There are people you meet along the way who quietly become part of your journey—especially in a space like email, where so much of what we do is learned from each other.
Anne Tomlin is one of those people.
We met years ago at one of the early Litmus conferences, at a time when the email world still felt small and a little undefined. Like so many of us back then, we were figuring things out as we went—sharing code, asking questions, learning what works (and what definitely doesn’t).
That’s what the email community has always been about.
People helping people.
Passing knowledge forward.
Making things a little easier for the next person.
Anne has always been part of that in a very natural way.
Over the years, we’ve stayed connected—exchanging ideas, supporting each other through client questions, and navigating similar challenges from our own perspectives. Not as competitors, but as peers who understand the work, the pace, and the responsibility that comes with it.
Watching Anne grow into the freelancer she is today has been something I truly admire.
Not just because of her technical skill, but because of how she shows up—consistently, generously, and with a real love for the craft and the community around it.
I was a web dev who was asked to code an email. Loved it from the very first second. What made me go full-time freelance was that I didn't have enough hours in the day to work my full-time email job and freelance at the same time. What has kept me in email? I love it and I love teaching/helping others with it and the community is fabulous!
I went from tech support to web developer because I didn't see a future in tech support, so I taught myself PHP and got a web dev job. Someone asked me to code an email and I loved it so much that I went looking for an email-specific job. The more I got involved in the email community, the more requests for freelancing I got. When I couldn't do both full-time and freelancing, I freelanced only. Now I'm a full-time freelancer.
you did! When I talked to you at Litmus, you eased my fears about having to sell to people all the time. So when I was asked to freelance on the side, I thought it would be a great way to ease into full-time freelancing. Sustained my choice - the fact that i love it, the fact that I'm really good at it. The more I freelanced, the more clients were referred to me, and I enjoyed the variety of emails I was building because I was freelancing and not working for a specific brand. Now, I have regular clients that I love and don't plan to stop until retirement.
Mostly the challenges are not code related anymore. Now, it's admin stuff that is challenging - like billing on time, scheduling projects so I don't have too much work at one time is a big one. Educating clients about what is and is not possible in email is a challenge as well because you never know how they're going to take it.
The variety of emails I get to build. I would get so bored when I was full-time because I'd only have that 1 brand to work on. Now, every client is different and has a variety of needs, so I am never ever bored.
If there’s one thing Anne represents to me, it’s this quiet strength that exists in the email community.
There’s no playbook for what we do. No straight path. Most of us learned by asking questions, sharing what we knew, and figuring things out together.
Anne has always been part of that rhythm.
She didn’t just build a freelance career—she grew into it, shaped by the same exchanges, challenges, and moments of learning that connect all of us in this space. And along the way, she’s given just as much back as she’s received.
That’s what makes this community work.
We show up.
We help each other.
We keep going.
And somehow, over time, that turns into something bigger than just work.
I’m really glad Anne is part of that story.
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Add Your Voice!
This interview is part of The Email Freelancer Pathways Project, a series documenting the many different paths into email.
Through a short survey, I’m collecting experiences from email professionals to make these career journeys visible — and to help advocate for better access to the tools people are expected to master.
If you work in email in any capacity, your experience matters.
📩 Connect with me on LinkedIn or send a message.
With Love from Vancouver
Annett
Founder, EmailBoutique.io
