Campaign Analytics – Track CTR and open rates in reports

Understanding the true impact of your marketing campaigns is crucial for any growth-driven team. 📊 Tracking key metrics like click-through rates (CTR) and open rates in HubSpot not only sheds light on campaign performance but also guides strategic decisions. In this article, specifically tailored for HubSpot departments, you will learn how to build practical automation workflows using tools like n8n, Make, and Zapier. These workflows integrate services such as Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, and HubSpot itself to enable real-time, actionable campaign analytics reporting.

We’ll cover step-by-step instructions on setting up these automations, handling common challenges, and optimizing for scale and security. By the end, you’ll harness automated insights that save time and give your team an edge in campaign optimization.

Why Automate Tracking of CTR and Open Rates in HubSpot?

Manual reporting of campaign engagement metrics like CTR and open rates can be tedious and error-prone. Teams often export data from HubSpot and manually consolidate it with external spreadsheets or communication tools. Automation workflows bridge this gap by:

• Collecting real-time analytics data from HubSpot.
• Aggregating detailed metrics across campaigns into Google Sheets for deeper analysis.
• Notifying stakeholders via Slack for prompt action on campaign results.

These benefits translate into faster decision cycles, improved campaign targeting, and reduced manual workloads, especially critical for startup CTOs, automation engineers, and operations specialists.

Tools and Services to Integrate

We will build workflows integrating the following key services:

• HubSpot – For campaign analytics API data (CTR, open rates, etc.).
• Gmail – Optional for sending automated summary reports.
• Google Sheets – To store and visualize campaign data dynamically.
• Slack – For alerting marketing teams immediately when campaign KPIs cross thresholds.
• Automation Platforms – n8n, Make (formerly Integromat), or Zapier.

These platforms offer powerful connector nodes and support HTTP API calls, enabling robust integrations and workflows.

Building an End-to-End Automation Workflow

Step 1: Triggering the Workflow

The initial trigger can be time-based (scheduled to run daily/weekly) or event-driven (e.g., new campaign data available in HubSpot). For demonstration, we’ll use a scheduled trigger at 7 AM daily:

• n8n: Set the Cron node to ‘0 7 * * *’.
• Make/Zapier: Use the Schedule module with daily recurrence.

This ensures up-to-date campaign analytics extraction every day without manual input.

Step 2: Fetch Campaign Analytics from HubSpot

Using the HubSpot Marketing Email and Campaign APIs, fetch campaign details including CTR and open rates.

Key API endpoints:

• /email/public/v1/campaigns – to list campaigns
• /email/public/v1/campaigns/{campaignId}/statistics – for metrics about open rates, CTR

In the automation node:

• HTTP Request Node configuration (n8n/Make):
• Method: GET
• URL: https://api.hubapi.com/email/public/v1/campaigns
• Headers: Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>

Iterate through campaigns and retrieve their respective statistics. Map these outputs for further processing.

Step 3: Store Data in Google Sheets for Analysis

Store or update daily statistics for each campaign in a designated Google Sheets file.

Google Sheets Node Details:

• Spreadsheet ID: your_campaign_analytics_sheet_id
• Sheet name: “Daily Metrics”
• Map fields:
• Date
• Campaign Name
• Open Rate (%)
• CTR (%)

The workflow should upsert rows by date and campaign to avoid duplicates.

Step 4: Notify Teams via Slack Based on Thresholds 🚦

Automatically alert the marketing or growth team if CTR or open rates fall below predefined thresholds, enabling quick optimization actions.

• Define thresholds, e.g., CTR < 2%, Open Rate < 20%
• Filter campaign metrics that meet these conditions using conditional branching nodes.
• Send detailed alert messages to Slack channels using Slack’s Incoming Webhooks.

Example Slack Message:
“Campaign *{{CampaignName}}* has a low CTR of {{CTR}}% as of {{Date}}. Please review and optimize!”

Optional Step 5: Send Summary Reports via Gmail

To further streamline communication, emails with daily or weekly summaries can be sent out. Use Gmail API or SMTP node to mail stakeholders with Google Sheets snapshot links or key highlights extracted from the workflow.

