We are currently setting up a lead magnet flow in HubSpot Starter and have encountered an issue for which we haven’t yet found a clean solution. Perhaps someone here has a best practice or a workaround for us
Our desired flow:
Person fills out a form (lead magnet, e.g., report download)
Person receives a double opt-in (DOI) email and confirms their email address
Person gets access to the download document
A quick DOI question beforehand: Is DOI actually mandatory in this context? We want to work in compliance with GDPR - if DOI can be dispensed with here (e.g., because no newsletter subscription is involved), it would significantly expand our options. We aren’t 100% sure about this and would appreciate your insights.
Assuming DOI is necessary - we have considered three approaches, but hit our limits with all three in Starter:
Option 1: Embed download link directly in the DOI email
In Starter, the DOI email is not editable. We have no way to insert custom content like a download link.
Option 2: Redirect to external thank-you page with download after DOI confirmation
This would be our preferred solution. The confirmation page after clicking the DOI link would directly redirect to our own thank-you page where the download is available. Problem: This redirect option is not available in HubSpot Starter - it seems to only exist from Professional upwards.
Option 3: Automated follow-up email with download link after DOI confirmation
After confirmation, a separate email with the download link would be sent automatically. Problem: Workflows are not available in Starter. The only automation option we have is “Send email when form is submitted” - but this triggers on form submission, i.e., before DOI confirmation. This would mean: the user receives both the DOI email and the download email simultaneously, allowing them to access the download without confirmation.
What we are looking for:
Is there a clean workaround in HubSpot Starter for this use case? Have we misjudged or overlooked a possibility? Or is this simply a product limitation that can only be resolved by upgrading to Professional?
Is DOI actually mandatory in this context? We want to operate in compliance with GDPR – if DOI can be avoided here (e.g., because no newsletter subscription is involved), that would significantly expand our options. We’re not 100% sure about this and would appreciate your insights.
Different data protection officers have different views on this. Ultimately, the person at your company who would receive a complaint should answer this – and if they don’t have a legal background, you should consult a data protection service provider.
I could argue both sides here, but I can’t/won’t provide legal advice.
Option 2: Redirect to external thank-you page with download after DOI confirmation
This would be our preferred solution. The confirmation page after clicking the DOI link would redirect directly to a custom thank-you page where the download is available. Problem: This redirect option is not available in HubSpot Starter – it seems to only exist from Professional upwards.
Again, unfortunately correct – not possible in Marketing Hub Starter and also technically non-trivial beyond that.
Option 3: Automated follow-up email with download link after DOI confirmation
After confirmation, a separate email with the download link would be sent automatically. Problem: Workflows are not available in Starter. The only automation option we have is “Send email when form is submitted” – but this triggers on form submission, i.e., before DOI confirmation. This would mean: the user receives the DOI email and the download email simultaneously, so they could access the download without confirming.
That is also correct – without Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, you can’t solve this natively.
Is there a clean workaround in HubSpot Starter for this use case? Did we misjudge or overlook something? Or is this simply a product limitation that can only be resolved by upgrading to Professional?
The latter, unfortunately. I’ve set up more than 100 double opt-in processes over the last 10 years, and with the Marketing Hub Starter license, you’re limited to a minimum set of functionality. It only becomes flexible with Marketing Hub Professional. If you need help here and upgrading to Marketing Hub Professional is indeed an option, feel free to reach out and I’ll gladly share my individual assessment again.
If you look closely, the problem isn’t fully resolved; it’s merely postponed by five years.
What happens? The workflow waits for five years until the double opt-in process is successfully completed (once the DOI process is completed, the property value changes to “user click confirmation”), and then the follow-up email is sent.
I might be missing the obvious, but in my view, this is truly the only way that works. I find HubSpot’s Starter solution quite weak, because DOI is a standard requirement in the German market, and this form submission and follow-up email process regularly fails under standard conditions.
