There are two different functions of the LaunchNotes HubSpot integration. This help article will focus on syncing your subscribers between LaunchNoters and HubSpot. Use the links below to quickly jump to a section of this help article:
Setting up the integration
Preparing HubSpot for Subscriber Sync
To kick things off, configure LaunchNotes product updates as a subscription type. This can be found in Hubspot under Tools > Marketing > Email > Subscription Types.
Select the + create subscription type button, and then fill in the details.
You can also associate LaunchNotes emails to an existing email subscription type (for example, "Marketing"), however it is recommended that you set up a new subscription type in the case that a user unsubscribes from that particular subscription type (i.e. marketing emails as a whole).
These subscription types will show up on your default subscription preferences page - after creating Product Updates as a subscription type, you'll be able to see this under the Subscriptions folder under the same Email settings tab in your HubSpot Account.
With these steps done, your HubSpot Environment will be set up. You can test this connection out by heading over to a contact/list of contacts in HubSpot and subscribe them to LaunchNotes.
Testing the Subscriber Sync
❗ In order to be subscribed to LaunchNotes, a subscriber must have its Subscription Status specified as "subscribe"
You can test the subscriber sync out with an individual contact or list of test contacts. If an individual contact, make sure to change their Subscriber status on their record/profile by selecting "Subscriber Status" and changing the Product Updates channel to Subscribe.
If using a list, you can do this subscribe action in bulk - select a list of contacts, then select the +edit communication subscriptions button.
This will bring up the window to Edit subscription status for email. Select the status as "subscribe" and select the Subscription type you created/associated to LaunchNotes.
❗ HubSpot requires you set a "Legal basis for communicating with contact" - select the appropriate option and enter an explanation into the open text field (required). This can be anything but will be shown in the Audit Log in HubSpot.
Connecting LaunchNotes to HubSpot
In your LaunchNotes account management portal, head to Settings > Integrations and select the HubSpot app. Here you'll be taken to the HubSpot app and prompted to select your HubSpot project to your LaunchNotes account.
You'll also be shown all of the permissions that LaunchNotes is requesting. Select the Connect App button to move forward with the integration. This step connects LaunchNotes with HubSpot, which you'll be able to see in your HubSpot account under Account Management > Connected Apps
Back in your LaunchNotes management portal, under the HubSpot integration you'll now be able to see the HubSpot email subscription type you've just created - in this example Product Updates. Select this subscription type and then the Update button. Doing this kicks off the bidirectional sync.
⏲️ It can take several minutes for the Sync to run through to completion depending on the number of contacts being synced.
Once this is complete, you'll only be able to update your contacts in HubSpot. To make this easier, we've added a button under the Audience > Subscribers tab and other areas where you can change subscriber preferences (for example, Roadmap Items), that will take you to your Contacts page in HubSpot, where you can update these records directly in each Contact.
Viewing and Updating your Contacts' Subscriptions in HubSpot
On the subscriber record in HubSpot, you can edit the card properties to add in LaunchNotes attributes (Categories and Roadmap items they're subscribed to). You can do this by selecting the Actions dropdown menu under the About this contact section on the subscriber record, then Customize Properties > Add Properties which will bring up the Edit card properties form where you can scroll to find the LaunchNotes properties (searching for these doesn't work at this time).
💭 These categories and roadmap items will exist whether they're visible or not on the contact card as properties.
When selected on the Edit card properties form, you'll now be able to see these fields along with their current subscribed LaunchNotes categories and roadmap items for each contact. You can also edit a subscribers' subscribed categories and roadmap items by clicking into these boxes and selecting/deselecting these, which will be in a populated menu list that pulls from your LaunchNotes page.
Manually adding a subscriber to your LaunchNotes page
If you want to manually subscribe someone to your LaunchNotes page, in Hubspot simply click into the Communication subscriptions box (view subscriptions) on the contact form in HubSpot, and change the status to Subscribed for the channel you created for Product Updates.
Importing a list of subscribers to HubSpot
If you wish to import a list of subscribers to Hubspot in order to have them added to your LaunchNotes subscriber list, ensure that you have the "set these contacts as marketing contacts" box selected. It is recommended that you also create a list from this import if you wish to report on this import in the future.
Ensure imported contacts to HubSpot are checked as Marketing Contacts
Important things to be aware of:
Explicit opt-ins only sync from HubSpot to LaunchNotes
Contacts will only sync from HubSpot to LaunchNotes if they have explicitly opted into a specific email subscription type in HubSpot, meaning they are marked as "Subscribed" with a legal basis for their subscription. Conversely, all confirmed subscribers in LaunchNotes will sync to HubSpot, either updating existing contacts or creating new ones with relevant information.
Custom properties in HubSpot
Categories and roadmap items from LaunchNotes are added as custom properties in HubSpot and are regularly synced to reflect all available options. HubSpot users can view and modify the specific categories and work items that a contact is subscribed to using these custom properties.
Multiple LaunchNotes projects can connect to the same HubSpot account
Multiple HubSpot projects can be configured with the same HubSpot instance, however unless the audiences should be identical, different email subscription types should be used for each connected project.
Management of subscribers through HubSpot only
Once LaunchNotes is connected to HubSpot, certain controls, like subscriber import and manual confirmation or unsubscription of subscribers, will no longer be available in LaunchNotes. These actions must be managed through HubSpot instead, with links provided in LaunchNotes. However, subscriber-initiated changes made through LaunchNotes (such as confirming, unsubscribing, or updating categories) will still be saved and synced to HubSpot.
Some subscriber sync actions can be delayed up to 6 hours
Due to limitations in HubSpot's webhook support, some subscriber updates from HubSpot may take up to 6 hours to apply in LaunchNotes. The app performs a full sync every 6 hours to capture these delayed events. Changes like moving a contact's subscription to a "Not specified" state or subscribing contacts who weren't previously unsubscribed may not sync immediately. However, events like unsubscribes and changes to subscribed categories or roadmap items will sync nearly in real-time, as HubSpot webhooks are available for these actions.
⛑️ If you have any questions or would like some help with setting up your HubSpot integration, please reach out to us at [email protected] or via live chat within your management portal
>> If you're looking to continue on to setting up sending emails from HubSpot via LaunchNotes, please visit our Setting-up Email Notifications Sent Via HubSpot help article >>