How to Hire an Email Marketing Specialist: Requirements, Qualifications, Skills & Interview Script

In the world of digital marketing and e-commerce, email marketing specialists are essential. Despite the growth of social media sites like Instagram and TikTok, email remains the most powerful engine of conversions and revenue in the digital space, especially for DTC businesses.

However, hiring an expert in email marketing is not as straightforward as it might sound. It’s a highly results-oriented position and that’s why it’s essential during the recruitment and interview process to separate the performers from those who merely know the latest industry jargon.

Today, we offer a crash course in identifying top performers for your digital marketing team in the realm of email marketing.

Email Marketing Specialists: Core Skills

First, when looking for an email marketing specialist, you’ll want to be extremely specific in the skills you are looking for. A good starting place might include the following areas:

Email Marketing Platforms: You’ll want your candidate to have proficiency and familiarity with MailChimp, Constant Contact, HubSpot, or similar software.
HTML/CSS: Your email marketing specialist does not need to know how to write code from the ground up but should have basic knowledge of the HTML and CSS that run core functions of email marketing programs.
Copywriting: Strong writing skills are needed to craft compelling subject lines, email copy, and calls-to-action that engage and convert subscribers.

The Analytical Skills Email Specialist MUST Possess

Once you have confirmed your email marketing specialist candidate has the above basic skills nailed down, you’ll want to spend a fair amount of time evaluating the strength of their analytical skills, being sure to touch on the following:

Segmentation: Can the candidate speak cogently about segmenting lists by demographics, behavior, and other criteria to get the best results in terms of click-through, conversion and revenue?
A/B Testing: Look for the candidate to demonstrate proficiency in designing and conducting A/B tests to optimize email campaigns by testing different elements such as subject lines, content, and images.
Analytics: Try to gauge your candidate’s skill in using email marketing analytics tools to track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and ROI. Analytical skills are essential for interpreting data and making data-driven decisions.
List Building: Be sure that your candidate has a set of strategies for growing and maintaining a healthy email subscriber list, including opt-in methods, lead generation, and list segmentation.
Reporting and Analysis: The candidate should have a strong ability to generate reports, analyze results, and provide actionable insights to improve future campaigns.

Key Technical Skills for Email Marketing Pros

Here is a breakdown in the types of technical skills we want to see strong competency in for our email marketing candidates:

Deliverability: Does your candidate have a comprehensive grasp of email deliverability best practices, including managing sender reputation, spam compliance, and list hygiene, to ensure emails reach the inbox?
Compliance: Look for a candidate to have strong knowledge of current email marketing regulations, including CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR, to ensure email campaigns comply with legal requirements.
Automation: You’ll want a candidate with familiarity with marketing automation workflows to set up automated email sequences, drip campaigns, and triggered emails.
CRM Integration: Finally, your candidate should have experience with integrating email marketing platforms with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to sync customer data and improve personalization.

What job interviews questions should you ask an email marketing specialist?

Here at ACCUR Recruiting Services, we interview thousands of candidates each year for high level executive positions. We also coach our client companies on what questions to ask when they are the ones doing the interviews. Through the years we’ve developed a specific interview strategy that is aimed squarely at giving our clients the confidence they have gathered enough information to make an informed decision about your candidate.

You can read about our strategy here.

Here are some specific questions you might want to ask in an interview with an email marketing specialist:

Can you describe your experience with email marketing campaigns?
What email marketing platforms and tools are you proficient with?
How do you approach email list segmentation and targeting?
Can you provide an example of a successful email marketing campaign you’ve managed?
What strategies do you use to optimize email open rates and click-through rates?
How do you ensure email deliverability and maintain a good sender reputation?
How do you handle unsubscribes and manage email list hygiene?
Can you discuss your experience with marketing automation and drip campaigns?
What email marketing KPIs do you consider most important, and how do you track them?
How do you stay up-to-date with email marketing trends and best practices?
How do you coordinate email marketing efforts with other marketing channels or teams within the organization?
Can you provide examples of effective email copywriting and design principles you’ve used in your campaigns?
What is your approach to maintaining email compliance with relevant regulations, such as GDPR or CAN-SPAM?
How do you handle customer feedback or complaints received through email campaigns?
Can you share your experience with integrating email marketing with CRM systems?
Describe your process for creating an email marketing strategy from start to finish.
How do you ensure that email campaigns are mobile-friendly and responsive?
What do you think is the future of email marketing, and how would you adapt to upcoming trends?
Why do you want to work for our organization, and what unique qualities would you bring to our email marketing team?