Email Marketing Automation Terms: Dictionary | Glossary | Terminology

A

A/B Testing

A method of testing two different versions of an email campaign to a small portion of your list, in order to determine which version performs better before sending the winning version to the rest of your list.

API Access

The ability to access an email tool’s API (application programming interface), which allows marketers to integrate the email tool with other software tools or custom-built applications.

API Integration

The process of connecting your email marketing platform to other tools or services, such as a CRM or e-commerce platform, to share data and automate tasks.

Abandoned Cart Email

An automated email that is triggered when a subscriber adds items to their cart but does not complete the purchase, often used to encourage them to return and complete the transaction.

Analytics

The collection and analysis of data related to your email campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, to help improve future campaigns.

Automation Capabilities

The range of automation features offered by an email tool, such as trigger-based workflows or advanced segmentation, often used to increase email relevance and engagement rates.

Autoresponder

An automated email that is sent in response to a specific trigger, such as a new subscriber joining your list, and often used to provide a welcome message or initial offer.

B

Behavioral Email

An email that is triggered based on a subscriber’s behavior, such as opening or clicking a specific email, or visiting a particular web page.

BLacklist

A list of email addresses or domains that have been identified as sources of spam or fraudulent emails, and are often blocked or filtered by email providers.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of email addresses that were undeliverable, often categorized as either a hard bounce (permanent delivery failure) or a soft bounce (temporary delivery failure) not delivered to the recipient’s inbox, often due to invalid email addresses, full inbox or technical issues.

C

CAN-SPAM

A law that sets rules and requirements for commercial email messages sent to US-based subscribers, which requires marketers to include specific information in their emails including opt-out unsubscribe option, sender identification, content restrictions and avoid certain deceptive practices.

CCPA

A California state law that sets rules and requirements for data privacy and protection, including email marketing practices, for subscribers located within California.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

A button or link within an email that encourages the recipient to take a specific action, such as “Sign Up Now” or “Shop Now”, making a purchase, signing up for a webinar or downloading a resource.

Cart Abandonment

The act of leaving a shopping cart on an e-commerce website without completing the purchase, often triggered by factors such as price, shipping costs, or a complicated checkout process.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who clicked on a link within an email, divided by the number of emails sent.  Used as a measure of engagement and interest and as an indicator of email content effectiveness and subscriber interest.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of subscribers who complete or take a specific action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, as a result of clicking on a link within an email campaign, is often used as a measure of email campaign effectiveness.

Customer Support

The level of customer support offered by an email tool, such as live chat, email or phone support, often considered a key factor in choosing an email tool that is both reliable and responsive.

Customizable Workflows

The ability to create custom workflows within an email tool, such as abandoned cart recovery or new subscriber welcome series, often used to automate repetitive tasks and increase email engagement rates.

D

Deliverability

The ability of your emails to reach your subscribers’ inboxes, and avoid being filtered into spam or promotions folders.

Deliverability Features

The range of features offered by an email tool to ensure email deliverability, such as spam checkers or inbox placement testing, often used to increase email deliverability rates.

Double Opt-In

A process by which someone confirms their subscription to your email list by clicking a link in a confirmation email, providing an added layer of consent and compliance to verify their email address.

Drip Campaign

A series of pre-written automated emails sent to a subscriber over a set period of time, often used for lead nurturing, onboarding new customers or promote a specific product or service to encourage conversions.

Dynamic Content

Content within an email that is personalized and changes based on the recipient’s behavior or information stored in their subscriber profile, such as their location or past purchases often used to increase engagement and conversion rates.

Dynamic Sender Name

A feature that allows you to personalize the sender name of your emails based on the recipient’s subscriber profile or behavior.

E

Email Analytics

Data and metrics related to email campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated, often used to measure the effectiveness of email marketing efforts.

Email Blast

A term used to describe sending a large volume of emails at once, typically to a broad audience without any targeting or segmentation.

Email Cadence

The frequency and timing of your email sends, often based on factors such as subscriber preferences, behavior, and campaign goals.

Email Deliverability

The rate at which your emails are successfully delivered to your subscribers’ inboxes, often affected by factors such as authentication, reputation, and engagement rates.

Email Deliverability Rate

The percentage of emails sent that successfully reach the intended recipient’s inbox, often influenced by factors such as email content, sender reputation, and email list quality.

Email Design

The visual layout, branding, and content of an email, often used to enhance the overall user experience and increase engagement rates.

