Email Marketing Specialist Career Guide

What is an email marketing specialist?

An email marketing specialist is someone who sends emails to help a company connect with people and sell more stuff. They make sure emails are interesting and reach people’s inboxes at the perfect time. Since everyone gets tons of emails, they work hard to make their emails stand out so that people will read them and take action.

Duties and responsibilities

• List management: They organize email lists to make sure the right people get the most relevant messages.
• Creating emails: They write the text, choose pictures, and decide the layout of the emails.
• Testing: They test different versions of emails to see which one people like more.
• Tracking: After sending the emails, they check how many people opened them and clicked on links to see if the email was successful.

Work environment

Most email marketing specialists work in an office or from home. They spend a lot of time on computers using different programs to manage emails and look at how well their emails are doing. They often work with other marketing people to come up with ideas and share what they’ve learned.

Typical work hours

Email marketing specialists usually work 40 hours a week, but sometimes, they might need to work more if they have a big project or a special sale is coming up. They often have the flexibility to work from different places, which is pretty cool!

---

How to become an email marketing specialist

Want to be the person who crafts cool emails that people actually want to read? Here’s how you can get started on becoming an email marketing specialist:

Step 1: Earn a bachelor’s degree

Start by getting a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, or journalism. These subjects will teach you the basics of marketing and how to understand what customers like.

Step 2: Gain marketing experience

After you graduate, try to get a job related to marketing. You could start as a marketing coordinator, where you would learn how to manage email campaigns, use social media for marketing, create content, and understand data from your campaigns.

Step 3: Learn to use the tools

You’ll need to know how to use email marketing tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Hubspot. These tools help you send out emails, see how well they’re doing, and make them better.

Step 4: Take email marketing courses

There are lots of awesome online courses that can make you even better at email marketing. Here are a few:

• Udemy’s Cold Email Marketing Course: Learn about reaching out to new customers through email.
• The Email Marketing Masterclass on Start & Growth: This course teaches you how to make money from your email list.
• Coursera’s Mailchimp Course: Find out how to use Mailchimp for your campaigns.
• Think Outside the Inbox: Explore tips from Google on doing great email marketing.

Step 5: Build a portfolio

Put together a collection of your best work. Include emails you’ve designed, written, and the results they got. This shows future employers what you can do.

Step 6: Network

Meet people who work in marketing. Go to industry events, join groups, and connect on LinkedIn. Making friends in the industry can help you find out about jobs and new tricks.

Step 7: Keep learning

Marketing changes all the time. Keep up with new trends, tools, and ideas. Read blogs, watch webinars, and talk to other marketers.

Step 8: Get certified

Consider getting a certification like the HubSpot Email Marketing Certification. It shows you know your stuff and keeps you up to date.

---

How much do email marketing specialists make?

Many variables go into determining an email marketing specialist’s salary, such as their company size, experience, and education. More experience, specialized skills, or additional certifications offered by organizations like the Digital Marketing Institute may command higher salaries. Compensation may also vary depending on whether the position is full-time or freelance and whether they are employed by a company or working as an independent contractor. 

Highest paying industries

Browse email marketing specialist salary data by market

---

Types of email marketing specialists

In the world of email marketing, there are several exciting jobs you can do. Each type of specialist has their own special tasks:

Email campaign strategist

These are the planners. They figure out who should receive the emails, what the emails should say, and when to send them. After sending the emails, they check how well they did and think of ways to do better next time.

Email copywriter

Copywriters are the writers. They write the catchy subjects and the content of the emails to make sure you want to read more and follow their suggestions, like clicking a link or buying something.

Email designer

These are the artists. They design the email to look good and work well, making sure everything from the fonts to the pictures looks great and fits the brand.

Email marketing automation specialist

Automation specialists use tools to make sending out emails easier and smarter. They set up systems so that the right emails go out at the right time without having to send each one manually.

Email deliverability expert

These experts make sure emails actually reach your inbox and don’t end up in the spam folder. They keep an eye on things like whether emails are bouncing back and help improve the chances that emails are successfully delivered.

Email marketing analyst

Analysts are like detectives. They look closely at the data from email campaigns to see what’s working and what’s not. They use this info to make suggestions on how to make future emails better.

