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Email From a Free HubSpot Account in 22 Minutes, Yes, Really

Setting up a working B2B newsletter with free tools only, from empty account to delivered email, in 22 minutes. Every step with screenshots.

By Mark Koemans 2 min read

Illustration of a person at a laptop showing the HubSpot CRM contact list, with contact avatars and a paper plane above the screen

This article is also available in German.Read the German version

I wanted to run a quick test: could I set up a working B2B newsletter in under 30 minutes, using only free tools, to promote an inflatable airtrack mat to physiotherapists?

Time budget

30 min

Actually needed

22 min

Cost

CHF 0

A free HubSpot account, no trial, no card

The test, and the result

Spoiler: yes, I could. And I did it in 22 minutes.

But here is the thing. Even though my test involved selling a physical product, it is especially service businesses that benefit most from a clean, organised CRM setup. Whether you offer coaching, consulting, therapy or digital services, anything where relationships matter, a structured CRM is your best friend. And the fact that I could do this so quickly and for free proves there is no excuse not to get started.

Step by step, what I actually did

  1. Created a free HubSpot account. Two minutes. No hidden fees, no trial. Just free.
  2. Asked ChatGPT for a list of physiotherapists in the German speaking part of Switzerland. I needed a target group for an inflatable airtrack mat, which suits physiotherapy clinics well.
  3. Uploaded the contact list into HubSpot. It matched the fields automatically and stored the contacts.
  4. Created a persona. My ideal customer: a staff member working in a physiotherapy practice.
  5. Tagged all contacts with that persona and set their preferred language, so future campaigns can be segmented by audience and language.
  6. Created a newsletter promoting the mat, highlighting balance training, dynamic rehab sessions and injury prevention.
  7. Sent the newsletter to a test address. Done, in under 30 minutes.

The offer in the newsletter itself was simple:

What the newsletter promised

  • Starting at CHF 139
  • Includes pump and free shipping
  • Multiple lengths and thicknesses available
  • Three year warranty

The whole thing in screenshots

The German HubSpot Marketing Hub landing page with the Kostenlos starten button highlighted in red
1. Start here. The free plan is the orange button.
Step 1 of the HubSpot onboarding asking what to focus on first, with Marketing automatisieren selected
2. Pick a focus. Sending a newsletter sits under marketing automation.
Step 2 of the HubSpot onboarding offering app connections, with Gmail and Google Calendar ticked
3. Connect the apps you already use.
Step 3 of the HubSpot onboarding, a table of two sample contacts with first name, last name, email, job title and lead status
4. Add the first contacts by hand to see how the CRM is shaped.
Step 4 of the HubSpot onboarding, a form to invite team members by email address
5. The free CRM currently includes two seats with full access to tools like email sending, meeting links and forms.
The HubSpot contact import screen, step 1 of 3, with a drop area for a CSV, XLSX or XLS file and a sample template to download
6. Upload the list.
Step 2 of 3 of the HubSpot import, mapping the file columns email, first name and last name onto the matching HubSpot contact properties
7. The columns are mapped automatically.
The HubSpot properties settings filtered for perso, with the Persona property highlighted in the list
8. Create the persona.
The HubSpot Persona property editor with one custom option named Mitarbeiter bei einem Physiotherapeuten and the internal value persono_1
9. And give it a value you can filter on later.
The HubSpot contact list with twelve imported physiotherapy practices selected, showing name, email and lead status columns
10. Your first contact list.
The HubSpot bulk edit dialog for twelve records, setting the Persona property to Mitarbeiter bei einem Physiotherapeuten
11. Assign the persona to all of them at once.
The same HubSpot bulk edit dialog setting the preferred language of all twelve records to German
12. Same for the preferred language.
The HubSpot send confirmation asking whether the email is ready to go out, noting it will reach one contact
13. Your first email, one confirmation away.
The delivered email in a Gmail inbox with the subject line about airtracks from CHF 139 including pump and shipping
14. Delivered.

Why am I sharing this?

Because anyone can do this. You do not need an agency, you do not need a big budget, and you do not need weeks of setup time. With a free HubSpot account and a little help from ChatGPT, you can go from zero to email-ready in no time and start marketing your product today.

If you want to go further, read how a CRM pays off and when it is worth starting one.

Need a hand?

If your setup is a bit bigger, or you simply want it right from the start, we are happy to help with complex HubSpot setups, training for your team, automations and workflows, a newsletter service or a website on the HubSpot CMS.