A/B Split Test

It is a way of comparing the results from two or more emails and doing some logical deductions. You prepare at least 2 variations of an email, naming them A, B, C...etc. You then experiment with different people to see which variation yields the best result - this gives you great insight into what type of content has the highest chance for success.

Autoresponder

An Email Autoresponder is a type of email automation system. Email messages are automatically triggered based on specific information. An email can be automatically sent out when a new subscriber opt-in to your list. Another example would be a campaign that is used to send emails when the subscriber is tagged manually or automatically.

Blacklist or Blocklist

Is a list of sender emails that are believed to have sent spam or other forms of abusive emails. This list is developed and maintained by people or companies accepting emails that will reject an email based on domains or IP addresses.

Block

When your email has been blocked from being sent due to it being treated as spam, this is referred to as an email block. Usually, these blocks will happen when a user sends an excessive amount of emails in one day or if their email looks suspicious.

Bounce Rate

The rate at which your emails are not delivered. There are two types of bounces, call Hard Bounce and Soft Bounce, Go to each of their definitions on this page to learn more.

Bulk Mail/Mass email

Sending an email to hundreds of recipients simultaneously is called Mass Emailing.

Call To Action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt in an email or on a web page to have the person take an action. Some common CTAs are: “Get Instant Access Now”, “Click to Download”, or “Click here to register for today's webinar”.

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CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing)

The Act of 2003,' it's a law that outlines rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, and provides email recipients with the right to make you stop emailing them.

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CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law)

This act of the Canadian government requires all Canadian organizations and international ones reaching out to Canadians for commercial purposes to first receive permission from those they are emailing.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

This is the percentage of a particular URL that is in an email message being clicked. This is based on the number of subscribers who opened the email versus how many of the subscribers clicked on the URL.

This is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the total number of emails sent.

For example, if you sent 100 emails and received 50 clicks on the links within that email your Click-Through Rate would be 50%.

Cold Email

When an email is sent to someone you don't know for some particular circumstance is referred to as a cold email. Cold emails are seen as spammy nowadays, but they can still work if done correctly.

Conversion Rate

One measure of how well an email performs is the number of people who followed through on your call to action. This could be a click, a download, or some other type of completion; it's often considered one of the most accurate measurements because it means people actually took some sort of action you wanted them to take.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

This is a software system used to manage and track interactions with customers, prospects, and leads.

DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)

DKIM is an email security measure that aims to confirm whether or not messages were altered during transit.

This authentication process uses a public key that signs emails from a sender with their private key as they leave - recipient servers then will verify the authenticity of this message by using the corresponding public key.

Use DKIM's domain and ensure no alterations were made to the message since it was first sent.

Once this is done, the message is considered authenticated and has passed DKIM, thus proving its authenticity.

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DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance)

This is a free and open specification that is used to authenticate an email by aligning SPF and DKIM tools. Owners of large and small businesses can fight email compromise, phishing, and spoofing.

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Domain

A domain is a location for a website. For example, google.com is the home page domain for Google.

Double Opt-In

This requires subscribers to confirm their opt-in to your list by clicking a link in a confirmation email. This is generally the preferred way to build a list. This means that your subscribers are a person just like you.

Drip Marketing

Drip marketing is the process of sending out pre-written emails set to be sent out one after another if a certain action has been taken or if there are designated intervals between them.

Email Campaign

An email or a series of emails to educate and or focus mainly on a topic. This is very similar to a Follow up Series.

Email Client

A computer application that gives you access to email without logging into a browser is called an email client. Outlook is one of the most popular email clients.

Email Deliverability

The ability for emails to reach the inbox of recipients is called Email Deliverability. The higher it is, the better chance you have of reaching your goal.

Email List

This contains all of the subscribers who have opted into your list that will receive your emails.

ESP (Email Service Provider)

An email service provider is a software company that offers email service. There are many different email service providers that you can choose from such as GetResponse, AWeber, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and many more.

