How much should I charge per account as an email marketing account manager?

Hi! A reasonable way to price per client account is to start from (1) how many hours you realistically spend per month per account and (2) the hourly value you need to hit your target income (including admin time, non-billable meetings, and downtime), then convert that into a simple monthly “account management + strategy” retainer tiered by complexity. In practice, most agencies end up with a few tiers (light / standard / complex) because a “one price per account” usually undercharges for heavier e-commerce programs (multiple sends per week, lots of segments, promos, and deliverability issues).

Here’s a clean pricing method that usually works well:

1) Define what “per account” includes (so you’re not pricing a blank check)

Account management can mean very different things. Before you pick a number, list what you own vs. what production teams own.

Common “included” responsibilities:

• Client communication (status calls, Slack/email, approvals)
• Coordinating campaign calendar + timelines (project management)
• QA coordination (links, segments, tracking, UTM conventions—if applicable)
• Reporting and performance readouts (open/click trends, revenue attribution, list growth, deliverability signals)
• Light strategic guidance (what to send, when, to whom; testing ideas)

Common “not included” (or priced separately):

• Copywriting and design
• Build in the ESP (Klaviyo/Attentive/etc.)
• Advanced segmentation builds, data engineering, migrations
• Deep deliverability remediation
• Extra meetings / urgent weekend launches

If you don’t set these boundaries, a per-account fee can quietly turn into “unlimited email marketing consulting.”

2) Estimate hours per month per account (reality-based)

Track or estimate time in buckets:

• Recurring meetings + prep + follow-ups
• Inbox/Slack time (client questions, approvals)
• Internal coordination (creative, copy, dev, SMS, paid, etc.)
• Reporting + insights
• Planning (promo calendar, automation roadmap)
• Fire drills (last-minute changes, bugs, deliverability swings)

Most accounts usually fall into tiers like:

• Light: stable program, few stakeholders, minimal weekly churn
• Standard: regular campaigns, consistent optimization, normal coordination
• Complex: high-volume sending, many segments, frequent promos, multiple stakeholders, lots of last-minute changes

3) Choose a target effective hourly rate, then convert to a monthly per-account fee

A simple formula:

Per-account monthly fee = (hours per account per month × target hourly) + overhead buffer

Include a buffer because a chunk of your time won’t be perfectly “assignable” to a single account (context switching, internal meetings, QA escalations, documentation).

A quick way to set your target hourly:

• Take the annual income you want
• Divide by ~1,600–1,800 working hours/year (not 2,080, because you won’t bill every hour)
• Add a cushion if you’re a contractor (taxes/benefits/unpaid time)

4) Use “complexity multipliers” so your pricing scales with the actual workload

Instead of guessing one flat number, price on drivers that correlate strongly with effort:

Workload drivers (good predictors):

• Email volume (campaigns per week/month)
• Number of flows/automations you’re responsible for coordinating (and how often they’re updated)
• Segmentation complexity (basic vs. lots of dynamic segments/personalization)
• Stakeholders and approval layers (1 founder vs. 6-person team)
• Reporting expectations (basic dashboard vs. deep analysis + testing plan)
• Channel scope (email only vs. email + SMS coordination)
• Deliverability risk (list quality, complaints/unsubscribes, inconsistent sending, domain changes)

A practical structure is:

• Base account management retainer (covers communication, timelines, standard reporting)
• Add-ons for things that spike time (extra meetings, heavy promo cadence, complex reporting, deliverability projects, major automation rebuilds)

5) Sanity-check your rate against capacity (this catches underpricing fast)

Ask: “If I had 8–12 accounts at this rate, would my workload be sustainable and would I earn what I need?”

Two quick checks:

• Time check: total monthly hours across accounts + admin time fits your real capacity
• Stress check: you’re not relying on everything going perfectly (because it won’t)

6) Practical pricing tips (so it’s fair to you and easy for the agency/client)

• Tier it: light/standard/complex is easier than custom quotes every time.
• Define response times and meeting cadence: otherwise “client communication” becomes unlimited.
• Charge for out-of-scope: especially urgent one-off launches, migrations, or deliverability recovery.
• Revisit after 60–90 days: once you see the true time spend, adjust the tier.

If you tell me (a) expected campaigns per month, (b) whether you’re also coordinating automations/flows, (c) how many meetings they expect per client, and (d) whether you’re W-2 or contractor, I can help you turn that into a simple tiered per-account number that matches your income goal and keeps your workload realistic.