HubSpot: Setting Up Wait for Reply in Automations

This guide walks you through connecting Project Blue webhook events to a HubSpot Automation so you can pause a sequence and wait for a contact to reply before continuing. Once set up, this logic can be reused anywhere in any automation — not just for reply detection, but for any inbound or outbound iMessage event.

Before you start: You must be a HubSpot user on your Project Blue account. The Webhooks tab in Project Blue Settings will only appear if HubSpot is connected.

Phase 1 — Create a Webhook in HubSpot

Step 1: Open HubSpot Automations and start a new workflow

Navigate to Automations in HubSpot. Create a new workflow. When selecting a trigger, choose External event or Custom event.

Step 2: Click "Add or edit webhooks"

A panel will open to create a new webhook. Give it a clear name you will recognize — for example: ProjectBlue_Reply. Click Next.

Step 3: Copy the HubSpot webhook URL

HubSpot will display a unique webhook URL and begin waiting for a test event. Copy this URL — you will paste it into Project Blue in the next phase.

Phase 2 — Register the Webhook in Project Blue

Step 4: Go to Project Blue Settings and open the Webhooks tab

Log in to your Project Blue account. Navigate to Settings. If your HubSpot account is connected, you will see a Webhooks tab. Open it.

Step 5: Add a new webhook

Click Add Webhook. Paste the webhook URL you copied from HubSpot. Give it the same name you used in HubSpot for easy reference. Click the Send Test button — Project Blue will fire a sample payload to HubSpot.

Step 6: Confirm the test event was received in HubSpot

Switch back to your HubSpot tab. You should see a confirmation that the test event was received. Click Proceed to continue with the webhook setup.

Phase 3 — Map the Data Fields

This is the most critical phase. Skipping or misconfiguring the field mapping will cause the automation to silently fail.

Step 7: Set all fields to Text

HubSpot will display the data fields included in the Project Blue payload. For every field listed, select Text as the data type. This is the safe default for all fields except one.

Step 8: Set HubSpotContactID to Number — do not skip this

Find the field named HubSpotContactID and change its type from Text to Number. This is the only field that must be set as a number.

Why this matters: HubSpot automations run against a specific object — in this case, a Contact. Project Blue passes the HubSpotContactID in every webhook event. HubSpot uses this to map the event to the correct contact record. If this field is not set to Number, the automation will not associate events correctly and the Wait for Reply logic will not work.

Step 9: Click Next and finish the webhook setup

Once you have set HubSpotContactID to Number, click Next. HubSpot will confirm the webhook is created. You will now see it listed as an available trigger.

Phase 4 — Build the Wait for Reply Logic

Step 10: Add your first action: Send iMessage

Back in your automation, add the action to send an iMessage via Project Blue. This will fire when a contact is enrolled in the workflow.

Step 11: Add a Delay step — select "Delay until event"

After the Send iMessage action, add a Delay. Do not choose a time-based delay. Choose Delay until event occurs. This opens a list of available triggers to listen for.

Step 12: Find your webhook under Third-Party Events

Scroll to the Third-Party Events section. You will see the webhook you created (e.g. ProjectBlue_Reply). Select it.

Step 13: Set the criteria and save

Set the criteria to match the event you want to wait for. For a reply, set Direction equals Inbound. Click Save. HubSpot will automatically create branch logic with two paths:

Branch A — Contact replied: the workflow continues to your next step.
Branch B — No reply after your set time: the workflow moves to a follow-up action, such as a second iMessage.

Phase 5 — Activate and Test

Step 14: Turn the automation on and enroll a test contact

Activate your workflow. Enroll yourself or a test contact. Open Action Logs and confirm the iMessage was sent and the automation is now in the Waiting state.

Step 15: Reply to the iMessage from the test device

Send a reply to the iMessage from the enrolled contact. Project Blue will fire an inbound webhook event to HubSpot.

Step 16: Verify the correct branch fired

Go back to Action Logs. Confirm the automation detected the inbound event and completed the correct branch.

Setup complete. Your Wait for Reply logic is now live. You can reuse this webhook event anywhere in any HubSpot automation — for reply detection, delivery confirmation, or any other iMessage event from Project Blue.