Email Design Flexibility

The level of flexibility and customization options offered by an email tool for designing and editing email templates, often used to create visually appealing and on-brand email campaigns.

Email Frequency

The rate at which emails are sent to subscribers, often determined by factors such as subscriber engagement, business goals, and industry best practices.

Email Marketing

The process of sending commercial messages to a group of people via email.

Email Platform

A web-based software or service that provides email marketing automation tools and services, often used to manage email campaigns, track performance, and analyze data.

Email Service Provider (ESP)

A company that provides email marketing software services, and tools used for managing email marketing campaigns, including email design, list management, automation, and analytics.

Email Software

A software program designed to create, send, and receive emails, often used by individuals and businesses to manage their email communication.

Email Template

A pre-designed layout for an email, typically including branding elements and placeholders for content, that can be customized and reused for multiple campaigns.

Email Tool

A software application or web-based tool that helps automate and manage email campaigns, often used to create, send, and track email messages.

Engagement Rate

A measure of subscriber engagement with your email campaigns, often including metrics such as opens, clicks, and shares.

Engagement-Based Segmentation

A segmentation approach that divides your email list based on subscriber engagement levels, such as frequent openers or inactive subscribers, often used to send more targeted and relevant emails.

F

Forward to a Friend

A feature that allows recipients to easily share an email with others, often used to increase reach and engagement.

G

GDPR The General Data Protection Regulation

A regulation in the European Union that sets rules and requirements that govern the collection, use, and processing of personal data, including email addresses for data privacy and protection for subscribers located within the EU.

H

HTML Email

An email that includes formatting, images, and other design elements, typically created using HTML and CSS, to make the email more visually appealing and engaging.

I

Inbox Placement

The rate at which emails are successfully delivered to subscribers’ inboxes, and is often affected by factors such as email authentication, reputation, engagement rates, and the percentage of emails that are delivered to the recipient’s inbox, rather than being filtered into spam or promotions folders.

Inbox Preview

A feature that allows you to preview and test how your email will look across different email clients and devices, often used to ensure optimal email rendering and user experience.

Integration Capabilities

The ability of an email tool to integrate with other software tools, such as CRM or marketing automation platforms, often used to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.

L

Landing Page

A dedicated web page designed to capture a visitor’s information or encourage a specific action, with a call-to-action button used in email marketing campaigns as the destination to convert visitors into subscribers or customers.

Lead Magnet

A valuable incentive, such as an eBook, webinar, or discount code, that is offered to potential subscribers in exchange for their email address. It is a common tactic used in email marketing to generate leads and grow your email list.

Lead Scoring

The process of assigning a numerical score to each subscriber or lead based on their level of engagement, behavior, or characteristics, in order to prioritize follow-up efforts or identify potential high-value customers. This can involve scoring based on email engagement such as opens, clicks, and purchases, as well as other interactions with your brand.

List Churn

The rate at which subscribers are added to and removed from your email list, typically measured as a percentage of your total list size.

List Growth Rate

The rate at which your email list is growing, often used as a measure of email campaign effectiveness.

List Hygiene

The process of regularly cleaning and maintaining your email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses, often used to improve email deliverability and engagement rates.

List Management

The processes and features used to manage and maintain an email list, ensuring compliance with email marketing regulations, adding and removing subscribers, and keeping the list clean and up-to-date. This can include list cleaning, segmentation, and subscriber preferences, which are often offered by email tools to improve engagement rates and email deliverability.

List Segmentation

The process of dividing your email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographic data, past purchase behavior, or engagement with your emails, in order to send more targeted and personalized campaigns.

M

Multichannel Marketing

The practice of utilizing multiple marketing channels, such as email, social media, SMS messaging, and social media advertising, often enabled by email tools, to increase customer engagement and brand visibility.

N

Nurture Campaign

An automated email campaign that aims to build a relationship with leads or subscribers and guide them through the sales funnel with personalized and relevant emails, often including educational or informative content to eventually convert them into customers.

O

Open Rate

Refers to the percentage of subscribers who open your email, as tracked by the number of times an image in the email is loaded, and is a common measure of email campaign effectiveness as well as an indicator of the effectiveness of the email subject line and subscriber engagement.

Opt-In

The process of obtaining explicit consent from a subscriber to receive marketing emails, typically through a sign-up form or checkbox on a website, by which someone voluntarily subscribes to your email list.

Opt-Out

The process by which subscribers remove themselves from an email list, typically by clicking an “unsubscribe” link located at the bottom of each email.

