Email marketing is a vast and ever-changing field. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to know the latest email marketing terms. In this guide, we’ll introduce you to over 100 email marketing terms you should know. By the end, you’ll be an email marketing expert.
In email marketing, there are two types of terms: those that are specific to email marketing, and those that are general marketing terms. We’ll start with email marketing specific terms.
Email Marketing Terms
1. Autoresponder: An autoresponder is an email that is sent automatically in response to a trigger. For example, you might set up an autoresponder to send a welcome email to new subscribers.
2. A/B Testing: A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method of testing two or more versions of an email to see which performs better.
3. Bounce Rate: The bounce rate is the percentage of emails that are not delivered.
4. Call to Action (CTA): A call to action is a statement or button that encourages the recipient to take a specific action, such as subscribing to a newsletter or making a purchase.
5. Campaign: A campaign is a set of emails that are sent in response to a specific trigger, such as a holiday or a new product launch.
6. Click-Through Rate (CTR): The click-through rate is the percentage of people who click on a link in an email.
7. Conversion Rate: The conversion rate is the percentage of people who take the desired action, such as making a purchase, after receiving an email.
8. DNS: DNS, or Domain Name System, is a system that translates domain names into IP addresses.
9. Double Opt-In: Double opt-in is a method of confirmation in which a person must confirm their email address twice before they are added to an email list.
10. Email List: An email list is a collection of email addresses that have been collected for the purpose of sending emails.
11. Email Marketing: Email marketing is the process of sending emails to a list of people in order to promote a product or service.
12. Engagement: Engagement is the measure of how often people interact with an email, such as by opening it, clicking on links, or forwarding it to a friend.
13. Forward to a Friend: Forward to a friend is a feature that allows recipients of an email to forward the email to someone else.
14. Hard bounce: A hard bounce is an email that is returned because the email address is invalid.
15. HTML: HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is a code that is used to create websites and emails.
16. Inbox Placement Rate: The inbox placement rate is the percentage of emails that are delivered to the recipient’s inbox.
17. IP Address: An IP address is a unique number that is assigned to each computer that is connected to the internet.
18. Landing Page: A landing page is a page on a website that is designed to encourage a person to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.
19. Lead: A lead is a person who has expressed interest in a product or service.
20. Link: A link is a hyperlink that allows a person to click and be taken to another page, either on the same website or a different website.
21. List Growth Rate: The list growth rate is the percentage of people who subscribe to an email list over a period of time.
22. Marketing Automation: Marketing automation is the process of using software to automate marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media marketing, and lead generation.
23. Opt-In: Opt-in is a method of confirmation in which a person must confirm their email address before they are added to an email list.
24. Opt-Out: Opt-out is a method of confirmation in which a person can choose to unsubscribe from an email list at any time.
25. Personalization: Personalization is the process of customizing an email to the individual recipient, such as by using their name or location.
26. Phone Verification: Phone verification is a method of confirming an email address by sending a text message or phone call to the number associated with the email address.
27. Phishing: Phishing is a type of email scam in which the attacker pretends to be a reputable company in order to trick the recipient into giving them personal information, such as a credit card number or password.
28. Pixel: A pixel is a small image that is used to track who has opened an email.
29. Preview Text: Preview text is the text that is displayed next to the subject line in the inbox of an email client, such as Gmail or Outlook.
30. Programmatic Email: Programmatic email is the automated sending of emails based on certain conditions, such as a person’s location or the time of day.
31. Rabbit Hole: A rabbit hole is a link in an email that takes the recipient to a different website, often in an attempt to phish for personal information.
32. Respondent: A respondent is a person who responds to an email, such as by clicking on a link or forwarding the email to a friend.
33. Retargeting: Retargeting is the process of showing ads to people who have already interacted with your brand, such as by visiting your website or subscribing to your email list.
34. ROI: ROI, or return on investment, is a measure of how much money is made in relation to the amount of money that is spent on a marketing campaign.