Workflow Breakdown: Detailed Node Configuration

Node 1: Cron Trigger

Fields:

• Schedule: Daily at 7:00 AM

Node 2: HubSpot List Campaigns

HTTP Request Node setup example:

Method: GET
URL: https://api.hubapi.com/email/public/v1/campaigns
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer YOUR_HUBSPOT_API_KEY
Query Params:
  limit=50

Node 3: HubSpot Get Campaign Stats (for each campaign)

HTTP Request with campaign ID appended to the URL.

Node 4: Google Sheets Append/Update Row

Key fields to map: Date, Campaign Name, Open Rate, CTR

Node 5: Filter Low Performance Metrics

Conditional node with expression:

{{ $json.ctr < 2 || $json.openRate < 20 }}

Node 6: Slack Notification

Payload example:

{
  "text": "⚠️ Campaign *{{CampaignName}}* has low CTR of {{CTR}}%."
}

Error Handling, Scalability & Security

Robustness and Error Retries

HubSpot APIs can rate limit requests. Use automation platform retries with exponential backoff. Log errors to a database or Slack channel for review.

Handling Edge Cases

• Empty campaigns or no data available - send info logs, avoid workflow failure.
• Duplicate data prevention - use unique keys for upserts to Google Sheets.

Security Considerations 🔐

• Store API keys in encrypted credential managers.
• Use OAuth tokens where possible for HubSpot and Google APIs with least-privilege scopes.
• Avoid logging personally identifiable information (PII) in public logs.

Scaling and Adaptability

Parallel Processing and Queues

Process campaigns in parallel jobs to improve throughput but respect HubSpot API rate limits.

Webhooks vs Polling

Poll HubSpot data on schedule for simplicity. Alternatively, set up HubSpot webhooks for campaign event triggers to create event-driven workflows. See table below for comparison.

Automation Platforms Comparison

Automation Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free Self-hosted; Cloud $20+/mo	Open source, flexible, custom code support	Setup complexity for self-hosting, fewer prebuilt integrations than Zapier
Make (Integromat)	Starts $9/mo, tiered by operations	Visual interface, advanced data manipulation	Operations limit can be costly on high volume
Zapier	Starts $19.99/mo	Extensive app support, very user-friendly	Limited multi-step and branching in lower plans

Webhooks vs Polling for HubSpot Campaign Analytics

Method	Latency	Complexity	Reliability
Polling	Minutes to hours	Low - scheduled triggers	High if retry implemented
Webhooks	Real-time	Higher - requires setup & endpoint hosting	Depends on endpoint uptime

Google Sheets vs Database for Campaign Data Storage

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free up to limits	Easy sharing, built-in charts, no infra	Limited scalability, API quota limits
Database (e.g. Postgres)	Hosting costs	Highly scalable, complex queries, triggers	Requires infra management, expertise

Ready to accelerate your campaign analytics? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace to find prebuilt HubSpot reporting workflows you can deploy instantly.

Testing and Monitoring Tips

• Use sandbox or test HubSpot accounts to validate API calls and workflow correctness.
• Enable detailed run history logs inside your automation platform.
• Set up alert notifications on workflow failures or API quota breaches.
• Regularly review data consistency in Google Sheets or your data store.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

• 401 Unauthorized: Refresh API keys or check OAuth token validity.
• 429 Rate Limit: Add retry mechanisms with exponential backoff to API requests.
• Data Mapping Failures: Verify JSON paths and API response structures regularly.
• Duplicate Rows in Sheets: Implement upsert logic with unique keys like date+campaign ID.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

Tracking CTR and open rates in HubSpot reports is indispensable for optimizing marketing efforts. Automating this process via workflows integrating HubSpot, Google Sheets, Slack, and Gmail tools boosts your operational efficiency and responsiveness. By following the step-by-step instructions above, startup CTOs, automation engineers, and operation specialists can build resilient, scalable, and secure workflows that not only deliver accurate campaign analytics but also facilitate proactive decision-making.

Kickstart your journey to smarter campaign analytics by leveraging prebuilt templates or crafting your own automation with RestFlow. Don’t let valuable data slip through the cracks—integrate, automate, and optimize today!