If you have ever felt out of your depth in a discussion about email marketing, rest assured you are not alone. These top 25 common email
marketing terms and defi nitions below will help you expand your email marketing vocabulary and make you look and feel like an expert.
1. Above-the-fold
Th e part of a web page that is visible without scrolling. It is generally more desirable placement on a Website because of its visibility. If you have a “join our mailing list” tag on your Website, you should place it “above the fold” making it easy for visitors to opt-in.
2. CPM (Cost per thousand)
In email marketing, CPM commonly refers to the cost per 1000 names on a given rental list. For example, a rental list priced at $250 CPM would mean that the list owner charges $.25 per email address.
3. CTR (or Click-through rate)
Th e percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your email.
4. Conversion rate
Th e number or percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in a given email marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your email campaign’s success. You may measure conversion
in sales, phone calls, appointments etc.
5. Email blacklist
It is common for an ISP to a use a blacklist to determine which emails should be blocked (see “email blocking”). Blacklists contain lists of domains or IP addresses of known and suspected spammers.Unfortunately,these blacklists also contain many legitimate email service providers. Just a few spam complaints can land an email service provider or IP address on a blacklist despite the fact that the ratio of complaints to volume of email sent is extremely low.
6. Email blocking
Email blocking typically refers to blocking by ISPs orcorporate servers. Email blocking occurs when the receiving email server (e.g. Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail etc) prevents an inbound email from reaching
the inbox of the intended recipient. Most of the time the sender of the email receives a “bounce” message notifying the sender that their email has been blocked. ISPs actively block email coming from suspected spammers.
7. Email fi lters
“Filtering” is a technique used to block email based on the
content in the “from:” line, “subject:” line, or body copy of an email. Filtering soft ware searches for key words and other indicators that identify the email as potential spam. Th is type of blocking occurs on a per email basis.
8. Email newsletter ads or sponsorships
Buying ad space in an email newsletter or sponsoring a specifi c article or series of articles. Advertisers pay to have their ad (text, HTML or both depending on the publication)
inserted into the body of the email. Email newsletter ads and sponsorships allow advertisers to reach a targeted audience driving traffi c to a website,
store or offi ce, signups to a newsletter or sales of a product or service.
9. Email whitelist
A whitelist is the opposite of a blacklist. Instead of listing IP addresses to block, a whitelist includes IP addresses that have
been approved to deliver email despite blocking measures. It is common practice for ISPs to maintain both a blacklist and a whitelist. When email
service providers, like Constant Contact, say they are “whitelisted” it means that their IP addresses are on a specifi c ISP’s whitelist and are
confi dent that emails sent using their service will be delivered.
10. False positive
A false positive occurs when a legitimate permissionbased email is incorrectly fi ltered or blocked as spam.
11. Hard bounce/Soft bounce
A hard bounce is the failed delivery of an email due to a permanent reason like a non-existent address. A soft
bounce is the failed delivery of an email due to a temporary issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server.
12. House list (or Retention list)
A permission-based list that you
built yourself. Use it to market, cross sell and up-sell, and to establish a relationship with customers over time. It is one of your most valuable
assets because it is 7 times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. Use every opportunity to add to
it and use it.
13. HTML email
Sending HTML email makes it possible to include unique fonts, graphics and background colors. HTML makes an email more
interesting and when used properly can generate response rates up to 35% higher than plain text.
14. Open rate
Th e percentage of emails opened in any given email marketing campaign, or the percentage opened of the total number of emails sent.
15. Opt-in (or Subscribe)
To opt-in or subscribe to an email list is to choose to receive email communications by supplying your email address to a particular
company, website or individual thereby giving them permission to email you. Th e subscriber can oft en indicate areas of personal interest (e.g. mountain
biking) and/or indicate what types of emails they wish to receive from the sender (e.g. newsletters).
Single Opt-In (with a subscriber acknowledgement email) – Th e most widely accepted and routinely used method of obtaining email addresses and
permission. A single opt-in list is created by inviting visitors and customers to subscribe to your email list. When you use a sign-up tag on your website,
a message immediately goes out to the subscriber acknowledging the subscription. Th is message should reiterate what the subscriber has signed
up for, and provide an immediate way for the subscriber to edit interests or opt-out.Confi rmed Opt-In (a.k.a. Double Opt-In) – A more stringent method of obtaining permission to send email campaigns. Confi rmed opt-in adds an additional step to the opt-in process. It requires the subscriber to respond to a
confi rmation email, either by clicking on a confi rmation link, or by replying to the email to confi rm their subscription. Only those subscribers who take this additional step are added to your list.
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