email delivery, CRM data and automation logic in one interface. Every email can be automated at a contact, company, or deal level. The basis is so-called workflows, in which triggers, conditions and actions are defined.

HubSpot email automation workflows and triggers

Workflows start automatically as soon as a specific event occurs, such as a form submission, a property change, or a purchase. Conditions allow you to control who receives which email. Several emails can be linked into series, for example for onboarding or follow-up.

Data and segmentation

HubSpot accesses CRM data directly. This allows recipients to be segmented by contact data, behavior, lifecycle status, or user-defined fields. Changes to this data can in turn serve as triggers.

Delivery time and optimization

With the Send-Time Optimization (STO) feature, HubSpot determines the best individual sending time for each contact. Alternatively, shipping can be controlled by time zones.

Double opt-in and compliance in HubSpot

The HubSpot system supports multi-stage double opt-in processes and manages consents via so-called subscription types. This makes it possible to document and manage GDPR and RevDSG compliant opt-ins.

e-commerce integration

Standard integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce can be used to automate emails following shopping cart cancellations, follow-up emails and product suggestions. Purchase data and transactions are available directly in the workflow.

Transactional emails in HubSpot

For notifications such as invoices or password resets, HubSpot offers a separate transactional email API. These emails are sent via a dedicated IP address and are independent of the marketing opt-in.

Email automation analytics and reporting in HubSpot

HubSpot provides detailed reports on clicks, conversions, and revenue contributions. In Customer Journey Analytics, you can understand which automations make the biggest contribution to conversion.

We at Axisbits have been working with HubSpot ourselves for years and are now an official HubSpot partner for Switzerland. Want to set up email automation and get more conversions? Then get in touch with us!

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What are the legal requirements for email automation in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, the Unfair Competition Act (UWG) and the revised Data Protection Act (RevDSG) regulate the requirements for email marketing. As soon as data from customers from the EU is processed, the GDPR also applies. In principle, all require prior consent from the recipient and an easy option to unsubscribe.

Both Swiss and EU law allow unsolicited electronic advertising under certain conditions.

Legal requirements in Switzerland

According to Art. 3 para. 1 lit. o UWG, sending mass emails without consent is considered unfair. An exception is if there is already a customer relationship, the message concerns our own, similar products or services and there is a free unsubscribe option.

Since September 2023, the revised Data Protection Act (RevDSG) has required companies to make the handling of personal data transparent. In particular, this includes:

• Proof of valid consent (opt-in, ideally double opt-in)
• Purpose of data processing
• Duty to provide information about data collection and use
• Possibility to revoke and delete data

European Union legal requirements

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires clear, verifiable consent for any form of electronic direct marketing.

• Consent must be voluntary, specific and documented.
• Recipients must be able to unsubscribe at any time.
• The sender must be clearly identifiable.
• Data may only be used for the specified purpose.

Implementation of legal requirements in the email tool

Systems such as HubSpot or Brevo store opt-ins and manage them via so-called subscription types or contact lists with consent status. This makes it possible to understand when and via which channel consent was given.

The double opt-in process remains the recommended method to securely meet both Swiss and EU requirements.

Mandatory information in every email

Each message sent must include:

• the full sender (company, address, contact details)
• a working unsubscribe link that can be reached without login or additional steps
• optional: reference to privacy policy or imprint

These requirements apply regardless of the tool used. Compliance is a prerequisite for legally compliant email automation.