Welcome to our comprehensive glossary of email marketing terms! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced marketer, this resource will help you navigate the world of email marketing tools. Explore definitions of key terms, from automation and segmentation to open rates and conversion rates. Expand your knowledge and elevate your email marketing game.

A

A/B Testing: Also known as split testing, it involves comparing two variations of an email to determine which performs better in terms of open rates, click-through rates, or conversions.

Automation: The process of automating email campaigns and workflows based on predefined triggers and actions.

Autoresponder: An automated email that is sent in response to a specific action or event, such as a subscription or purchase.

Above the Fold: Refers to the portion of an email or webpage that is visible without scrolling. Content placed here is considered to be in a prime position because it’s the first thing a viewer sees.

Authentication: The process used to verify that an email has actually come from the source it claims to have come from. This is done to combat spam and phishing attacks.

Acquisition Cost: The cost associated with acquiring a new customer, often including the money spent on advertising and promotional efforts.

Analytics: Refers to the collection and interpretation of data about email campaign performance, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Attrition Rate (or Churn Rate): The rate at which subscribers unsubscribe from an email list over a given period.

Audience Segmentation: The process of dividing an email list into smaller, more targeted groups based on certain criteria, such as purchase history, demographic information, or behavioral data.

Average Open Rate: A metric that measures the percentage of recipients who opened an email from an email campaign.

B

Behavioral Segmentation: Dividing an email list based on user behavior, such as past purchases or website activity, to send targeted and relevant content.

Bounce Rate: The percentage of emails that fail to reach the recipient’s inbox due to various reasons, such as invalid email addresses or full mailboxes.

Blind Carbon Copy (BCC): Allows the sender to send an email to someone without the primary recipient(s) knowing. It hides the email address of the BCC recipient.

Bulk Email: Sending an email message to a large group of people at once. It’s often used for promotional or marketing purposes.

Blacklist: A list of email addresses or IP addresses that are suspected of sending spam and are blocked from sending messages to a particular server or domain.

Best Practices: Recommended methods and strategies in email marketing to optimize performance, delivery, open rates, and click-through rates.

Broadcast: A single email sent to an entire list or segment at once, rather than triggered emails or autoresponders.

Bayesian Filter: An algorithm used by many email services to determine if an email is spam based on its content, sender, and other various criteria.

Branding: The practice of designing and crafting email messages to fit the visual identity and values of a brand or company, ensuring a consistent experience for the recipient.

Block: Refers to when an ISP (Internet Service Provider) prevents an email from reaching the intended recipient, often due to the sender being suspected of sending spam or other unwanted content.

C

Call-to-Action (CTA): A button or link in an email that encourages the recipient to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

CAN-SPAM Act: Legislation that establishes rules and guidelines for commercial email messages, including opt-out provisions and sender compliance requirements.
Sender Score: A numerical score assigned to a sender’s IP address, domain, or email practices to assess their reputation and deliverability.

Click-through Rate (CTR): The percentage of recipients who click on a link or call-to-action within an email.

Content Personalization: Customizing email content based on individual recipient preferences, interests, or demographics.

Conversion Rate: The percentage of recipients who take the desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, after clicking on a link in an email.

Conversion Tracking: The process of monitoring and measuring the actions taken by recipients after interacting with an email, such as tracking purchases or form submissions.

Campaign: A series or single email message designed for a specific purpose, like a product launch or a holiday sale.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Software that helps businesses manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, often integrated with email marketing to create targeted campaigns.

Content Filter: A tool used by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to screen and categorize incoming emails based on their content. Emails deemed as “spammy” might be filtered out before reaching the recipient’s inbox.

Confirmation Email: A type of transactional email sent to confirm a specific action taken by a user, such as a purchase, account creation, or newsletter subscription.

Cold Emailing: The practice of sending unsolicited emails to potential customers who have had no prior relationship or interaction with the sender. It’s different from spam as the intention is often more targeted and professional, but it’s important to follow best practices to ensure compliance with regulations.

Catch-All: An email address set up to receive all emails sent to incorrect email addresses within a domain.

D

Double Opt-in: A process in which subscribers confirm their subscription by clicking a verification link sent to their email after signing up.

Drip Campaign: A series of scheduled emails sent to subscribers over time to nurture and engage them.

Dynamic Content: Customizable content within an email that changes based on recipient data, allowing for personalized and tailored messaging.

Deliverability: Refers to the likelihood of an email being successfully delivered to a recipient’s inbox without being flagged as spam or bounced back.

Dedicated IP: An IP address used by only one sender. This can help in controlling deliverability since the sender’s reputation isn’t affected by other senders’ behaviors.

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): An authentication method used to detect email spoofing by allowing the receiver to check that an email was truly sent and authorized by the domain owner.

