Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for an Email Marketing Specialist

An Email Marketing Specialist is a professional who plays a crucial role in creating and executing effective email marketing campaigns. They are responsible for strategizing, implementing, and analyzing email marketing initiatives to help organizations achieve their marketing goals. In this blog post, we will delve into the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Email Marketing Specialists.

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Main Responsibilities of an Email Marketing Specialist

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of an Email Marketing Specialist:

Achieve

Achieve 1% CTR on all email / SMS sends.
Achieve 25% open rates on all email / SMS sends.

Analyze

Analyze and report on program performance and provide recommendations based on results.
Analyze campaign performance and optimize campaigns.
Analyze campaign performance and suggest improvements.
Analyze data (determine what is / is not working).
Analyze marketing and sales data to develop insights and recommend areas for optimization.
Analyze our current email marketing campaigns and recommend improvements.

Anticipate

Anticipate client needs before they are requested and review them with the team.

Assist in

Assist in campaign meetings including kick-off, project status, and campaign close-out meetings.
Assist with publishing large-scale reports and playbooks.

Build

Build analytics, metrics and reports to support the success of each initiative.
Build and distribute emails through the use of marketing automation software (Hubspot).
Build and implement messages in support of new campaigns or experimentation on existing programs.
Build and manage email lists, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.
Build and recommend workflows based on different lifecycle stages.
Build an Email A / B testing strategy to continuously improve campaign performance.
Build logic, validate and implement automated workflows and triggered email deployments.
Build relationships quickly with team members, working effectively across departments.
Build, test, and send custom digital messaging programs.

Collaborate with

Collaborate with cross-functional teams, such as sales and marketing, to align email campaigns with broader strategies.
Collaborate with internal and external team members to scope and build campaigns.
Collaborate with marketing analytics teams to measure email marketing ROI.
Collaborate with marketing colleagues on the role of email in campaigns / initiatives.
Collaborate with the design team to create eye-catching graphics and visuals.

Communicate

Communicate with internal product teams to ensure promo timelines and deliverables are met.
Communicate with team members & keep team organized on requirements for email promotions.

Compile

Compile and analyze email campaign data and produce email performance reports.

Concept

Concept, design, and launch new email marketing campaigns and sequences.

Conduct

Conduct A/B testing to optimize email campaign performance.
Conduct competitor analysis to identify opportunities and areas for improvement.
Conduct customer segmentation analysis to identify target audiences.
Conduct customer segmentation, cohort list creation, and affinity optimization.
Conduct database analysis, customer segmentation and cohort creation.

Contribute

Contribute in any other way you can to the team's success.

Coordinate with

Coordinate with copywriters to ensure consistent messaging across email campaigns.
Coordinate with shopping cart team to obtain buy URLs for email offers.

Craft

Craft compelling email content that engages and resonates with the target audience.

Create

Create and builds tactics in conjunction with social campaigns to grow email subscription list.
Create and execute email marketing initiatives to include coding / dynamic content.
Create and manage email marketing campaigns from concept to execution.
Create and update marketing assets and standard operating procedures for the department.Strategist.
Create automated, multi-touch, targeted customer lifecycle digital marketing programs.
Create campaign briefs for designers and copywriters.
Create email databases for lead generation.
Create email, landing page, and form templates.
Create landing pages to support all lead generation activities, as needed.
Create & maintain monthly & quarterly content calendar schedules.
Create & optimize email newsletter designs.
Create outreach strategies, email programs and landing pages.
Create reports and dashboards to monitor and optimize marketing programs.
Create well-written copy that is free from mistakes.

Deliver

Deliver campaign reports, dashboard, and other reports on a regular basis.

Design

Design and code visually appealing and responsive email templates.
Design and execute email campaigns.
Design and execute segmentation and content personalization strategy.
Design and implement direct email marketing campaigns.

Desire

Desire for growth and learning opportunities.

Develop

Develop and execute re-engagement campaigns to retain inactive subscribers.
Develop and maintain relationships with email service providers.
Develop and manage marketing automation tools.
Develop and own audience segmentation and optimisation strategies.
Develop and present reports on a weekly basis.
Develop and pull segmented lists from Salesforce.
Develop an ongoing customer lifecycle and engagement strategy.
Develop automated consumer journeys integrating commerce and content into seamless user experience.
Develop compelling email campaigns to drive engagement and conversion with our target audiences.
Develop cross-channel communication strategy.
Develop email marketing strategies to meet business objectives.
Develop email targeting strategy.
Develop new data-driven campaigns, and personalization initiatives leveraging SFMC.
Develop reports to provide recommendations to internal stakeholders.

Discover

Discover new marketing concepts, and software upgrade ideas to the Marketing Director.

Distribute

Distribute content via email platform.

