11 Email Marketing Interview Questions and How to Prepare

Exploring possible interview questions your employer may ask beforehand can allow you time to formulate your answers before the interview. By being prepared, you can appear confident during the interview. Walk into your next meeting with a hiring manager armed with some potential email marketing interview questions you may encounter while interviewing for an email marketing position and tips on how to answer them. 

11 email marketing interview questions 

During an interview, potential employers ask questions that allow you to discuss your knowledge and experience in creating successful email campaigns. Visit the company’s website to learn everything about its mission and values. Study the job description to learn all you can about the must-haves for the role, which you can use to guide you as you craft potential answers.

1. What is your experience with email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, HubSpot, Marketo)?

What they’re really asking: Interviewers are likely asking this question to learn about your technical skills related to commonly used marketing tools. 

This can be an opportunity to share your experiences with marketing tools and platforms and your ability to execute a campaign. Be specific when describing which platforms you have used. Give examples that highlight how you used the tools in the past, particularly when they supported you in a successful campaign. 

Other forms this question may take:

• Are you technically savvy when it comes to marketing?

• Which marketing platforms do you find most helpful?

• Did you use marketing platforms in your last position?

2. How do you create a compelling email subject line?

What they’re really asking: Can you write a catchy subject line to get customers to open your email?

Preparation is essential for answering this question. Start by learning more about the company by signing up for its current emails to see examples of their subject lines. Consider creating a few email subject lines that fit a hypothetical marketing campaign, which you can later present to your interviewer. Short, descriptive subject lines that catch the reader’s attention are typically best. 

Other forms this question may take:

• How do you ensure people open an email?

• What keywords do you include in your subject line?

3. What is your approach to email segmentation and personalization?

What they’re really asking: How do you create emails that go beyond “one-size-fits-all”?

During your interview, you can suggest techniques, such as behavioral tracking, surveys, and analytics, that may help reach the company’s target audience. Explain how you create segments that treat customers as individuals. Demonstrate how these techniques can make the company’s segmentation and personalization strategies more effective.

Other forms this question may take:

• How do you individualize your emails?

• What can you tell us about target audiences?

• How would you research customers’ shopping behaviors?

4. How do you measure the success of an email marketing campaign?

What they’re really asking: What do you consider a successful campaign?

Consider familiarizing yourself with email marketing metrics, such as click-through rate, conversion, and bounce rates, before your interview so you can discuss various ways of measuring a campaign's success. Learn about the company’s marketing needs to ensure your answer aligns with what the interviewer considers a successful campaign, and share how you measure results.

Other forms this question may take:

• How would you use marketing metrics?

• How do you decide which metrics to use?

5. What is your experience with A/B testing?

What they’re really asking: Do you understand what A/B testing is? 

If you have used A/B testing before, discuss how it provided valuable data, the impact of the test on a given email campaign, and how you validated the results using statistics. You can explain your experience with A/B testing by talking through the process you used from start to finish

Other forms this question may take:

• What sets A/B testing apart from other methods?

• Walk me through your A/B testing experience.

6. How do you handle email deliverability and spam issues?

What they’re really asking: How do you ensure your emails are being read?

Discuss the importance of successful marketing email delivery. Share actions you’ve taken to ensure successful email delivery and don’t land in the spam folder, a common issue in email marketing. Be ready to discuss the importance of cleaning up contact lists by removing unengaged people from the outreach effort, removing email addresses that have bounced, and confirming the correct ones.

Other forms this question may take:

• What trigger words or red flags might send an email to spam?

• Which spam filters are you familiar with?

• How do you fix deliverability issues?

7. How do you comply with email marketing regulations?

What they’re really asking: Are you familiar with email compliance regulations?

Study international data-related regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the US's California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Ensure you remain well informed about how to avoid regulation violations. During the interview, make sure you indicate that you’re aware of the regulations and the importance of complying with them. If it’s relevant in the interview, consider offering examples from your role in a previous company’s compliance program and why the policies were effective. 

Other forms this question may take:

• How do you protect private information when sending emails?

• Give some examples of email compliance regulations you are familiar with.

• How do you stay up to date on the latest email compliance regulations?

8. What is your experience with automation workflows and drip campaigns?

What they’re really asking: Have you had success in automation and drip campaigns in your previous roles?

Discuss your experience using automated workflows and drip campaigns in past positions, specifically, your experiences turning leads into loyal customers. Show your knowledge of how automated drip campaigns help marketers send emails at predetermined times. Explain which software you are familiar with. 

Some relevant software tools in this space include Wrike, Shape, ActiveCampaign, Campaign Monitor, Klaviyo, MailChimp, and HubSpot. Research the target audience of the company you’re interviewing with, segment them, and decide which techniques you could use to grab their interest to explain your conclusions to your interviewer. 

Other forms this question may take:

• Discuss the automation and drip campaign tools you have used.

• Which campaigns do you think are best suited for automation and drip techniques?

• What is the difference between automation and drip campaigns, and how would you decide which to use?

9. How do you analyze email marketing data to identify trends and insights?

What they’re asking: How do you stay ahead of the competition regarding email marketing?

Some ways to analyze email marketing data include reading industry publications, following social media, and talking to others in the industry. You can also mention the benefits of using a trend discovery tool. Share which metrics you would use to gain insight into how readers react to different emails. 

Other forms this question may take:

• Talk about the tools you use to analyze marketing data.

• How do you stay on top of trends in the industry?

10. How do you craft compelling email content?

What they’re really asking: What techniques do you use to create a successful email campaign?

Use this opportunity to show your creativity off a bit. Start by explaining how you would research the target audience and adapt the email content depending on the intended recipient. Compelling email content can be a key way to increase responses from your audience, so it is imperative to include helpful information for your audience. Discuss some of the qualities that help an email stand out and the methods you use to write one that delivers results. In addition to emphasizing the importance of writing straightforward, friendly, and informative content, let your employer know how you create eye-catching emails by using creative effects like GIFs or interactive polls to engage readers. 

Other forms this question may take:

• What strategies have you used to create effective content?

• How do you decide which content is relevant for the email receiver?

11. What questions do you have for me?

What they’re really asking: Are you interested in this position, and would you like to know more about it?

Prepare questions ahead of time by researching the company and reviewing the job description, then ask questions you have related to the position to help you determine if the role is a fit for you. Ask about the company culture, what it is like to work for the company, and what happens after the interview. Instead of asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no,” focus on open-ended questions so the hiring manager’s answers provide you with details about the job and company, and you keep the conversation flowing. 

Email marketing interview tips

Being prepared is key for any interview. When applying for an email marketing position, consider keeping the following tips in mind to help you have a successful interview: 

• Come prepared to discuss your strengths and experience. Keep it interesting by telling short stories that demonstrate your skills. 

• Stand out from other candidates by using a firm handshake, maintaining eye contact, being energetic and confident, and expressing your personality and sense of humor. This helps the hiring manager envision how you’ll fit within the team and culture. 

• Send a thank you message to follow up after the interview. You can email the interviewer on the same day, then follow up with a handwritten note within two days to help you stand out. 

Preparing for an email marketing interview with Coursera

Preparing for questions that may arise during an email marketing interview can give you an advantage with employers if you understand the deeper meaning behind each question, provide examples of your past work, and tailor your answers to match the position. Learn more about email marketing with Google’s Digital Marketing and E-commerce Professional Certificate on Coursera, where you can learn how to attract and engage customers through digital marketing channels like search and email. 

Explore ways to collect, sort, evaluate, and visualize marketing data with Meta’s Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate on Coursera.