AI Skill Report Card
Building Email Campaign Lists
Building Email Campaign Lists in HubSpot
Quick Start15 / 15
1. Review campaign brief → Identify goal, audience, messaging needs
2. Map filters: Lifecycle + Engagement + Firmographic + Exclusions
3. Build test list in HubSpot with 3-5 key filters
4. Spot-check 20-30 contacts for fit validation
5. Refine filters based on validation feedback
Recommendation▾
Remove 'Progress:' label in Step 4 - the checklist format is clear without it
Workflow13 / 15
Phase 1: Campaign Analysis
Step 1: Brief Review
- Campaign goal (conversion, nurture, re-engagement)
- Target audience definition
- Message/offer specifics
- Success metrics
Step 2: Strategic Filter Planning Think through filter combinations:
- Who SHOULD get this message? (inclusion criteria)
- Who should NOT? (exclusion criteria)
- What engagement level fits the campaign tone?
Phase 3: HubSpot List Building
Step 3: Core Filter Setup Standard filter stack:
Marketing contact = "Marketing contact" (compliance)
Email domain doesn't contain [company domains] (exclude employees)
+ 2-4 strategic filters based on campaign
Step 4: List Validation Progress:
- Create initial list with filters
- Export sample of 50 contacts
- Manual review: Do these contacts fit the campaign?
- Document mismatches and reasons
- Adjust filters based on findings
- Re-validate with new sample
Step 5: Final List Optimization
- Check list size (sweet spot: 500-5000 for most campaigns)
- Ensure data quality (valid emails, complete profiles)
- Document filter logic for future reference
Recommendation▾
Condense the Best Practices section by combining related points and eliminating redundancy
Examples20 / 20
Example 1: Customer Re-engagement Campaign Input: Goal to re-engage existing customers who haven't opened emails recently Filters:
- Lifecycle stage = Customer
- Marketing emails opened ≥ 1 AND ≤ 3 (last 6 months)
- Last deal close date > 6 months ago
- Marketing contact = "Marketing contact"
- Email domain doesn't contain "companyname" Output: 847 customers for win-back campaign
Example 2: Prospect Nurture Sequence Input: Warm prospects for product education series Filters:
- Marketing emails opened ≥ 2
- Lifecycle stage = Lead OR Marketing Qualified Lead
- Created date < 90 days
- Company size: 50-500 employees (ICP fit)
- NOT in active deals Output: 1,203 prospects for nurture track
Example 3: Event Invitation (Geographic) Input: Regional event invitation for manufacturing prospects Filters:
- State/Region = Michigan, Ohio, Indiana
- Industry = Manufacturing
- Job title contains: "Operations" OR "Plant" OR "Production"
- Lifecycle stage ≠ Customer, Evangelist
- Marketing emails opened ≥ 1 (last 3 months) Output: 234 regional prospects for event invitation
Recommendation▾
Streamline Phase naming (has Phase 1 and 3 but no Phase 2) and reduce workflow verbosity
Best Practices
Filter Strategy:
- Start with compliance (marketing contact status)
- Add exclusions early (employees, competitors, unsubscribed)
- Layer targeting filters (demographic → firmographic → behavioral)
- Use engagement history as a qualifier, not the only criteria
List Sizing:
- B2B campaigns: 500-2,000 contacts for optimal deliverability
- Re-engagement: Smaller, highly targeted (200-800)
- Nurture sequences: Larger acceptable (1,000-5,000)
Data Quality Checks:
- Spot-check job titles align with campaign messaging
- Verify company sizes match your ICP
- Ensure recent email engagement exists
- Remove obviously bad data (test@company.com, etc.)
Documentation:
- Save filter combinations as templates
- Note why specific filters were chosen
- Track list performance for future optimization
Common Pitfalls
Over-segmentation:
- Don't create 20 micro-lists of 50 people each
- Balance precision with volume for statistical significance
Stale Engagement Data:
- Don't rely solely on "all-time" opens/clicks
- Use time-bound engagement (last 90-180 days)
Missing Exclusions:
- Always exclude current customers from prospect campaigns
- Check for active deal contacts to avoid sales/marketing conflicts
- Remember competitor domains and internal employees
Lifecycle Stage Confusion:
- Map your company's lifecycle definitions before filtering
- Don't assume HubSpot defaults match your sales process
- Use combination filters when single lifecycle stages are unreliable
Validation Shortcuts:
- Never skip the manual review step
- 10-contact spot checks aren't enough for 2,000+ lists
- Review edge cases, not just obvious fits