hi there, thanks for stopping by.
What follows is a bit lengthy, but will give you a better idea of what we do, what this role entails, measures of success and how to apply.
what we do
We’re a boutique growth agency that gives a damn about our work, our clients, our people, and doing the right thing. We specialize in:
- user experience research and design
- full-service a/b testing and personalization (aka conversion rate optimization)
- data analytics
about the surefoot email team
Wouldn’t you rather feel trusted to use your expertise and problem-solve than have your manager hawking over your shoulder micromanaging you? Did you become a strategic leader so you could have time to deep work and focus on driving real value, or did you do all that hard work so you could waste time infighting with colleagues and clients and finger-pointing in meetings all day?
At surefoot, our email strategy team enjoys doing the heads-down “deep work” required to deliver real strategic value to our clients, as well as working closely with kind, supportive co-workers who respect them and their time (both at and away from the virtual office). They are given trust and autonomy to problem solve and their hard work is recognized by peers, leadership and clients. Big egos and timesheet padders don’t last long here. Nor do people with “that’s not in my job description” attitudes. When smart people collaborate instead of compete and bring solutions instead of problems, amazing things happen.
We also collaborate with our clients. We bend over backwards (but not forwards) to make sure they’re happy. Our goal is to be the best, most helpful agency they’ve ever worked with. In pursuit of that goal, we’re not two-faced — we share our authentic selves with clients, colleagues and everyone we meet. That includes admitting when we make mistakes and learning from them so we may improve in the future.
We’ll be honest; surefoot isn’t for everyone. If you can’t make decisions without a lot of oversight or input from others, hate the thought of spending an extra few minutes at the end of a long day to help a teammate or client, or asynchronous communication gives you heart palpitations, we’re probably not for you. And if you hate flexibility and can’t manage your own work schedule, stop reading here. But if you’re a humble team player who likes to see and contribute to the success of something greater than yourself, then you need to apply. Now.
email marketing strategist role description
As an email marketing strategist, you’ll lead surefoot’s efforts to convert, engage and retain our clients’ subscribers and customers through the email channel. You’ll need to be data-driven and creative and feel comfortable establishing a strategic vision / roadmap so you can execute with confidence and excellence.
If you have an entrepreneurial bent, you’ll love this role! We’ll look to you to take ownership over the email practice and grow and lead a team who can execute innovative, fast-moving and results-oriented email campaigns. This doesn’t mean you’ll manage from a chair in the sky – quite the opposite, in fact. You’ll roll up your sleeves and do the work alongside a hardworking, whip-smart team of campaign managers, ux designers, developers and data analysts. You’ll be responsible for driving process efficiency and defining, monitoring and driving success at the program, campaign and segment levels. Successful marketing strategists are collaborative, strategic and able to clearly articulate hypotheses and optimizations. Oh, and it helps if you pride yourself on delivering thoughtful, customer-centric experiences.
a day in the life of an email marketing strategist
- start your morning with a cup ‘o joe and fire up your computer organize your priorities for the day, check emails, Slack, check-in on active campaigns, etc.
- it’s 10:30 CST, time for our team video stand-up to chit chat with teammates a bit, then talk about what you worked on yesterday, are doing today and any blockers.
- shortly after stand-up, you’ll hop on your first hour-long client call of the day (video camera on!), where you’ll start by talking with clients about anything other than the weather (weird news you recently read, the trip you know they just got back from, y’know, actual interesting stuff). Once you’ve chit-chatted a bit, you’ll walk the client through the status of campaigns in their pipeline, present the results of a recent campaign and your recommendations and talk about the content calendar for the upcoming month. You’ll re-iterate next steps and to-dos and bid your client friends goodbye ‘til next time.
- after a stretch break and a #self-care Slack post to enter the monthly gift card drawing, you’re back at your desk reviewing the results of a recent campaign and identifying customer-centric marketing strategies that will unlock greater channel productivity and customer engagement/LTV.
- you spend your early afternoon writing a creative brief for an upcoming initiative that promises to drive greater relevance through an increased mix of targeted and automated campaigns, and includes integrated strategy with related channels (SMS/push/social).
- it’s time for your weekly check-in with the email campaign manager, where you’ll review each client’s updates for the upcoming week and progress from the week prior.