35. Scraper: A scraper is a type of software that is used to collect email addresses from websites.
36. Segmentation: Segmentation is the process of dividing an email list into smaller groups based on shared characteristics, such as location or purchase history.
37. Soft Bounce: A soft bounce is an email that is returned because the recipient’s inbox is full or the email server is down.
38. Spam: Spam is unsolicited email, typically sent in bulk, that is considered to be unwanted or unwanted.
39. Spam Score: A spam score is a measure of how likely an email is to be considered spam by an email provider, such as Gmail or Yahoo.
40. Subject Line: The subject line is the text that is displayed in the inbox of an email client, such as Gmail or Outlook.
41. Suppression List: A suppression list is a list of email addresses that have been unsubscribed from an email list or that have been marked as spam.
42. Tag: A tag is a label that is used to identify an email, such as by the recipient’s name or the type of email.
43. Template: A template is a pre-designed email that can be customized with your own content.
44. Test Email: A test email is an email that is sent to a small group of people in order to test the results of a campaign before it is sent to the entire list.
45. Transactional Email: A transactional email is an email that is sent in response to an action that the recipient has taken, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.
46. Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe is the process of removing someone from an email list.
47. User-Generated Content: User-generated content is content that is created by people who are not affiliated with the brand, such as product reviews or social media posts.
48. Whitelist: A whitelist is a list of email addresses that are considered to be safe and are not blocked by spam filters.
49. XML: XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a code that is used to create websites and emails.
50. Can-Spam: Can-Spam is the name of the law that regulates commercial email in the United States. The law sets out strict requirements for commercial emails, including things like having a valid physical address and giving recipients the ability to opt-out of future emails.
51. Dedicated IP Address: A dedicated IP address is an IP address that is used only for sending emails from one particular account. This is opposed to a shared IP address, which is an IP address that is used by multiple accounts.
52. List Cleaning: List cleaning is the process of removing invalid email addresses from an email list. This is important because sending emails to invalid email addresses can hurt your deliverability.
53. Plain Text Email: Plain text email is an email that is not formatted using HTML. Plain text email is the most common type of email.
54. Preferences Center: A preferences center is a page on your website where people can manage their subscription to your email list. For example, they might be able to choose which types of emails they want to receive, or how often they want to receive them.
55. Revenue Per Email Sent: A metric that shows how much you’ve earned per each email you sent out.
56. Scraping: A spamming technique. Scraping is when scraping software goes out on the Internet to find any email address it can.
57. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): The language or “protocol” servers use to talk to each other as they send emails around the world.
58. Suppression File: A list of email addresses that should not be mailed to. Some companies maintain a global suppression file.
59. Unique Opens: Some subscribers will open an email more than once. Unique opens shows how many individuals have opened your emails, not just how many times your emails were opened.
60. Throttling: An email deployment technique. Throttling sends email messages out in batches, instead of all at once. This improves deliverability rates and server load management.
Other Related Marketing Terms
1. Acquisition: Acquisition is the process of attracting new customers or leads.
2. Advertising: Advertising is the process of using paid media to promote a product or service.
3. Algorithm: An algorithm is a set of rules that are used to accomplish a task, such as sorting a list of names.
4. Analytics: Analytics is the process of measuring and analyzing data.
5. AIDA: AIDA is an acronym that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. It is a model that is used to describe the steps that are taken in order to persuade someone to take the desired action.
6. Brand: A brand is a name, slogan, or logo that is used to identify a product or service.
7. Budget: A budget is a plan for how much money will be spent on a marketing campaign.
8. Business-to-Business (B2B): Business-to-business marketing is marketing that is done between two businesses, such as a manufacturer and a retailer.
9. Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer marketing is marketing that is done between a business and a consumer, such as a store and a customer.
10. Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Pay-per-click is a type of online advertising where businesses pay a fee each time someone clicks on their ad.