Email personalization specialist

Personalization specialists make emails feel special for each person. They use data to create emails that talk about what you like or what you’ve looked at online, making the emails more interesting and relevant to you.

---

Top skills for email marketing specialists

To rock at sending emails that get attention and results, here are some key skills you’ll need:

• Analytics: You’ve got to dig into the numbers. After sending emails, you’ll look at how many people opened them and clicked on links to see what’s working and what’s not.
• Copywriting: Writing skills are super important. You need to write clear and catchy emails that make people want to click and take action.
• Tool savvy: Know your tools. Using platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Brevo helps you send out emails, design them nicely, and see how they perform.
• Creativity: Stand out! You need cool, fresh ideas to make your emails pop out among the hundreds we all get.
• Attention to detail: Double-check your work. Make sure your emails look good, have no mistakes, and follow the rules before you hit send.
• Project management: Keep everything on track. You’ll handle many tasks at once, meet deadlines, and organize everything well so your campaigns run smoothly.
• Communication: Work well with others. You need to explain your ideas clearly and work together with teammates to make great email campaigns.

---

Email marketing specialist career path

Starting out

• Education: Most people start with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or something related. This gives you the basic knowledge you need.
• Experience: Getting some hands-on experience in email or digital marketing helps a lot. You could start with internships or entry-level jobs.

Early career

• Email marketing coordinator/assistant: These are the starting positions where you learn the ropes by helping out with email campaigns.

Moving up

• Senior email marketing specialist or email marketing manager: After some experience, you move up to handle entire email campaigns by yourself. You’ll work on getting more people to open emails and respond, which helps the company make money.

Leadership roles

• Marketing director or chief marketing officer (CMO): With lots of experience and good leadership skills, you could end up running the marketing department, making big decisions about the company’s marketing strategies.

---

Similar job titles

• Digital Marketing Manager
• Marketing Analyst
• Marketing Assistant
• Marketing Associate
• Marketing Coordinator
• Marketing Manager
• Marketing Specialist
• Social Media Manager

---

Position trends and outlook for email marketing specialists

• Personalization: Right now, it’s all about making emails feel personal; if an email doesn’t speak directly to you or offer something you like, you probably won’t read it. That’s why tailoring emails to meet the specific needs of the audience is super important.
• Artificial intelligence: AI helps figure out the best time to send emails, tests different versions (A/B testing), and predicts what users might do next. AI can track how people interact with emails, like how many open them, spend time reading them, or decide to unsubscribe.
• Interactivity: People like emails that are fun to interact with. Things like video carousels, quizzes, and clickable parts make emails more engaging than just plain text.
• Privacy rules: Laws like GDPR and CCPA are making privacy a major focus. Email marketers need to be careful about how they handle people’s info and make sure their emails follow these laws.
• Mobile-friendly: More people are reading emails on their phones rather than computers. This means emails have to look good and be easy to read on smaller screens.

Employment projections

The need for email marketing specialists is expected to increase by 10% through 2031, which is pretty fast. As more companies focus on digital marketing to connect with customers, skilled email marketers will be in demand.

---

Email marketing specialist career tips

Improve your writing skills

Being a great writer is key. You need to write emails that grab attention with cool subject lines and content that makes people want to do something, like buy a product or sign up for a webinar.

Keep up with the latest tricks

The world of email marketing changes fast. Make sure you know the latest on how to send emails effectively, personalize messages, and use testing methods to find out what works best. Regular training and keeping up with professional blogs or courses can help a lot.

Network, network, network 

Get involved with groups where you can meet other marketers. Going to events and joining these groups can introduce you to new ideas and people who can help you in your career.

• Email Experience Council (EEC)
• Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
• MarketingSherpa
• Email Design Review

Work with others

Don’t stick to just your team. Work with people in design, product development, and other marketing areas to create amazing campaigns. The best ideas often come from mixing different perspectives.

Stay tech-savvy

Keep an eye on new tools and tech that can help you send better emails. This could be new software for designing emails, tools that automate sending them, or better ways to see how your emails are performing.

Never stop learning 

Always look for ways to get better. Take extra courses, ask for feedback, and try new things. The more you learn, the better you’ll be at your job.

---

FAQs