skill-and-competency-map-of-specialists-in-an-email-production-team
25 July 2024

Bring a strong team on board: Skill and competency map of specialists in an email production team

Speed up your email production
Table of contents
  1. 5 key roles in email production
  2. The one who sees the whole system: The email marketing strategist
  3. Responsible for idea realization: Email marketing team lead
  4. The core messages: Skills and responsibilities of copywriters involved in email production
  5. The art of visualization: What does a designer do when preparing emails?
  6. Email implementation specialist: What skills are essential to build an email?
  7. What will help specialists work effectively on a team?
  8. Wrapping up: How to develop the skills and competencies needed for effective email marketing
1.
5 key roles in email production

In this article, we’ll explore how to assemble a strong email production team by focusing on the skills needed for creating effective email design. You'll also discover email design ideas that can elevate your campaigns and ensure your team is equipped for success.

We have already written about the skills and competencies of email marketing specialists. However, attracting and retaining customers using email marketing is often performed by more than one player — by a whole team. Then, it will be vital for you to select people with the necessary skills for this team and set up their joint work.

A strong team is when each member is in the right place and has the necessary skills and competencies. The map of critical specialists’ skills and competencies that we have compiled for you will help you create such a team in email marketing. Use these tips to develop your talents and improve your email marketing effectiveness.

5 key roles in email production

This article will examine a map of the skills and competencies of specialists needed for an email production team. The map covers tasks from forming ​​an email campaign idea to its full implementation until it is sent to subscribers.

Of course, some roles may differ in email production teams that work in enterprises, product companies, SaaS, and agencies. Still, the principles of subordination and task distribution remain approximately the same.

This path is from strategy to individual campaigns — from idea to ready-to-send email. The skills and competencies of specialists will depend on their roles when creating an email and the flow of teamwork.

Key roles and specialists in the email production team:

  1. The email marketing strategist — this role can be performed by the head of email marketing or the CRM manager. Sometimes, it can be performed by a project manager or a project marketing manager.
  2. Email marketing team lead — this role appears if there are some email marketing teams. A senior email marketing specialist performs it as the team lead.
  3. The copywriter — this role can be performed by a copywriter from the company’s content team, who is hired for specific tasks, or by the email marketer themselves.
  4. The designer — creating an email design for attractive promotional campaigns or other types of emails is carried out by the marketing team’s designers or a specialist within the email production team.
  5. The email implementation specialist — this role is for a junior or middle email marketer or email builder specialist who collects the email in the builder, technically sets it up, tests it, and prepares it for sending.

Who assigns tasks to whom, how interaction occurs, and how roles are distributed depending on this — read in detail in our teamwork inspiration guide. 

Whitepaper
Teamwork inspiration guide
 
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The one who sees the whole system: The email marketing strategist

Specialists who can fill the role: Head of email marketing, CRM manager, head of retention marketing department, project manager, project marketing manager, and so on. 

Key tasks of the email marketing strategist

An effective email campaign is always part of a well-planned marketing strategy. Therefore, the first specialist in the email production team is a strategist. 

The key task of a specialist in this role is to create and implement the company’s email marketing strategies and work to ensure that the brand’s email communication with subscribers is consistent with the overall marketing strategy.

To do this, the email marketing strategist:

  • defines key principles of email design and communication;
  • distributes tasks between teams if there are several teams;
  • makes sure that the tasks of different teams are not duplicated or contradict each other and that teams do not find themselves working on several priority tasks at the same time;
  • communicates with external and internal customers (activity owner);
  • evaluates the task and decides whether it is worth taking;
  • monitors tasks in other marketing channels.

All these tasks necessarily influence the production of each email campaign and become its basis.

The strategist conducts the second check inside the design tool, making sure everything aligns with the task and overarching brand guidelines. The strategist has the final say on whether the deliverable is ready for client review or requires further refinement. After that, they give the link to the design tool for clients to check.

Raymond Chen

Raymond Chen,

Founder and CEO of 11 Agency.

Skills and competencies associated with the email marketing strategist

The most important skills for a strategist are analytical thinking and creativity. To strengthen your email marketing from campaign to campaign, you need to be able to analyze the results and know what works for your target audience. Therefore, it is important for a strategist to master analytical tools to obtain valuable information and see patterns. 

Creativity allows you to make decisions to improve campaigns and strategies in general based on the results of A/B tests and email campaign performance indicators.