11. Campaign: A campaign is a set of activities that are done in order to achieve a specific goal.
12. Channel: A channel is a method of distribution, such as a website, store, or catalog.
13. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM): Multi-level marketing is a type of marketing that uses a network of people to sell products or services.
14. Competitor: A competitor is a business that offers a similar product or service as another business.
15. Conversion: A conversion is a goal that is achieved, such as a sale or a sign-up.
16. Cost per Action (CPA): Cost per action is the amount of money that is spent on a marketing campaign for each desired action that is taken, such as a sale or a sign-up.
17. Cost per Impression (CPI): Cost per impression is the amount of money that is spent on a marketing campaign for each time that an ad is seen, regardless of whether or not it is clicked on.
18. Cost per Lead (CPL): Cost per lead is the amount of money that is spent on a marketing campaign for each new lead that is generated.
19. Performance-Based Marketing: Performance-based marketing is a type of marketing where businesses only pay for results, such as sales or leads.
20. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Customer acquisition cost is the amount of money that is spent on a marketing campaign in order to acquire new customers.
21. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Customer lifetime value is the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend on a company’s products or services over the course of their relationship with the company.
22. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Customer relationship management is the process of managing customer data in order to improve customer relationships.
23. Database: A database is a collection of data that can be accessed by computers.
24. Demand: Demand is the amount of a product or service that customers are willing to buy at a given price.
25. Demographics: Demographics are characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, income, and location.
26. Direct Mail: Direct mail is a type of marketing that involves sending physical mail to potential customers.
27. Discount: A discount is a reduction in the price of a product or service.
28. E-commerce: E-commerce is the process of buying and selling products or services online.
29. Engagement: Engagement is the degree to which someone is involved with a product or service.
30. Event Marketing: Event marketing is the process of promoting a product or service at a trade show, conference, or other events.
31. Exit Rate: Exit rate is the percentage of people who leave a website after viewing only one page.
32. Experiential Marketing: Experiential marketing is the process of creating an experience for potential customers that will allow them to interact with a product or service.
33. Frequency: Frequency is the number of times that a person is exposed to a message.
34. Inbound Marketing: Inbound marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on creating content that will attract potential customers to a company’s website or blog.
35. Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing is the process of working with influential people in order to promote a product or service.
36. List Fatigue: Declining engagement that occurs over time after an email list has been mailed to too frequently.
37. Lead Generation: Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to a product or service.
38. Lifetime Value (LTV): Lifetime value is the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend on a company’s products or services over the course of their relationship with the company.
39. Location-Based Marketing: Location-based marketing is a type of marketing that uses the location of potential customers in order to deliver targeted messages.
40. Luxury Marketing: Luxury marketing is the process of marketing products or services to high-end consumers.
41. Market: A market is a group of potential customers who have the same needs or wants.
42. Market Research: Market research is the process of gathering and analyzing data about a market.
43. Marketing: Marketing is the process of creating and delivering messages that promote a product or service.
44. Marketing Automation: Marketing automation is the process of using software to automate marketing tasks, such as email marketing and social media.
45. Marketing Mix: A marketing mix is a tool that is used to create a marketing strategy. It includes the four elements of product, price, place, and promotion.
46. Mass Marketing: Mass marketing is a type of marketing that uses a one-size-fits-all approach.
47. Media: Media is a means of communication, such as television, radio, or the internet.
48. Microtargeting: Microtargeting is a type of marketing that uses detailed information about potential customers in order to deliver targeted messages.
49. Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing is a type of marketing that uses mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, to deliver messages.
50. Monetization: Monetization is the process of converting something into money.
Final Thoughts
Over 100+ email marketing terms, defined and explained. These terms are critical to know if you’re going to work in email marketing. Also, if you’re new to email marketing, you should check out our email marketing products, which will walk you through everything you need to know to get started.
Did I miss any key email marketing terms? What do you think of this glossary? Please let me know in the comments below.