Draw

Draw insights from the data, create Powerpoint reports and share learnings to cross-functional teams.

Drive

Drive, ingenuity, and ambition.
Drive promotion and growth for SW offerings leveraging email.
Drive user engagement activation and increase the lifetime value of our users.

Ensure

Ensure compliance with CAN-SPAM, CASH, and GDPR.
Ensure email compliance with CASL.
Ensure emails follow industry policies and best practices.
Ensure email templates are mobile-friendly.
Ensure prompt and accurate communication with clients via email to minimize unsubscribes.
Ensure quality assurance / flawless execution so that creative, copy, forms and links are accurate.

Establish

Establish clear vision and plan for email marketing campaigns.
Establish performance metrics across campaigns.
Establish targeting strategies based on customer lifecycle segmentation & predictive analytics.

Evaluate

Evaluate and optimize effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Evaluate new technologies and add-on applications to improve and optimize marketing team performance.

Execute

Execute email segmentation to maximize performance.
Execute email strategy to increase revenue over time while maintaining overall list health.
Execute necessary requirements of all above peripheral email content.
Execute personalized emails to encourage deeply routed customer relationships.
Execute structure of emails to brand standards / seasonality.

Follow

Follow and maintain a QA process check to ensure error-free deployments.

Gather

Gather data from a variety of sources within the company to enhance campaign reports.

Handle

Handle change requests quickly and efficiently.

Help

Help build and implement HTML within the team.
Help define content marketing strategy and execute the email delivery calendar.
Help design, execute, and report on tests.
Help develop and execute promotional plans that increase visits and conversion.

Identify

Identify and build out target audience and customer segmentation required for campaign execution.
Identify and build user journeys based on user behaviour to devise email marketing plans.
Identify and documents campaign requirements and dependencies.
Identify and prioritize email engagement programs with the most potential return on investment.
Identify, communicate and make recommendations based on trends in email & digital marketing.
Identify metrics and KPIs appropriate to achieve business revenue goals by email channel.
Identify opportunities for continual improvement of email marketing.
Identify opportunities to improve and optimize campaign performance through test & learn.
Identify target audiences and grow our email list.

Implement

Implement and optimize email capture forms on websites and landing pages.
Implement best practices & stay up to date with email marketing trends and tactics.
Implement email personalization techniques, including dynamic content and merge tags.
Implement email segmentation strategies based on customer lifecycle stages.
Implement personalization strategies to enhance email relevance and effectiveness.
Implement strategies to improve email deliverability and minimize spam.

Import

Import email creative into email systems such as Responsys and Klaviyo.

Innovate

Innovate, come up with new campaign ideas and share it with other team members.

Integrate

Integrate fun and joy as a way of being and working, aka doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Keep

Keep all stakeholders informed and updated of email plans and status.

Launch

Launch live Email and Digital Messaging campaigns.

Lead

Lead analytical efforts to show KPIs and report on email performance and metrics.

Learn

Learn and master use of CRM programs.
Learn our brands, customers, distribution and media channels.

Leverage

Leverage user and market data to derive actionable insights about audience segmentation.

Maintain

Maintain a high-output editorial workflow.
Maintain annual email calendar that supports seasonal brand / product stories and revenue goals.
Maintain records / screenshots of all email creatives.

Make

Make a difference in the lives of thousands of students as they explore educational opportunities.
Make an impact with your work—each person has an equal opportunity to contribute to our goals.
Make recommendations around possible customer / prospect segments to target.

Manage

Manage all Pardot developments, integrations and special projects as required.
Manage and execute the end-to-end email marketing strategy.
Manage campaign execution and performance.
Manage email automation workflows and triggers.
Manage process working with designer, copywriter & VA to schedule all emails & sms campaigns.
Manage production of multiple email campaigns using Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC).
Manage several email marketing campaigns simultaneously.
Manage the Email Marketing calendar and lead weekly status meetings.
Manage the existing email automation tool end-to-end.

Monitor

Monitor and analyze key email metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
Monitor and maintain data quality within the marketing database.
Monitor and manage email marketing budgets.
Monitor and recommend updates to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of lead scoring and grading.
Monitor and respond to customer inquiries and feedback received via email.
Monitor technical issues relating to email delivery and advocate email best practices.

Optimize

Optimize and implement best practices with an eye for scalable efficiency and automation.
Optimize conversion rates with A / B testing using data in Google Analytics and email platforms.
Optimize our Email program's automation and dynamic content capabilities.
Optimize our marketing automation and lead nurturing through email, content, and social channels.

Oversee

Oversee adherence to ApplyBoard's email marketing and communications policy.
Oversee campaign execution from start to finish, reporting performance against KPIs.

Own

Own the QA process for all emails and related landing page content.

Participate

Participate in budgeting, planning and reporting processes.

