Email marketing
Terms used when planning and measuring campaigns.
- A/B testing
Sending two versions of an email to random parts of a list to see which performs better on one chosen metric.
- Abandoned cart email
A triggered email sent to a shopper who added items to a cart but did not complete the purchase.
- Above the fold
The part of a message or web page visible without scrolling.
- Automated emails
Messages a system sends on a trigger or schedule without anyone sending them by hand.
- Automation flow
A set of triggers, conditions, delays and actions that sends a series of emails on its own.
- Behavioral email
An email triggered by something a person did, such as viewing a product or clicking a link.
- Branded email
Email sent from an address on your own domain with a consistent name, rather than from a free-mail account.
- Call to action (CTA)
The single thing you ask the reader to do next, usually a button or link.
- CAN-SPAM
The United States law that sets rules for commercial email, including honest headers, a postal address and a working opt-out.
- CASL
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, which requires consent before you send commercial electronic messages.
- CCPA
The California Consumer Privacy Act, which gives California residents rights over personal information that businesses collect, including email addresses.
- Click rate
The percentage of delivered messages in which a recipient clicked a link.
- Click-through rate (CTR)
Clicks divided by a base such as delivered messages or impressions; in email it is usually the click rate.
- Click-to-open rate (CTOR)
Unique clicks divided by unique opens: how many of the people who opened also clicked.
- Cold email
A first message to someone you have no prior relationship with, sent for a business purpose.
- Conversion rate
The share of recipients who complete the goal you set, such as a purchase or a signup.
- Drip campaign
A series of messages sent over time, on a schedule or triggered by what a person does.
- Dynamic email
An email whose content differs per recipient, from simple merge fields to blocks that change with data.
- Email analytics
Measuring what happens after you send: bounces, opens, clicks, conversions, unsubscribes and complaints.
- Email cadence
How often and at what spacing you send to the same people.
- Email campaign
A planned set of messages sent to an audience to reach a goal, on a schedule.
- Email capture
How you collect addresses: signup forms, checkout fields, popups, lead magnets and offline sign-up sheets.
- Email compliance
Following the laws and provider rules that apply to your email: consent, sender identification, opt-out and data protection.
- Email copywriting
Writing the words of an email: subject, preview text, body and call to action.
- Email deployment
Putting a campaign live: the final checks and the send.
- Email engagement
How recipients respond to your messages: replying, clicking, opening and forwarding.
- Email fatigue
When recipients stop paying attention or unsubscribe because they get too much email.
- Email footer
The bottom block of a message with sender details, a postal address and an unsubscribe link.
- Email laws
The main legal regimes that govern commercial email.
- Email layout
How content is arranged inside a message.
- Email lead generation
Using email to find and win new prospects, through signup forms, lead magnets and outreach.
- Email lifecycle
The stages a contact moves through: subscribe, onboard, active, at risk, lapsed and win-back.
- Email marketing
Using email to reach an audience that has agreed to hear from you, to inform, sell or retain.
- Email metrics
The numbers used to judge email: delivery, bounce, open, click, conversion, unsubscribe and complaint rates.
- Email newsletter
A regular message with news or content sent to subscribers, usually on a fixed schedule.
- Email personalization
Tailoring a message to its recipient, from a name to content chosen by their behaviour.
- Email preference center
A page where subscribers choose which messages they get and how often.
- Email rendering
How an email client draws the HTML of a message.
- Email reporting
Summarising results for the people who decide: what was sent, what happened and what to change.
- Email retargeting
Emailing people who showed interest, such as by visiting a page or leaving a cart, to bring them back.
- Email ROI
Return on investment for email: how much you earned compared with what you spent.
- Email segmentation
Splitting a list into groups so each gets messages that suit it.
- Email sequence
An ordered set of messages sent to one contact, with rules for when it stops.
- Email strategy
A plan for what your email is for, who it goes to and how you will judge it.
- Email templates
Reusable message layouts that you fill with content.
- Email testing
Checking a message before it goes out.
- Email timing
When you send: the day, the hour and the spacing between messages.
- Email trigger
An event that starts an automated email, such as a signup, a purchase or a page visit.
- Follow-up email
A message sent after an earlier one got no reply or no action.
- From name
The display name shown beside the sender’s address in the inbox.
- GDPR
The EU General Data Protection Regulation, which governs how personal data, including email addresses, is collected and used.
- Holiday marketing
Email campaigns tied to seasonal peaks such as year-end or summer sales.
- Icebreakers
The opening line of a cold message that shows why you are writing to this person.
- Image blocking
A mail client setting that does not load images in a message until the reader allows it.
- Inbound marketing
Attracting people with content they look for, so they come to you and give you their address.
- Landing page
The web page a person reaches after clicking a link in an email.
- Lead nurturing
Sending a prospect a series of useful messages over time until they are ready to talk or buy.
- List fatigue
A list losing its responsiveness over time as people age out, lose interest or get too much mail.
- Mail merge
Combining one template with a table of recipients to produce a personalised message for each row.
- Multichannel marketing
Reaching people through several channels, such as email, SMS, social and ads, with each channel run on its own.
- Multivariate testing
Testing several elements at once, such as a subject, an image and a button, to see which combination works best.
- Omnichannel marketing
Using shared customer data so every channel, including email, gives one consistent experience.
- Onboarding email
The first messages a new user or customer receives, to help them get started.
- Open rate
The percentage of delivered messages that were opened.
- Outbound marketing
Reaching out to people who have not asked to hear from you, such as through cold email or ads.
- Pass-along
A recipient forwarding your message to someone else.
- Preheader
The short line of text that shows after the subject in the inbox list.
- Promotional email
A message that advertises or sells something.
- Reactivation email
A message aimed at contacts who have not engaged for a long time.
- Subject line
The line that tells the reader what a message is about, shown in the inbox.
- Target audience
The specific group of people a message is meant for.
- Thank-you page
The page shown after someone submits a form.
- Tracking pixel
A tiny image in an email that records when a message is opened.
- Unsubscribe rate
The percentage of delivered messages that led to an unsubscribe.
- USP
Unique selling proposition: the one clear reason someone should choose you over alternatives.
- Welcome email
The first message a new subscriber or customer gets, sent straight after they join.