Email marketing strategist skillset:

  • strategic thinking and the ability to develop long-term email marketing strategies that align with overall business goals and drive revenue growth;
  • skilled in analyzing market trends, audience behavior, and the competitive landscape to inform strategic decisions;
  • expertise in setting clear measurable goals and KPIs for the email marketing team;
  • strong ability to lead, inspire, and motivate a diverse team of email marketers, designers, copywriters, and analysts;
  • proficiency in identifying, recruiting, and developing top talent within the team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning;
  • effectively delegate tasks and oversee project execution to ensure high-quality output and timely delivery;
  • in-depth knowledge of planning, executing, and optimizing large-scale email marketing campaigns;
  • advanced understanding of audience segmentation and personalization techniques to increase engagement and conversion rates;
  • expertise in ensuring high deliverability rates and managing email lists to reduce bounce rates and avoid spam filters;
  • thorough understanding of email marketing laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR and CAN-SPAM Act) and ensuring the team adheres to these standards;
  • ensuring that all email marketing activities comply with data privacy policies and best practices.

The head of email marketing needs a balanced mix of strategic vision, leadership, and technical expertise. Mastery of these key skills and competencies enables them to drive effective email marketing initiatives that align with the company’s goals, foster team growth, and deliver measurable results.

Responsible for idea realization: Email marketing team lead

Specialists who can fill this role are senior email marketers.

Key tasks of the email marketing team lead

The email marketing team lead is responsible for specific campaigns and the distribution of tasks among them — and creates detailed project plans and timelines for each email campaign. They also directly coordinate email production, describing the specific task and making detailed briefs outlining for the copywriters and designers — presenting the idea of ​​the text, defining the key roles and tasks, and ensuring a clear understanding of objectives and deadlines.

This specialist reviews and approves all email content and designs before deployment to ensure they meet quality standards and brand guidelines and also carries out coordination with all customers and stakeholders (departments within the company, for example).

At the final stage of work on the email campaign, the email marketing team lead conducts final checks for accuracy, functionality, and deliverability. Team members can conduct A/B testing to improve email effectiveness and engagement. After sending the campaign, they analyze campaign performance data and provide insights to optimize future campaigns.

Skills and competencies for the email marketing team lead

A team lead needs strong knowledge of email marketing and organizational skills in project management and task delegation. Creativity and analytical skills allow the team to create strong email campaigns and communicate with the people involved in email production.

Therefore, the email marketing team lead skillset may include the following items:

  • ability to manage multiple email projects simultaneously, ensuring that each project is completed on time and within budget;
  • skill in assigning tasks effectively to team members, including copywriters and designers, based on their strengths and workload;
  • proficiency in creating and maintaining production schedules to ensure timely delivery of email campaigns;
  • expertise in providing clear, concise, and detailed briefs to copywriters and designers, outlining the objectives, target audience, key messages, and desired outcomes for each email;
  • ability to provide constructive feedback to team members;
  • ability to develop creative concepts for email campaigns, ensuring that they are engaging, on-brand, and aligned with marketing goals;
  • ability to ensure that the visual design and copywriting work together harmoniously to deliver a cohesive message;
  • skill in maintaining consistency with the brand’s voice, tone, and visual identity across all email communications;
  • proficiency in using email marketing platforms and tools to coordinate and monitor campaign production;
  • knowledge of HTML and CSS to troubleshoot and make minor adjustments to email templates if necessary.

An email marketing team lead must possess strategic, creative, and technical skills. Mastery of these key skills and competencies enables them to effectively coordinate email production, guide their team, and ensure the successful execution of email marketing campaigns that drive engagement and achieve business objectives.

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The core messages: Skills and responsibilities of copywriters involved in email production

Specialists who can fill the role are copywriters and content writers from email marketing teams or other marketing teams.

Key tasks of the email marketing copywriter

The copywriter prepares email texts and writes the subject lines and preheaders. The specialist prepares text in Google Docs and transfers it to the designer or directly in the email builder if the email template is already ready and you need to change the text slightly.

We believe an in-house copywriter should always write text, since the copywriter must be involved in the product and know all its features to create exceptional and catchy emails. This is what we adhere to in our company. Our in-house copywriter creates all texts, from subject lines to CTA buttons.

Liliia Sheketa

Liliia Sheketa,

Communication Automation Manager at Trevolution Group.

