HOW TO HIRE · MARKETING, DESIGN & TECH

How to hire an email marketing specialist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies, but every campaign must follow PECR. Here are the consent rules, the questions to ask and what a retainer should include.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an email marketing specialist in five steps

  1. Check how your list was builtSign-up forms, past customers or a bought-in list: the answer decides who you may email at all.
  2. Keep the platform account in your nameGive the email marketing specialist access as a user. You own the subscriber data.
  3. Agree campaigns and automationsHow many newsletters a month, which flows (welcome, abandoned basket, win-back) and when they launch.
  4. Make the opt-out work everywhereAn unsubscribe link in every email, honoured across every list and tool.
  5. Ask for monthly resultsDelivery, opens, clicks, revenue and unsubscribes, with what will change next month.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or qualification is needed to work as an email marketing specialist in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The law that applies is PECR on the emails themselves and data protection law on the list.

Ask for campaigns they run now and a client you can contact.

Consent and the soft opt-in (PECR)

Regulation 22 of PECR means marketing emails and texts to individuals need their specific consent. The exception is the soft opt-in: existing customers who bought or negotiated to buy something similar, who were given a simple way to opt out when their details were taken and in every message since.

Ask the email marketing specialist to show how each segment was collected and on what basis it is emailed. ico.org.uk →

Identity and opt-out in every message

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations also say marketing emails must not hide who is sending them and must give a valid address for opting out. Business email addresses may be marketed to, but objections should be recorded and respected.

Check a test send for your business name, a working unsubscribe link and a contact address. ico.org.uk →

ICO fee and the subscriber data

Your subscriber list is personal data. A specialist who processes it as a business must pay the ICO data protection fee unless exempt, and you should know where it is stored.

Check the email marketing specialist on the ICO register and agree in writing that the data stays in your account. gov.uk →

VAT

Email marketing services are standard-rated: a registered email marketing specialist charges 20% on campaigns and automations, while your email platform bills its own subscription. Registration becomes compulsory once an email marketing specialist has VAT-taxable turnover over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months; from then VAT must be charged and shown as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask the email marketing specialist for the VAT number when the term is agreed and for VAT on the monthly fee as a separate line. gov.uk →

“How will you check that my email list can be marketed to?”

A good answer: Questions back to you about where each list came from, and a plan to drop or re-permission contacts who never agreed.

“Will my email platform and subscriber data stay in my name?”

A good answer: Yes. The email marketing specialist works inside your account and leaves it intact when the contract ends.

“How many campaigns and automations are in the monthly fee?”

A good answer: Numbers: for example two newsletters and one new automation a month, with design and copy included or priced.

“How are unsubscribes handled across tools?”

A good answer: One suppression list, synced between platforms, so a person who opts out stops getting all marketing emails.

“Would you ever use a bought-in list of individuals?”

A good answer: No, not without proof of specific consent to emails from your business. A specialist who offers to buy a list of consumers is a warning sign.

“What will the email marketing reports show?”

A good answer: Delivery, open and click rates, revenue where trackable, unsubscribes and complaints, against last month.

“How do you test before a campaign goes out?”

A good answer: Test sends to several inboxes, link checks, and a review of the sender name and opt-out.

Getting the quote right

  • Number of campaigns per month and automations to be built
  • Who actually attends to the campaigns: the email marketing specialist you hired, an employee, or a subcontracted designer or copywriter
  • Design, copy and images: included or extra
  • List management and cleaning, and how consent is checked
  • The email platform subscription, paid by you and kept in your name
  • Reporting: what, how often, and a review call
  • Minimum term, notice period
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on the monthly campaign fee

Walk away if

  • Offers to buy a list of consumer email addresses
  • Wants to move your subscribers to an account in their name
  • Removes or hides the unsubscribe link
  • Promises open rates far above anything you have seen
  • No test send before campaigns go out
  • Cannot explain the soft opt-in
LOW
£400
TYPICAL
£800
HIGH
£2,000

What an email marketing specialist costs: £400–£2,000 per month

Email marketing specialists usually charge a monthly retainer for campaigns and automations; the email platform is paid for separately. Email Marketing Specialist price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Email marketing specialists near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

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  1. AuditThe list, its sources, past campaigns and the platform reviewed.
  2. PlanA calendar of campaigns and the automations to build, agreed with you.
  3. BuildTemplates, copy and segments set up and tested.
  4. SendCampaigns sent after test sends, with opt-outs working.
  5. ReportResults reviewed monthly, with changes for the next month.

Soft opt-in
The PECR exception for emailing your own past customers about similar products, with an opt-out.
Automation
An email sequence triggered by an action, such as signing up or leaving a basket.
Segment
A part of your list grouped by behaviour or details, emailed separately.
Suppression list
Addresses that must not be emailed, such as people who unsubscribed.
Deliverability
How reliably emails land in inboxes rather than spam folders.
Open rate
The share of delivered emails that were opened; less reliable than clicks.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the consent recordsHow and when each group of subscribers signed up. If a complaint reaches the ICO, this is your evidence.
Check a live campaign yourselfOpen it on a phone, click the links, and try the unsubscribe on a test address.
Export your subscriber listKeep a current copy of the list and the suppression list in your own files.
Share how it wentYour review helps the next person choose; Locufy only accepts reviews of booked work. If there is a problem with the email marketing specialist, the make-it-right step gives them a chance to fix it first.

STEP 1Put it to the email marketing specialist in writingSet out the problem, the date and what would put it right. Trading as a business, the email marketing specialist owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and where that was missing you can require the work done again or a lower price.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyUnder four stars, you are asked whether to send the problem to the email marketing specialist before reviewing. We chase it with them, and your review follows.
STEP 3Report it through the consumer helplineTrading Standards takes complaints through the national helplines: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, and Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland, which is its own helpline there.
STEP 4Go to small claimsIf nothing else works, claim from the email marketing specialist in the small claims court: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, up to £5,000 in Scotland by simple procedure, and up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an email marketing specialist: questions people ask

No. Not in any part of the UK; there is no licence, register or required qualification. The emails must follow PECR and the list must be handled under data protection law.

Not individuals, unless the soft opt-in applies to your own past customers. PECR requires specific consent for marketing emails and texts to individuals.

PECR allows marketing emails to companies, but you must say who you are, give an opt-out, and it is good practice to keep a do-not-email list of those who object.

Usually £400–£2,000 per month, with £800 typical. Campaigns per month, automations, design and list size move the monthly fee. See the email marketing specialist price guide for the detail, or enter your town above for email marketing specialists near you.

You should. Keep the platform account and subscriber data in your business's name and export them regularly.

Usually two to four weeks for the first flows, running alongside a monthly retainer for campaigns.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in marketing, design & tech

How to hire: CopywriterHow to hire: Digital Marketing ConsultantHow to hire: CRM ConsultantHow to hire: Social Media ManagerHow to hire: SEO SpecialistHow to hire: Google Ads / PPC SpecialistHow to hire: Content CreatorHow to hire: Blog WriterAll 701 hiring guides →

Email marketing specialists near you

Email marketing specialists in LondonEmail marketing specialists in ManchesterEmail marketing specialists in BirminghamEmail marketing specialists in GlasgowEmail marketing specialists in BelfastAll email marketing specialists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. ICO — electronic mail marketing (PECR)
  2. gov.uk — pay the data protection fee
  3. ICO — guide to the data protection fee
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  5. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  6. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  7. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  8. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register