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Ask Ada! HubSpot Tips (1): Connect with Customers Using Alibaba Mail to Boost Deal Conversion

When using HubSpot for customer relationship management and marketing automation, integrating your email can significantly improve work efficiency — especially if your company is scaling globally and struggling with scattered inboxes, missed inquiries, or inconsistent follow-ups.

With HubSpot email integration, businesses can:

  • Unified Communication Management: Send, receive, and track emails directly within HubSpot — no more switching between multiple applications. Every conversation is automatically logged in your CRM.
  • Centralized Customer Data: All email correspondence, customer information, and sales pipeline records are displayed in one interface, eliminating confusion and missed details caused by scattered information.
  • Marketing Automation: Tag customers based on their email engagement behavior, then automatically send personalized emails to different segments — boosting your conversion rates.

So, how do you connect your enterprise email in HubSpot? Alibaba Mail has become a trusted choice for companies scaling globally, thanks to its stable international sending/receiving capabilities and robust security mechanisms. Let’s walk through how to connect Alibaba Mail to HubSpot!

 

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

  • Your HubSpot account credentials
  • Your Alibaba Mail account with POP3/SMTP or IMAP/SMTP services enabled

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1. Log in to HubSpot.

[Image1: HubSpot login page]

Navigate to your personal email settings page to connect a personal email address for your current HubSpot user.

[Image2: Personal email settings page]

Step 2. Connect your personal email.

[Image3: Connect personal email button]

Enter your personal email address.

[Image4: Email address input field]

Select your email service provider.

[Image5: Email provider selection screen]

Choose “Other mail provider.”

[Image6: Other mail provider option]

Click Next.

[Image7: Next button confirmation]

Fill in the email configuration details.

[Imag8: Email configuration form]

Complete the connection.

[Image9: Connection success confirmation]

Review the connection result — you’ve successfully connected Alibaba Mail!

[Image10: Connected email status]

 

Troubleshooting: “Incorrect Credentials” Error

When connecting Alibaba Mail in HubSpot, you may see this error message: “HubSpot couldn’t access your inbox because the credentials were incorrect.”

This happens because Alibaba Mail has security protection enabled by default, which prevents third-party clients from connecting directly via IMAP/SMTP using your login password. You’ll need to generate an App-Specific Password to allow third-party clients like HubSpot, Outlook, or other CRM tools to access your email.

Here’s how to generate one:

1️⃣ Log in to Alibaba Mail (web or desktop client), then click Settings > View More Settings.

[Image11: Alibaba Mail settings menu]

2️⃣ Navigate to Account & Security and click Generate New Password.

[Image12: Account & Security settings page]

3️⃣ Complete identity verification as prompted (SMS code or authenticator app).

[Image13: Identity verification screen]

4️⃣ Once verified, Alibaba Mail will display a pop-up window with a randomly generated password. Save this password — you’ll need it for HubSpot.

[Image14: Generated app-specific password]

5️⃣ Enter this app-specific password in HubSpot to complete the connection.

[Image15: copy and paste app-specific password]

Three HubSpot Email Use Cases

Once your email is connected, here’s what you can do:

  1. Send One-on-One Emails

Open the contact record of the person you want to email.

[Image16-1: Contact record page]

Click the Email button on the left side.

[Image16-2: Email button location]

Compose your email as needed:

  1. Add a subject line
  2. Write the email body
  3. Insert “Email templates,” “Sequences,” and attach “Documents,” “Meetings,” “Quotes,” etc.
  4. Use the formatting options at the bottom of the editor to modify text
  5. Add hyperlinks
  6. Insert images
  7. Attach files
  8. Insert snippets, knowledge base articles, videos, and more

[Image16-3: Email editing options]

Once you’re done, click Send to deliver your email.

  1. Reply to One-on-One Emails

Find the contact you want to reply to. In the contact’s activity timeline, locate the email and click Reply.

[Image17-1: Email reply button in activity timeline]

Write your reply in the email editor, then click Send.

[Image17-2: Send reply button]

  1. Forward One-on-One Emails

Find the email you want to forward and click the Forward button. The remaining steps are the same as replying to an email.

[Image18: Forward button location]

 

Did you find this HubSpot tip helpful? Give it a try!

 

About DKM ECO

DKM ECO is an enterprise digital innovation solutions provider headquartered in Singapore. As a HubSpot Platinum Partner in APAC, DKM ECO helps businesses accelerate digital transformation and global expansion through SaaS, data, and AI solutions.

🌐 HubSpot APAC Platinum Partner, serving thousands of enterprise customers

🏆 Award-winning: HubSpot APAC FY2024 “Highest Partner Sourced Revenue (Gold)” and “Rookie of the Year,” FY2025 “Up and Coming”

🔧 Full-service offerings: HubSpot product consulting, training and deployment, AI and automation workflow design, CRM migration and integration

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Contact Us

📧 Business Inquiry: dkminfo@dkmeco.com

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