Copywriter’s skills and competencies

Writing skills for a copywriter working in the email marketing sphere include the ability to write attractive texts that will work in email campaigns and newsletters.

A copywriter must not only write well but also understand that laconic texts (300 words or less), written in a simple tone adapted for the audience of subscribers, are important for email marketing. In addition, the skill of writing specific parts of email text, such as the subject line, header, and call-to-actions, is significant.

In addition, such skills are also needed:

  • excellent command of grammar, punctuation, and writing style;
  • ability to craft compelling and persuasive copy that motivates recipients to take action;
  • skill in conveying messages clearly and concisely, respecting the limited attention span of readers;
  • ability to follow the guides with a detailed description of the brand’s tone of voice to ensure emails reflect the company’s personality to win readers’ trust, keep them engaged, and make it easier to convert them into customers over time;
  • knowledge of different types of email campaigns (newsletters, promotional emails, transactional emails, etc.);
  • expertise in creating segmented and personalized email content to target specific audience groups effectively;
  • knowledge of email marketing tools, such as ESPs, CDPs, and Stripo email builders, would be an advantage.

Knowing English at a native level and understanding the nuances of some regions of the States would greatly improve everything. For example, Texans speak slightly differently from New Yorkers, so you usually have to make several regional options, but our staff work with these nuances.

Galina Panasyuk

Galina Panasyuk,

Customer Relationship Management Specialist at Voyagu.

An email marketing copywriter needs to combine creative writing talent with technical knowledge and strategic thinking. Developing these key skills and competencies will increase the engagement and conversion of your email campaigns.

The art of visualization: What does a designer do when preparing emails?

Specialists who can fill the role are UI/UX designers or graphic designers from the email marketing teams or other marketing teams.

Key tasks of the email marketing designer

If the email does not look attractive, subscribers may lose interest in it and stop opening it. This is why the importance of email marketing design cannot be underestimated.

The designer’s job on the email marketing team is to create an email design that reflects the brand’s message. The designer also ensures that all emails are made in the same brand style, visualizes complex elements, selects images for the banner, and much more.

When creating an email design for attractive promotional campaigns or other types of emails, designers work on it in Figma or another tool and then pass the email to a marketer to add all the elements to the editor.

Skills and competencies for an email marketing designer

A proper email design is the key to increasing engagement and conversions since the reaction of subscribers largely depends on how certain email elements look and where they are located. Therefore, the key skills of an email marketing designer are related to understanding the principles of email marketing and proper email template structure, as well as experience in developing emails that look great on all devices and screen sizes, ensuring a smooth user experience.

During this process, you should consider adaptability and how your email looks on different devices and browsers. Working with indents is also very important. Even the simplest email consisting of an image, a paragraph of text, and a button can look terrible if you do a bad job with indents.

Oleksandr Dieiev

Oleksandr Dieiev,

Email Marketer at Stripo.

Basic skillset for the email designer:

  • strong ability to create visually appealing and cohesive designs, with a good eye for color, typography, and layout;
  • proficiency in design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Figma, and Sketch;
  • ability to design with the end user in mind, ensuring that emails are easy to read, navigate, and interact with;
  • knowledge of UX principles to create emails that are easy to navigate and interact with, enhancing recipient engagement;
  • knowledge of accessibility best practices to ensure emails are usable by all recipients, including those with disabilities;
  • make sure that all email designs are consistent with the brand’s visual identity and style guidelines;
  • ability to think outside the box and develop innovative design solutions that capture attention and drive engagement;
  • stay up-to-date with design trends and industry best practices to keep email designs fresh and relevant.

An email marketing designer needs to combine artistic talent with technical knowledge and a deep understanding of the user experience. In this way, your email designs will be visually stunning and effective, driving engagement and supporting your marketing goals.

Email implementation specialist: What skills are essential to build an email?

Specialists who can fill the role are junior or middle email marketers, email-building specialists with strong technical skills, email developers, or HTML developers.

Key tasks of the email-building specialist

The email-building specialist collects all materials from copywriters, designers, HTML coders, AMP developers, and translators and creates the email using an editor or builder. They transfer the design and text to the email builder or the ESP/CDP editor using various blocks, interactive modules, gamification, and timers. After preparing an email, they check how it is displayed on different devices, email clients in a dark mode, and check accessibility and other aspects.