Demographics: Statistical data about the characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, and location. In email marketing, this can help segment and target specific audiences.

Deployment: The act of sending out an email campaign to a list or segment of subscribers.

Domain Authentication: A process that ensures and verifies that the email sender has permission to send emails on behalf of a domain.

Domain Blocklist: A list of domains that are prevented from sending emails to certain servers because they are suspected of sending spam or malicious content.

E

Email Campaign: A coordinated series of emails sent with a specific goal or objective in mind, such as promoting a product launch or driving event registrations.

Email Marketing: The practice of sending targeted emails to a group of individuals to promote products, services, or build relationships.

Email Newsletter: A regularly scheduled email communication sent to subscribers, often containing updates, news, or valuable content.

Engagement Rate: The measurement of how recipients interact with an email, including opens, clicks, and other actions.

Email Automation: Using software to send out emails automatically based on certain triggers or schedules.

ESP (Email Service Provider): A company that offers email marketing or bulk email services.

Email Filter: Tools that categorize, organize, or block incoming emails based on specific criteria.

Email List: A collection of email addresses used by a business to send out marketing messages.

Email Deliverability: The ability to deliver emails to recipients’ inboxes without them being flagged as spam or rejected.

Event-Triggered Email: Emails sent out based on a specific action or behavior of a user.

Email Personalization: Adapting email content to individual recipients to make messages more relevant and engaging.

Email Bounce Rate: The percentage of sent emails that are returned because they couldn’t be delivered.

F

From Name: The name that appears in the recipient’s inbox as the sender of the email.

Footer: The bottom section of an email, often containing contact information, unsubscribe links, and other essential details.

Frequency: How often emails are sent to subscribers.

Funnel: The process or flow through which a potential customer becomes a paying customer.

Feedback Loop: A process where ISPs provide the sender information about complaints from email recipients.

Follow-up Email: A subsequent email sent after an initial email or event.

Forward: When a recipient sends the email they’ve received to someone else.

False Positive: When a legitimate email is incorrectly classified as spam.

Filter: Tools or algorithms used to sort and categorize emails.

Friction: Any element or factor that makes a user less likely to complete a desired action, like making a purchase or signing up.

G

Geo-Targeting: Sending emails based on a recipient’s geographical location.

Greylisting: A method used by mail servers to prevent spam by temporarily rejecting emails from unknown senders.

Gated Content: Content that is only accessible after the user provides information, often an email address.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): European Union legislation related to data protection and privacy.

Graphic: Visual elements used in emails, including images, GIFs, and infographics.

Growth Hacking: Strategies focused primarily on growing a business or user base quickly.

Grouping: Segmenting or categorizing email subscribers based on specific criteria.

Goal: The desired outcome or target for a particular marketing campaign or strategy.

Google Analytics: A tool from Google to analyze website traffic and user behavior.

Guerilla Marketing: Unconventional marketing tactics that usually involve low-cost, but innovative and impactful methods.

H

HTML Email: An email formatted using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to create visually appealing designs and layouts.

Header: The top section of an email, usually containing logos, navigation, or other essential elements.

Hard Bounce: An email that has been returned to the sender because the recipient’s address is invalid.

Hygiene (List Hygiene): The practice of maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive, unengaged, or invalid email addresses.

Hyperlink: A clickable link that redirects the user to a specific webpage or resource.

Heatmap: A graphical representation of data where varying degrees of a single metric are represented using colors.

House List (or In-house List): An email list built and owned by the business.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The standard markup language used for creating web pages.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): The foundation of data communication on the World Wide Web.

Hub: A main or central resource, often referring to a central place where marketing data is stored and analyzed.

I

Inactive Subscriber: A recipient who has not engaged with or interacted with your emails over a defined period.

J

Junk Mail: Unwanted promotional emails, similar to spam.

K

Keyword: A word or phrase that describes the contents of a web page and for which search engines index the page.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A measurable value that indicates how effectively a company is achieving its business objectives.

Knowledge Base: An online resource library with information and answers to commonly asked questions.

Kinetic Email: Emails that include interactive features that users can control directly within the email.

Keyword Density: The percentage of times a keyword or phrase appears on a web page compared to the total number of words on the page.

Keyword Stuffing: Overloading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate search rankings.

Knowledge Graph: A database used by Google to enhance its search engine’s search results with information gathered from various sources.

Kerning: The adjustment of space between two individual letters in typesetting.

Keep-Alive: A message sent between two devices to check that the connection is still alive.

Knockout Text: Text that is cut out from an image or container so the background shows through.

L

Landing Page: A standalone web page specifically designed to receive and convert traffic from an email or other marketing channels.

Lead Magnet: Valuable content or incentive offered to potential subscribers in exchange for their email address, such as an ebook, whitepaper, or exclusive discount.

List Growth Rate: The rate at which an email list grows over a specific period, often measured as a percentage.