P

Personalization

Is the practice of tailoring email content to the individual recipient based on their preferences, behavior, and subscriber profile, using dynamic content and technology. It is a process that aims to increase email relevance and engagement rates and can be achieved through an email tool’s personalization features.

Plain Text Email

An email that includes no formatting or design elements, typically used for more personal or transactional emails, or to improve deliverability to email clients that do not support HTML.

Preference Center

A web page or email feature that allows subscribers to customize their email preferences, such as email frequency, content topics, and opt-out options.

Pricing

The overall cost of an email tool, including any subscription fees or additional costs, often considered a key factor in choosing an email tool that is both affordable and offers a good ROI.

R

ROI Return on Investment

A measure of the profitability of an email marketing campaign based on the amount of revenue generated compared to the cost of the campaign.

Reporting and Analytics

The range and depth of data offered by an email tool for tracking and analyzing email campaign performance, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Revenue Generated

The amount of revenue generated by an email campaign, often used as a measure of ROI.

Revenue Per Email (RPE)

The average amount of revenue generated from each email sent, often used to measure the effectiveness and ROI of an email campaign.

S

Security

The level of security offered by an email tool to protect sensitive data, such as subscriber lists and email content, often considered a key factor in choosing an email tool that is both reliable and secure.

Segmentation

The process of dividing your email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as geographic location, interests, past purchase behavior, or engagement with your emails. This allows for more targeted and personalized campaigns with relevant content.

Sender Address

The email address that appears in the “from” field of an email, typically used to establish sender identity and comply with anti-spam laws.

Sender Authentication

The process of verifying that an email actually came from the sender listed in the “from” field, typically accomplished through technologies like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. To ensure that their email is not fraudulent or spoofed.

Sender Name

The name that appears in the “from” field of an email, often used to establish brand recognition and trust.

Sender Reputation

Is a metric that measures the trustworthiness of your email domain and IP address. It is assigned a score based on factors such as email engagement rates, compliance with email regulations, complaint rates, and blacklisting. ISPs and mailbox providers use this score to determine whether your emails are trustworthy and should be delivered to subscribers’ inboxes.

Single Opt-In

A process of obtaining consent from a subscriber to receive marketing emails, by only requiring them to enter their email address and submitting a sign-up form.

Spam Complaint Rate

The percentage of recipients who mark your email as spam, often used as a measure of email campaign effectiveness and an indicator of email content quality and sender reputation.

Spam Score

A rating assigned to an email based on various factors that can contribute to it being flagged as spam, such as certain keywords or phrases, excessive use of exclamation points, or a high number of links.

Split Testing

A process of testing different email variations to determine the most effective design, content, or subject line, often used to optimize email campaigns.

Subscriber Lifecycle

The stages that a subscriber goes through, from opting in to your list to becoming a customer, and potentially becoming a repeat customer or brand advocate.

Subscriber Lifetime Value (LTV)

A measure of the potential revenue generated by a single subscriber over the course of their relationship with your brand.

Suppression List

A list of subscribers who have requested to be removed from your email list, which is used to ensure compliance with regulations and avoid sending unwanted emails.

Survey

An email campaign designed to gather feedback or insights from your subscribers, often used to improve your products, services, or marketing campaigns.

T

Transactional Email

An email that is triggered by a specific action or transaction, such as a purchase confirmation, password reset request, or shipping notification.

Trigger

An action or event that initiates an automated email campaign, such as a subscriber signing up for a newsletter.

Triggered Email

An email that is automatically sent based on a specific trigger and action or behavior such as a welcome email, signing up for a newsletter or abandoning a shopping cart.

U

Unengaged Subscriber

A subscriber who has not opened or clicked on any of your emails in a significant amount of time, and may need to be re-engaged or removed from your list to improve deliverability and engagement.

Unsubscribe Rate

The percentage of subscribers who chose to opt-out or unsubscribe from your email list, often used as an indicator of email content relevance, subscriber satisfaction and a measure of email campaign effectiveness.

User-Friendliness

Refers to how easy it is to use the email tool’s interface and features, often considered a key factor in choosing an email tool that is both efficient and effective.

W

Webinar

A live or pre-recorded online event, often used as a lead magnet or engagement tool in email marketing campaigns.

Whitelist

A list of email addresses or domains that are deemed safe and trustworthy by email providers, and are often given preferential treatment in terms of deliverability.

Workflow

A series of automated steps or actions that occur in response to a trigger, such as sending a welcome email series to new subscribers.

Workflow Visual

A visual representation of an automated email campaign, including triggers, actions, and conditions.