Skills and competencies of the email-building specialist

An email-building specialist is at the intersection of creativity and the technical side of email work. After all, a perfectly thought-out message with a carefully crafted design will work only if you consider the entire technical side of email technology. The task of a specialist in this position is not just to “assemble” the email but to ensure that every part of it works for all email clients and on all devices.

Basic skillset for the email-building specialist:

  • advanced knowledge and proficiency in email marketing tools and platforms such as Stripo email builder, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, or similar;
  • strong understanding of HTML and CSS to effectively format and style emails, ensuring they render correctly across various email clients and devices;
  • familiarity with how different email clients (e.g., Gmail and Outlook) render emails differently and the ability to design emails that perform well across these platforms;
  • expertise in creating responsive email designs that look and function well on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices;
  • exceptional attention to detail to ensure all elements (text, images, links, and formatting) are correctly implemented and free of errors;
  • efficiently gather and organize materials (copy, images, HTML code, and translations) from various team members, ensuring that all components are ready for assembly.
  • conduct thorough testing of emails across various email clients and devices to ensure proper rendering and functionality;
  • ability to create engaging and intuitive interactive elements (e.g., buttons and links) within emails to drive user engagement;
  • ability to identify and correct any issues or discrepancies in the email content, layout, or links before deployment.

An email implementation specialist requires a combination of technical skills, attention to detail, and strong project coordination abilities to create high-quality emails and ensure successful deployment, drive engagement, and achieve marketing goals.

What will help specialists work effectively on a team?

The skills and competencies associated with teamwork will differ slightly for different email production team members, depending on their positions. However, the ability to work in a team can be considered vital since the production of each email is a process associated with numerous approvals, comments, and corrections at different stages. All participants are involved in this process.

Therefore, the crucial skills for each member of an email production team are:

  • ability to collaborate effectively with diverse team members;
  • ability to give and receive feedback;
  • ability to constructively incorporate feedback from various team members and clients into design iterations;
  • ability to work on multiple projects;
  • time management skills so as not to let colleagues down.

The Stripo email builder has added co-editing and role assignment functions to make collaboration during email production more efficient.

Real-time co-editing allows several participants to work on one email simultaneously, reducing the time needed to make edits. The role assignment functionality enables you to assign each team member their status (writer, proofreader, etc.) and, depending on this, provide different options for changing the email in the editor.

It is really useful to be able to simultaneously work on an email at the preparation and approval stage, make corrections, comment, send it to everyone for approval, and clearly see who wrote what. All this greatly speeds up the planning stage, especially when several specialists are working on a campaign.

Olena Zhibul

Olena Zhibul,

Chief Email Marketing Expert of Kyivstar.

Wrapping up: How to develop the skills and competencies needed for effective email marketing

The skills and competencies collected in this article can and should be constantly developed. Email marketing is a changing environment in which new trends appear, something stops working, and something becomes at the peak of popularity.

What I’ve found most challenging is keeping my skills up to date. The industry is constantly changing. To run email campaigns, you must keep up with trends, regulations, certifications, and techniques. The industry demands more technical knowledge to implement ultra-personalized and automated campaigns while maintaining high design standards.

Adriana Enriquez Oliver

Adriana Enriquez Oliver,

Email Marketing Team Lead for Placeit by Envato.

Here are steps you can take to update your email marketing skills regularly:

  1. Follow trends and study best email marketing practices by following specialized resources, reading email marketing blogs, and browsing special trends collections.
  2. Develop writing skills by maintaining your own blog with professional reflection or a profile on social media.
  3. Constantly study and try new approaches to UI/UX design.
  4. Build an eye for detail by collecting successful examples and practices for creating good email designs. For this, you can use special resources, such as MailCharts, Milled, and ReallyGoodEmails, and follow Stripo’s Choice and Email Reviews.
  5. Explore and use the capabilities of tools powered by artificial intelligence in email marketing — to search for ideas, work on texts, create images, and other actions.
  6. Master email marketing automation and analytics tools that will make it more effective and allow you to use all trends.
  7. Optimize your teamwork process by building effective communication, documenting processes, and using collaboration tools for email production.
  8. Take training and courses in general email marketing or one of the areas of creating emails.

Remember to share interesting findings with your colleagues on the same email marketing team. This will make your email marketing more effective and your teamwork more coordinated.

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