- after this call, you’ll respond to a few client emails/Slack messages that have come in and check in on #watercooler to interact with teammates before you wrap things up for the day.
role requirements
must haves
- 8+ years of marketing experience within consumer brand or marketing/consulting agency.
- 4+ years of email marketing experience.
- experience with tools like Emarsys, Klaviyo, Listrak or similar.
- people management experience with demonstrable examples of how you’ve led a team and helped others learn and grow.
- top notch communicator with approachable, grammatically correct writing style.
- experience and comfort presenting to clients and stakeholders.
- exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail (e.g., if you found an error in this job description, it is still bugging you).
nice-to-haves
- experience with A/B testing or personalization.
- some knowledge of basic HTML/CSS and creating emails within the various tools.
- management training or coursework completion.
salary and benefits
The position is full-time W-2 and open to U.S.-based applicants only. No Visa sponsorship is provided.
- Base salary: $120,000 to $140,000 (depending on experience)
- Benefits and perks:
- health insurance
- 2.5 weeks paid vacation to start (more accrued annually)
- 11 paid holidays
- two 1/2 day Fridays per month
- self-care bonuses
- company-paid all-hands trips
- fully-remote team (even pre-COVID!)
- Climate Neutral smart thermostat reimbursement
- $250 learning budget
- …more as the company grows, with your input solicited on benefits that matter to you!
what success looks like
If you’re going to get a new job, especially if you’re potentially quitting another to get it, we feel it’s important to tell you up front how you’ll be measured. That way, you’ll clearly understand our performance expectations and learn a lot faster and more completely what to strive for…and what not to. In fact, we believe so strongly in sharing this, we’ve included a table in our HTML. If you’ve worked in email, you know this shows a considerable commitment to sharing this information!
| never acceptable | meeting expectations | role model |
| I do everything in the meeting expectations category, plus… | ||
| When breakdowns or missed communications occur, I engage in finger-pointing or blaming others. | I accept personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of my work and communications without making excuses or blaming others. | I actively redirect conversations with my colleagues to stop them from making excuses or blaming others. |
| When I make mistakes or miss deadlines, I offer excuses like “I couldn’t get it done because…” | I meet my commitments and if it looks like I won’t be able to, I take responsibility for communicating and implementing an alternative that ensures the commitment still gets met (I do what I say I’m going to do). | If I make a mistake, I immediately take action to remedy the situation, but then I also bring it to the attention of others (failure bow!) so we can develop a root-cause solution and nobody else has to suffer through the same issue. |
| I have a “not my problem” or “that’s not in my job description” attitude and push mediocre work through or do the bare minimum for the sake of checking off tasks as “done”. | I collaborate with coworkers and clients, and when I encounter roadblocks, I identify ways to break through them and do whatever is necessary to deliver an outcome that is in the best interest of the client. | I spring into action and offer support and assistance without specifically being asked when I see a coworker or client in need, even if it falls outside my job description or domain. |
| I drop problems in other people’s laps with little to no context, guidance or proposed solutions and allow them to do most of the work. | I don’t wait to be told to take action when I encounter a problem, and I propose solutions to help complete projects more quickly and effectively. I clearly state the problem and how I solved it, or my recommendation for how I’d solve it and why I recommend doing it that way. | I identify a problem and proactively lead the charge on solving it without being asked to do so. |
| When I lack certain skills or knowledge required to do my job effectively, I don’t make time to learn or regularly “backburner” opportunities to do so. | I do the work required to learn new things and grow my skill set when something in my job requires it. | I proactively engage in ongoing personal or professional development and regularly take courses, webinars, classes, certification tests, etc., even if it’s outside the scope of my job or daily work. |
ready to apply?
Great, we’re looking forward to meeting you! To get the ball rolling, please submit this form.
If all is well there, you’ll move on to phase two which involves a Zoom video call to get to know one another a bit better. If we’re feeling good about that, we’ll contact your references.
And finally, if your references check out and confirm you’re not a stabber, we’ll ask you to do some actual paid work with us to determine fit for both parties. We call this a “paid interview”, and it’s a nice way for both parties to get a feel for one another’s work, communication style and more.
All applicants will receive a response. surefoot is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to building a company that embraces and celebrates diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.