Email Marketing Job Roles, Skills, and Campaign Work

Email marketing jobs cover a range of responsibilities from strategy and list management to creative messaging and analytics. Professionals in this area work across teams to plan, build, and measure campaigns that nurture leads, support sales, and engage customers. Roles may require technical skills like CRM configuration and automation, creative skills such as copywriting, and sometimes language ability — for example, Japanese language skills for regional campaigns. This article outlines common job roles, the responsibilities of a marketing specialist, how campaign development works, CRM usage, and where language skills fit into email roles.

Email Marketing Job Roles, Skills, and Campaign Work

What job roles exist in email marketing?

Email marketing involves distinct but often overlapping job roles. Common positions include email marketing manager, marketing specialist focused on email, content or copywriter, designer for responsive templates, deliverability or operations specialist, and data analyst. Larger teams might separate strategy, campaign execution, and platform administration, while smaller teams combine tasks. Understanding these job roles helps applicants and hiring managers set clear expectations for campaign development, reporting, and ongoing optimization.

What does a marketing specialist do in email teams?

A marketing specialist in email teams typically focuses on executing and optimizing campaigns. Responsibilities include building audience segments, designing message flows, creating subject lines and body copy, and running A/B tests to improve open and click rates. They also review performance metrics like delivery, opens, clicks, conversions, and churn. Collaboration with product, design, and sales teams is common to align messaging and timing. Knowledge of CRM systems and basic HTML/CSS for template adjustments is often expected for this role.

How does campaign development work for email?

Campaign development follows a sequence: objective setting, audience segmentation, message design, scheduling, testing, and measurement. It starts with defining goals (acquisition, retention, upsell) and selecting relevant lists or segments in the CRM. Teams create templates and sequences, set up automation or drip programs, and perform QA across devices. Testing — subject lines, send times, content variations — informs iterative improvements. Post-send analysis uses KPIs to refine targeting and creative for future campaigns, closing the loop between strategy and execution.

How is CRM used in email marketing?

CRMs are central to email marketing for managing contacts, storing preferences, and automating lifecycle campaigns. Integration between the email platform and CRM allows marketers to trigger emails based on behavior (purchases, signups), update subscriber records, and maintain suppression lists to respect opt-outs. Clean data and proper consent handling improve deliverability and personalization. Common CRM tasks include segmentation based on RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) or engagement scores, mapping user journeys, and using CRM events to inform campaign development and reporting.

When is Japanese language required in email roles?

Japanese language skills are required when an email program targets Japan-based customers, Japanese-speaking segments, or localized product lines. Requirements range from basic reading ability for QA of translated copy to native-level proficiency for transcreation and cultural nuance in messaging. Roles may involve translating templates, adapting imagery and tone, adjusting send times to local time zones, and ensuring compliance with regional data and marketing regulations. Employers often specify language proficiency levels; bilingual candidates with marketing experience can bridge localization and campaign goals.

Email marketing roles demand a blend of analytical, technical, and creative abilities. A typical career path moves from campaign execution to strategy and platform ownership, with specialization possible in deliverability, automation, or regional programs that require additional language skills. Whether your interest is as a marketing specialist handling daily campaign development or as a CRM administrator ensuring clean data and integrations, clear communication, attention to metrics, and an understanding of audience needs are central to effective email work.