• by Ray Schultz , October 17, 2017

Email specialists are not the best paid — or the most wanted—employees, judging by a study by the Creative Group, a Robert Half company.

The salaries for email marketing specialists range from $44,000 in the 25th percentile — the area with the least complex jobs — to $84,750 in the 95th percentile, those with the most wide-ranging responsibilities.

In contrast, a marketing analytics specialist starts at $49,000 and rises to $104,250 in the highest-earning group. Ecommerce marketing managers range from $68,500 to $130,750.

Still, email pros out-earn social media specialists. Those in the 50th percentile can make $54,000, and those in the 75th can expect $67,000.

In contrast, social media people specialists go from $41,250 to $78,750. However, social media managers hit the ground running with $50,000, and rise to $99,250 when they hit the top percentile.

In general, companies are desperately seeking talent. Almost half say it is challenging to find creative professionals.

The study reports that 57% will negotiate salaries, and 76% offer some form of an alternative work arrangement.

Who is being hired? That’s where it gets sticky. Robert Half defines the hot jobs as:

• Content strategist
• Digital marketing manager
• Digital project manager
• Digital strategist
• Marketing analytics manager
• Product designer
• User experience (UX) designer
• User experience (UX) researcher

Young people starting out in their careers should go into digital marketing and analytics — those skills are in high demand.

Of course, salary levels depend on location. Candidates located in New York City can add 40.5% to the salaries listed above, the study shows. And San Francisco residents can add 40%.

Boston is also popular, enjoying a 34% lift. And for Washington, DC, you can add 33%.

Compare those numbers with some other locations: El Paso, Texas (-28%), Macon, Georgia (-18%) and Sioux City, Iowa (-16%).

Here’s one final point: Almost a fourth of advertising and marketing executives say they prefer soft skills over hard skills. And well over half give equal weight to both when assessing candidates. 

What are soft skills? Communication, collaboration and flexibility.