List Hygiene: The practice of regularly maintaining and updating an email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses.

List Segmentation: Dividing an email list into smaller segments based on specific criteria, such as demographics or user behavior, to deliver targeted and personalized content.

Lead: A potential sales contact or prospective customer.

Lead Scoring: A method used to rank leads based on their behavior and engagement.

Lifecycle Stages: The stages a potential customer goes through in the buying process, from awareness to purchase.

Link Building: The process of getting other websites to link back to your website, enhancing search engine optimization.

List Cleaning: The process of removing inactive or unengaged contacts from an email list.

Lookalike Audience: A type of audience in digital advertising, created by using existing customer data to find new people with similar behaviors and characteristics.

Lossy Compression: A method of data compression in which some detail is lost to reduce file size.

M

Multichannel Marketing: The practice of reaching and engaging customers through multiple channels, including email, social media, and offline channels.

Multivariate Testing: A testing method that allows for multiple variations of different elements within an email to determine the best combination for optimal performance.

Metrics: Quantifiable measures used to assess performance.

Marketing Automation: Using software to automate repetitive marketing tasks.

Mail Merge: A process to send personalized emails to many recipients at once.

N

Newsletter: Regularly sent emails that provide updates, news, or content to subscribers..

Nurture Campaign: A series of emails sent to guide potential customers through the buying process.

Navigation: The system that allows visitors to a website to move around that site.

Net Promoter Score (NPS): A measure of customer loyalty, asking respondents to rate the likelihood they would recommend a company to someone.

O

Open Rate: The percentage of recipients who open an email, indicating the effectiveness of your subject line and sender reputation.

Opt-in: The process by which a subscriber willingly provides their email address and gives permission to receive email communications from a sender.

Opt-Out: When someone chooses not to receive emails anymore, often through an “unsubscribe” link.

Organic Traffic: Visitors who come to your website as a result of unpaid search results.

Outbound Marketing: Traditional marketing where companies initiate the conversation and send messages out to the audience.

Omni-Channel Marketing: A strategy that provides a seamless experience across multiple communication channels.

Offer: A marketing term for the goods, services, or benefits promised to the consumer in exchange for a response or transaction.

P

Personalization: Tailoring email content based on individual recipient data, such as their name, location, or previous purchase history, to create a personalized and relevant experience.

Preview Text: The brief snippet of text that appears alongside or below the subject line in an email client’s inbox preview.

R

ROI (Return on Investment): The measurement of the effectiveness and profitability of an email marketing campaign.

Responsive Design: A design approach that ensures content looks good on any device, adjusting to screen size and orientation.

Retargeting (or Remarketing): Online advertising that targets users who have previously visited a particular website.

S

Sender Authentication: The process of validating the authenticity of an email sender through various protocols, such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).

Sender Name: The name or identity displayed as the sender of an email in the recipient’s inbox.

Sender Reputation: The perception of a sender’s email practices, including email deliverability and spam complaints.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): The standard protocol used for sending and receiving emails.

Spam Complaint: An action taken by a recipient to report an email as spam or unsolicited.

Spam Filter: Software or algorithms that analyze incoming emails and identify and filter out potential spam messages.

Split Testing: Also known as A/B testing, it involves creating multiple variations of an email and sending them to different segments of your audience to determine which version performs better.

Subject Line: The brief line of text that summarizes the content of an email and entices recipients to open it.

Suppression List: A list of email addresses that are excluded from receiving specific email campaigns, often used to prevent sending emails to unsubscribed or inactive users.

Subscriber: An individual who has opted in or subscribed to receive emails from a specific sender.

Subscriber List: A list of individuals who have opted-in to receive communications from a company.

Segmentation: Dividing a broad target market into subsets based on criteria like interests, demographics, or behavioral patterns.

Soft Bounce: An email that gets as far as the recipient’s mail server but is bounced back undelivered before it gets to the intended recipient.

T

Target Audience: The specific group of individuals or customers that an email campaign aims to reach and engage.

Transactional Email: An email sent to a recipient in response to a specific transaction or action, such as a purchase receipt or password reset confirmation.

Triggered Email: An automated email sent based on a specific trigger or event, such as a welcome email for new subscribers or a cart abandonment email.

U

Unengaged Subscriber: A recipient who has not interacted with or opened emails for a prolonged period.

Unsubscribe Link: A link provided in email communications that allows recipients to opt-out or unsubscribe from future email communications.

Unsubscribe Rate: The percentage of recipients who opt-out or unsubscribe from receiving future emails from a sender.

W

Welcome Email: The first email sent to new subscribers or customers to welcome them and set expectations for future communications.

Whitelisting: The process of adding a sender’s email address to a recipient’s approved or safe senders list, ensuring that their emails land in the inbox instead of being marked as spam.