The Best Guide for Hiring an Email Marketing Virtual Assistant

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Email remains one of the most reliable ways to reach customers. Statistics show that 99% of email users check their inbox every day, and nearly 60% check it first thing in the morning. But building campaigns, managing lists, and maintaining automations still require consistent execution.

That’s why many businesses look for an email marketing virtual assistant. What they often need, though, isn’t basic task support. As email programs grow, execution requires judgment: segmentation decisions, automation oversight, deliverability awareness, and performance interpretation.

This guide explains what email marketing virtual assistant support typically includes, when it stops being enough, and how to decide between a generalist executing tasks and a specialist who brings expertise to implementation.

An email marketing virtual assistant (VA) does almost the very same thing as an in-person email marketing assistant, except they work remotely. In addition, most virtual assistants are self-employed, which means they operate their own business. As a result, they’re responsible for paying their own taxes, ensuring they have a workspace, and purchasing the equipment they need to complete their job. In addition, they must search for and obtain their own insurance benefits, like dental, vision, and health.

You may also hear virtual assistants being referred to as fractional service providers, which means they offer their services as needed to multiple clients. Unlike employees who are committed to one organization, you can access their skill set and experience without the full-time employee price tag.

Working with virtual assistants is different than working with employees, but we help business owners navigate this process.

However, not all email marketing virtual assistants are created equal. The most effective ones bring specialized expertise in platforms like Klaviyo, HubSpot, or ActiveCampaign rather than general admin skills. At Imperative Concierge, we match clients with Email Marketing Specialists who have 3+ years of focused experience, rather than assigning generalists from a roster. This means you work with someone who understands conversion optimization, automation workflows, and segmentation strategy – not just task execution.

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Many businesses start with basic email marketing, virtual assistant support for campaign scheduling, list management, and template updates that are based on the leader’s exact instructions. This can work well initially, in terms of the tasks getting done. However, as the business scales, you may notice gaps: campaigns that don’t convert, automation that breaks, or strategy decisions that require deeper expertise.

This isn’t a limitation of email marketing virtual assistants as a category, but of how the role is often scoped.

Email Marketing Implementation Support focuses on execution: building campaigns, managing lists, designing templates, scheduling sends, and maintaining platforms. This is tactical work that keeps your email marketing running.

Email Marketing Strategy focuses on optimization: conversion analysis, automation architecture, segmentation logic, testing protocols, and integration planning. This is strategic work that makes your email marketing perform better.

It’s important to note that implementation support can come from either generalists or specialists – but the quality differs significantly. A generalist email marketing VA executes implementation tasks based on your exact instructions: ‘send this campaign on Tuesday at 10am’ or ‘add these contacts to this list.’ An Email Marketing Specialist brings judgment to implementation work – they can spot why open rates are declining, identify segmentation errors, or flag deliverability issues before you even notice them. This expertise means specialists can make informed decisions during execution, while generalists need step-by-step direction.

Many businesses need both, but at different intensities depending on where they are in their growth. Some need heavy implementation with occasional strategic input. Others need strategic planning with lighter execution support.

As with most things, there’s a time and place. Businesses often transition from basic email marketing VA support to working with specialists when their business evolves and requires a different level of support like:

At Imperative Concierge, we match you with specialists whose depth matches your business complexity, using flexible 60-day time blocks instead of rigid monthly retainers.

Once you’ve decided to hire an email marketing virtual assistant or specialist, it’s time to get prepared. One of the biggest mistakes business professionals make when hiring is trying to “wing it,” but this rarely fares well. You could end up hiring someone who doesn’t meet your needs or hiring the right fit but not giving them the information they need to be successful.

Since 2015, we’ve been matching business leaders with email marketing specialists through our Imperative Support Model. You get access to premium, fractional expertise without payroll obligations, full-time commitments, or the management that comes with hiring directly.

Schedule a discovery call to talk through your specific situation and find out if our custom-matching approach is the right solution for your business.

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