Perform

Perform email list hygiene to maintain data quality and minimize bounces.

Pivot

Pivot or shift approaches when necessary in response to what you learn.

Plan

Plan, create, execute, track, and train on a variety of email marketing campaigns.

Power

Power user of Excel and / or dashboard / data visualization tools for in reporting required.

Prepare

Prepare and execute email campaigns and nurturing streams.
Prepare and maintain CRM mailing lists for marketing campaigns.

Present

Present new marketing concepts and conduct market research.

Promote

Promote new product launches & generate sales.

Proof

Proof and test emails to ensure accuracy as well as user and mobile-friendliness.

Provide

Provide administrative support for mailing list creation, maintenance and tracking.
Provide feedback and recommend solutions for improvements.
Provide Marketo support in lead and funnel tracking, data analysis, etc..

Recommend

Recommend and implement email best practices across the organization.

Reply

Reply to customer comments, questions, feedback, and complaints via social platforms as needed.

Report

Report and provide analysis on campaign and guest KPIs.

Research

Research and analyzes customer data to build said targeting strategy.
Research, create, and test persona-specific messages to improve campaign performance.

Review

Review analytics and identify opportunities to increase engagement and sales.

Run

Run A / B tests on email campaigns to establish effective approaches.

Segment

Segment email lists based on demographics, behavior, and engagement.

Set-up

Set-up automation workflows and segments within Klaviyo.
Set-up campaigns, templates, audience segments, and A / B testing.
Set-up email creative for internal team QA and approval.

Share your campaigns' results to clients and create.

Stay current on

Stay current on email marketing / digital marketing trends and best practices.
Stay informed about relevant legal and regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM Act.
Stay on top of the campaign deployment calendar to make sure projects are on track.
Stay updated on email marketing software and tools to leverage the latest features.
Stay updated with industry trends and best practices in email marketing.
Stay up to date with evolving technologies and trends for CRM and digital marketing.

Support

Support marketing team with cross campaign data analysis and insights.
Support other team members on ad hoc projects or special projects.
Support the launch of customer loyalty and on-going customer lifecycle-based programs.

Take

Take identified projects from concept to deployment, managing end-to-end responsibilities.
Take ownership of partnership lead lifecycle.

Test

Test and deploy email & SMS campaigns in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Track

Track, analyze and share results of email campaigns to guide continuous improvement.
Track, analyze and update marketing campaign reporting spreadsheets.
Track and analyze key-engagement metrics, deliverability, opens, clicks, unsubscribes.
Track and report on all marketing activities.
Track email promos and measure results to optimize based on data.

Troubleshoot

Troubleshoot ad-hoc issues that may arise due to segmentation, dynamic content, or data.

Update

Update email campaigns to client brand guidelines and templates.

Upgrade

Upgrade email templates using graphics, personalization and advanced features.

Use

Use data analytics to identify opportunities for email campaign improvements.
Use marketing automation to streamline email campaigns.

Work with

Work closely with the Merchandising team to plan and execute a detailed promotional calendar.
Work in HTML to assist building dynamic elements and troubleshooting.
Work to minimize list decay and unsubscribes while increasing the productivity of our email sends.
Work with copywriters and creative team to develop engaging content while maintaining "brand voice”.
Work with internal team to get emails localized.
Work with management to review campaign performance KPIs.
Work with our global design team to bring creative concepts to reality.
Work with web team to create desired layouts for email promos.

Write

Write newsletters including all company updates.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of an Email Marketing Specialist:

Proficiency in email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact, HubSpot).
Strong knowledge of HTML and CSS for email template design and coding.
Experience with marketing automation tools and workflows.
Proficiency in data analysis and email marketing metrics.
Familiarity with CRM systems and email integration.
Adeptness in email deliverability best practices and spam regulation.
Knowledge of A/B testing methodologies and statistical analysis.
Proficiency in email personalization techniques and dynamic content.
Familiarity with email list management and segmentation.
Experience in email campaign reporting and analysis.

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of an Email Marketing Specialist:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
Creative thinking and ability to generate innovative ideas.
Analytical mindset with the ability to derive insights from data.
Time management and organizational skills to handle multiple campaigns.
Collaboration and teamwork for effective cross-functional coordination.
Adaptability to changing industry trends and evolving technologies.
Problem-solving skills to address campaign challenges and optimize results.
Customer-centric mindset and understanding of target audience needs.
Continuous learning and curiosity to stay ahead in the field.

Conclusion

Becoming a successful Email Marketing Specialist requires a combination of technical expertise, analytical skills, and creative thinking. The responsibilities of an Email Marketing Specialist span various aspects of campaign management, from strategy development to execution and analysis. By acquiring the necessary hard skills and cultivating the essential soft skills, professionals in this role can contribute to the growth and success of businesses through effective email marketing initiatives.