Follow-up Series

An email is automatically sent after a subscriber is actively on your list. A sequence of follow-up email messages will be sent out in intervals that you choose.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

A regulation that gives European Union citizens control of their personal data. This determines how to process subscriber data which primarily comes from the consent of the subscriber (opt-in).

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Hard Bounce

This is due to an email that failed to be delivered for a permanent reason like a non-existent email address, invalid, or blocked email address.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

The flexibility of HTML email design is a key advantage for anyone who wants to make their messages visually appealing. Unlike text-based emails, those composed in HTML allow you to use images, fonts, and layouts for the benefit of your recipients; much like they would when viewing a webpage. Email design allows brands to communicate with prospects more effectively through engaging visuals instead of relying solely on text alone.

Hyperlink

A hyperlink is a website page placed into an email message or embedded image that is clickable by the recipient.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)

This is a unique value assigned to computers and devices that are connected to the Internet that allows a device to be identified. This is a unique value to each computer or device around the world that is on the internet.

Landing Page, Lead Capture Page or Signup Form

A webpage that is used to specifically have a visitor opt-in to your email list. This webpage contains all the information they need to fill out to opt into your list. This usually consists of an email address, name, and phone number.

Lead

A person that has an interest in your product or service, is also known as a prospect. You have acquired the person's contact information now on your email list. Generally, this is from your marketing efforts which are responsible for acquiring new leads and converting them into customers.

Lead Magnet

This is an incentive to encourage someone to join (opt-in) your email list. This is something of value to your new subscriber. This can be a variety of items including digital downloads or a video.

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List Scrubbing (cleaning)

This is done to maintain a healthy email list, such as re-engaging inactive subscribers. Removing subscribers who no longer want to receive your emails.

Newsletter

A notification is distributed to those subscribed for updates about our organization.

Open Rate

This is the percentage of subscribers who open an email. The way to calculate this is by dividing the number of opens on a particular email by the number of emails delivered.

Opt-Out

See Unsubscribes

Personalization

Personalization is the process of adding elements that are customized for the individual being communicated with. This can include using their name, giving them product/service recommendations based on what they prefer, mentioning past purchases from them, or including content that pertains just to them.

Phishing

This is an attempt by scammers to contact individuals using email, phone, or text message in order to mislead them into providing passwords, credit card information, or bank information.

Physical Address

The street address of the company or person sending the email. This is usually located in the footer of an email. It is a legal requirement for all email marketing.

Rental List

When a company rents an email list from a third party. You are never going to be able to access or see the emails of this person as they will refuse you this information. This isn't ethical at all and something that should never happen.

Sender Score

A reputation rating from 0-100 for every outgoing mail server IP address. Clent email servers will check your Sender Score before deciding what to do with your emails that arrive in a person's inbox. You can use a free service to check your score.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the process of grouping subscribers on your list into smaller subgroups based on certain criteria. For example, send a broadcast message to the people in your list who’ve purchased your product or service versus the subscribers who have not purchased yet. This means that the people who purchased are part of the broadcast segment.

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Signup Form

See Landing Page

Single Opt-In

When a visitor signs up for your emails, they don't have to confirm the action through a verification email (See Double Opt-in above). You tend to get more subscribers with this method. but this also encourages invalid email addresses to be used during the signup process.

Soft Bounce

When the email can not be delivered from temporary issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server.

Spam Filter

A program that detects and prevents unwanted emails from an individual’s inbox.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

This is a DNS record that says who (domain or IP address) is sending the email. This will be the domain used in the sender's email address.

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Subject Line

The subject of an email is shown in the inbox to represent the email content. Subject lines are important for encouraging recipients to open the email.

Unsubscribes

This is an email list statistic that indicates how many subscribers have opted out from your email list.

Welcome Email

The first email that you send to the people who come on board with you.

Whitelist

Instead of listing IP addresses to block, a whitelist includes IP addresses that have been approved to deliver an email to a recipient.

There sure are a heck of a lot of terms when it comes to email marketing. If there are some terms you would like to see me add. Go to my contact page and let me know.