Email development
Email development is the process of coding and designing HTML emails that render correctly across various email clients and devices. It's more than just writing a message; it involves crafting responsive layouts, optimising for deliverability, and ensuring a consistent brand experience for recipients. A skilled email developer can transform your marketing campaigns, transactional notifications, and other email communications into engaging and effective tools.
What to look for in an email developer
When searching for a freelance email developer, consider the following key skills and qualities:
- Proficiency in HTML and CSS, specifically for email development.
- Experience with email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, or Constant Contact.
- Understanding of email deliverability best practices, including authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
- Knowledge of responsive design principles to ensure emails display correctly on different screen sizes.
- Ability to troubleshoot rendering issues across various email clients (e.g., Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail).
- Strong communication and collaboration skills to understand your requirements and provide timely updates.
Main expertise areas
Email development encompasses several key areas of expertise. When hiring, consider which of these areas are most relevant to your project:
- Template development: Creating reusable email templates for newsletters, promotional emails, and transactional messages.
- Email automation: Setting up automated email sequences for onboarding, lead nurturing, and other marketing campaigns.
- Deliverability optimisation: Implementing best practices to ensure your emails reach the inbox and avoid spam filters.
- Accessibility: Designing emails that are accessible to users with disabilities, following WCAG guidelines.
- Testing and QA: Thoroughly testing emails across different email clients and devices to ensure consistent rendering.
Relevant interview questions
Here are some questions to ask potential email developers during the interview process:
- Can you share examples of email templates you've developed?
- What is your approach to ensuring email deliverability?
- How do you handle responsive design in email development?
- What are some common challenges in email development, and how do you overcome them?
- Describe your experience with email marketing platforms.
- How do you test and QA your email code?
Tips for shortlisting candidates
- To effectively shortlist candidates, review their portfolios for examples of well-coded, responsive emails.
- Look for clean code, attention to detail, and a demonstrated understanding of email best practices.
- Check their references and testimonials to gauge their reliability and communication skills.
Potential red flags
Be wary of candidates who:
- Lack a portfolio of demonstrable email development work.
- Are unfamiliar with email deliverability best practices.
- Cannot explain their coding process or troubleshooting techniques.
- Have poor communication skills or are unresponsive to your inquiries.
Typical complementary skills
Email developers often possess complementary skills that can enhance your project. These include:
- Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
- Email marketing strategy
- Graphic design
- Copywriting
Benefits of hiring a freelance email developer
Hiring a freelance email developer can provide numerous benefits:
- Improved email engagement: Well-designed emails can increase open and click-through rates, leading to better campaign performance.
- Enhanced brand consistency: Professional email templates ensure a consistent brand experience across all your email communications.
- Time savings: Outsourcing your email development frees up your internal team to focus on other critical tasks.
- Cost-effectiveness: Freelancers offer flexible engagement models, allowing you to scale your resources as needed.
- Access to specialised expertise: Tap into a pool of talented email developers with specific skills and experience.
Real-world examples
Consider these examples of how email development is applied in real-world projects:
- E-commerce: Developing transactional emails for order confirmations, shipping updates, and abandoned cart reminders.
- SaaS companies: Creating onboarding email sequences to welcome new users and guide them through the product.
- Non-profit organisations: Designing newsletters and fundraising appeals to engage donors and raise awareness.
