How to Use the HubSpot Contact Sender

Step 1: Select a list of leads

• Choose the saved LinkedIn leads list you want to send to HubSpot.
• The Phantom will process that list and sync the selected contacts into your CRM.

Step 2: Connect your HubSpot account

1. Click Connect and authorize PhantomBuster to access your HubSpot account.
   • You only need to do this once, your HubSpot account will remain linked for future Phantoms.
2. Contact update only (Optional):
   • Enable if you want to update existing HubSpot records without creating new ones.
   • Before you can use this checkbox, you must first activate it in your Workspace Settings:
     1. Click your profile menu in the top right corner.
     2. If you have more than one workspace, make sure the correct one is selected from the dropdown. Look for the ✔️ symbol next to the active workspace name.
     3. Under your Workspace section, click Settings. 
        
     4. Check the box Contact update only.
        
     5. Once enabled, the checkbox will automatically be checked in all HubSpot Phantoms.
3. Field mapping (required - takes a couple of seconds to load):
   • After connecting, configure Field mapping to decide which PhantomBuster fields are sent to which HubSpot contact properties. 
     → If you skip this step, properties will be sent blank.
   • Columns:
     • PhantomBuster → the data source (e.g., first name, last name, company, lifecycle stage).
     • HubSpot → the destination contact property to update.
     • Action → how to update the property in HubSpot:
       • Fill if empty: only writes when the HubSpot field is currently blank.
       • Overwrite: always updates the HubSpot field with the new value.
4. Add custom properties:
   • Click Add property to map another field, then select:
     1. A PhantomBuster property (e.g., lifecycle stage).
     2. The corresponding HubSpot property: 
        → If the HubSpot property doesn’t exist yet, create it first in HubSpot as a custom contact property, then return to mapping.
        → For a step-by-step walkthrough, see How to Map Properties Between PhantomBuster and HubSpot.
5. Do you want to create and/or update your HubSpot contacts?
   Decide whether you want to:
   • Only create new contacts
   • Only update existing contacts
   • Both create and update

Step 3: Select launch frequency

Choose how often the Phantom should run:

1. Launch manually: Start the Phantom yourself whenever you need.
2. Launch once at a specific time: schedule a one-time run at a set date and time.
3. Launch repeatedly: schedule regular runs (e.g. once per day, several times during working hours).
4. Launch after another Phantom: chain automations together so this Phantom starts right after another finishes.
5. Advanced scheduling: customize the exact minutes, hours, days, or months when the Phantom should run.

→ For a complete walkthrough of scheduling options, see our guide to scheduling Phantoms automatically.

Step 4 (Optional): Advanced settings

Advanced settings are available if you want to fine-tune how your Phantom runs, but by default they’re already optimized for most use cases.

We recommend leaving them as they are unless a guide specifically instructs you to change something.

→ For a detailed overview of all advanced options (like execution limits, retries, email notifications, proxies, webhooks, and file management), see our Advanced settings guide.

Launch and results

When you’re ready:

1. Click Launch to start your Phantom.
2. Once it finishes, open the Results tab in the Phantom console to see which contacts were created or updated in HubSpot.
3. Download your results as a CSV or JSON file.

→ To learn how to export your data to Google Sheets, integrate with other tools, or reuse it in more automations, check our Access and Export your Phantom Results guide.

Export and input limits on the Free plan
If you’re on the Free plan or Free trial, some features are limited:
- CSV exports include only the first 10 rows of results.
- CSV download links (for dynamic viewing in Google Sheets or integrations) are not available.
- JSON exports are not available.
- CSV upload as an input method is not supported.
To unlock all features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

Tips and troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• Field mapping not configured → If you skip Field mapping in step 2, contacts can sync to HubSpot without any data. Double-check that each PhantomBuster field is mapped to the correct HubSpot property before launching.
• Existing contacts not updating → If your Field mapping uses Fill if empty, existing non-blank values won’t change. Fix: in the Action column for the relevant property (e.g., location), select Overwrite.
• Duplicates / unexpected new contacts on a job change → The most common cause is a job change. When a contact moves companies (new company + new email), the Contact Sender creates a new contact by default and links it to the old one. This is HubSpot's recommended way of handling job changes (identity is tied to the email address). Selecting "Only update existing contacts" does not prevent this on its own. To stop new contacts being created when someone changes jobs, enable "Contact update only" (turn it on once in Workspace Settings, and it applies to all your HubSpot Phantoms). If you simply selected the wrong sync option, double-check whether you want to create, update, or both.
• Account limits → HubSpot free plans cap the number of contacts. Once you hit that limit, the Phantom won’t create new ones.

If you run into issues

• Check how to troubleshoot your phantom using Logs.
• Browse the Fix Issues & Troubleshoot Errors section for solutions to common problems.
• Review our Automation Rate Limits by Platform guide.
• Check our Best Practices for Social Media Automation guide.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Phantom creating duplicate contacts in HubSpot? 

The most common reason is a job change. When a contact moves to a new company with a new email, the HubSpot Contact Sender creates a new contact for the new company and links it to the old record. This follows HubSpot's recommended practice, since contact identity is based on the email address. It is expected behavior, not a bug.

How do I stop new contacts being created when someone changes jobs? 

Enable the "Contact update only" option. You first activate it once in your Workspace Settings, after which it's automatically applied across all your HubSpot Phantoms. With it enabled, existing contacts are updated in place and no new contacts are created on a job change. Note that choosing "Only update existing contacts" alone doesn't do this, you also need "Contact update only" turned on.

Why are my contacts syncing to HubSpot with empty fields? 

Field mapping is required. If you skip it in Step 2, contacts sync without any data. Make sure each PhantomBuster field is mapped to the correct HubSpot property before launching.

Why aren't my existing contacts being updated? 

If your field mapping uses the "Fill if empty" action, it only writes to fields that are currently blank, so existing values won't change. To update them, set the Action column to "Overwrite" for the relevant property.

Why did the Phantom stop creating new contacts? 

HubSpot free plans cap the number of contacts. Once you hit that limit, the Phantom can no longer create new ones.

Suggested automations

• LinkedIn Outreach → Run end-to-end LinkedIn invites and follow-ups, then sync accepted/replied leads to HubSpot for complete tracking.
• AI LinkedIn Message Writer + LinkedIn Message Sender → Generate a personalized message and send it automatically, then sync replies to HubSpot for pipeline tracking.