Email marketing glossary

An abandoned cart is when a shopper adds products to their cart but leaves before checkout. Recovery emails remind them to complete the purchase.

A/B testing compares two versions of an email, such as two subject lines, on part of your list to find which performs better before sending the winner.

Ad copy is the text of an ad or marketing message, written to persuade readers to take a specific action, such as clicking a link or buying.

Alt text is a short written description of an image. It shows when the image fails to load and is read aloud by screen readers.

Anti-spam laws, such as CAN-SPAM in the US and CASL in Canada, set rules for commercial email, including consent, honest sender details and opt-outs.

An autoresponder is an automated email sent when someone takes a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

A backlink is a link from one website to another. Search engines treat relevant backlinks from trusted sites as a signal of authority.

A black hat sender ignores email best practices, for example by mailing purchased lists, which damages sender reputation and sends email to spam.

An email blacklist, or blocklist, lists IP addresses and domains known for sending spam. Mailbox providers use it to block or filter email.

A bounce is an email that cannot be delivered and is returned to the sender. Bounces are either hard (permanent) or soft (temporary).

Bulk email is a single message sent to a large list of recipients at once, typically for newsletters, promotions and announcements.

A call to action (CTA) is the word, phrase or button that tells readers what to do next, such as Shop now or Start your free trial.

The CAN-SPAM Act is a 2003 US law for commercial email. It requires accurate sender details, honest subject lines and a working way to opt out.

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of email recipients who click at least one link. It shows how well your content drives action.

Click-to-open rate (CTOR) is the share of people who opened an email and then clicked a link in it: unique clicks divided by unique opens.

Conversion rate is the percentage of recipients or visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up.

Customer retention is the ability of a business to keep existing customers buying over time, supported by email such as loyalty and win-back campaigns.

A dedicated IP address sends email for only one sender, so its reputation depends entirely on the sending practices of that sender.

Email deliverability is the ability of your emails to reach the inbox of each recipient, rather than being blocked or sent to the spam folder.

Direct email marketing is sending promotional emails straight to a targeted list of subscribers to drive a specific action, such as a purchase.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails that proves they came from your domain and were not altered in transit.

DMARC is an email authentication policy built on SPF and DKIM. It tells receiving servers how to handle mail that fails checks and sends reports.

The Domain Name System (DNS) translates domain names into IP addresses. Email relies on DNS records such as MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Double opt-in asks new subscribers to confirm their email address, usually by clicking a link, before they are added to your list.

A drip campaign is a series of automated emails sent on a schedule or after a trigger, such as a signup, to nurture subscribers over time.

Dynamic email content changes for each recipient based on their data, such as location, interests or purchase history, within a single email.

Email authentication uses SPF, DKIM and DMARC to prove an email really comes from the domain it claims, helping to stop spoofing and phishing.

Email automation sends emails automatically on a schedule or when someone takes an action, such as signing up, buying or abandoning a cart.

Email marketing is sending emails to people who have opted in, to promote products, share news and build lasting customer relationships.

An email service provider (ESP) is a platform for building, sending and tracking email campaigns and for managing subscriber lists.

A 404 error means the requested web page cannot be found. In email marketing, links that lead to 404 pages frustrate readers and cost you clicks.

A follow-up email is sent after an action or an earlier message, such as a signup or demo request, to continue the conversation and prompt a next step.

GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU, governs personal data. For email it requires a lawful basis, such as consent, and an easy opt-out.

A hard bounce is a permanent delivery failure, for example because the address does not exist. Remove hard-bounced addresses from your list.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the code used to structure web pages and to design emails with layouts, images, links and buttons.

Inbound marketing attracts customers with useful content, such as blog posts, SEO and email newsletters, instead of interrupting them with ads.

An invalid email address cannot receive mail because it is misspelled, badly formatted or no longer exists. Sending to one causes a hard bounce.

An IP address is a unique number that identifies a device or server on the internet. Mailbox providers track sender reputation partly by IP.

IP warmup is gradually increasing email volume from a new IP address so mailbox providers learn to trust it as a legitimate sender.

A landing page is a standalone web page built for one goal, such as a signup or a purchase, that visitors reach from an email or an ad.

A lead is a potential customer who has shown interest, for example by subscribing or filling in a form, and can be nurtured toward a purchase.

List hygiene is keeping your email list clean by removing invalid, bounced and long-inactive addresses to protect your deliverability.

A mailing list is a collection of email addresses of people who agreed to receive messages from a business or organization.

Marketing automation uses software to run repetitive marketing tasks automatically, such as sending emails, segmenting contacts and scoring leads.

Merge fields are placeholders, such as first name, that an email tool replaces with the data of each recipient to personalize messages.

A mail transfer agent (MTA) is server software that routes and delivers email from one server to another using SMTP.

Multivariate testing compares several elements at once, such as subject line, image and CTA, to find the best-performing combination.

An email newsletter is a regular email sent to subscribers with news, updates and useful content from a business or publisher.

Opt-in means a person has given permission to receive your emails, usually by subscribing through a signup form or a checkbox.

Opt-out is how a recipient stops receiving your emails, usually through an unsubscribe link, which laws such as CAN-SPAM require in marketing email.

A reactivation, or win-back, email is sent to subscribers who have stopped engaging, to encourage them to open, click or buy again.

Referral marketing encourages existing customers to recommend your business to others, often with a reward for both the referrer and the new customer.

Retention marketing keeps existing customers engaged and buying again, with tactics such as loyalty emails, exclusive offers and win-back campaigns.

ROI (return on investment) measures profit relative to cost. Email marketing ROI compares the revenue email generates with what it costs to run.

Segmentation divides your contacts into groups based on data such as behavior, location or purchase history, so each group gets relevant email.

Sender reputation is how mailbox providers rate how trustworthy a sender is, based on signals such as spam complaints, bounces and engagement.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol for sending email between servers across the internet.

A soft bounce is a temporary delivery failure, for example a full mailbox or a server that is down. The email may be delivered on a later attempt.

Spam is unsolicited, unwanted email, usually sent in bulk. Mailbox providers filter it, and senders with many spam complaints lose inbox placement.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. It helps prevent spoofing.

A target audience is the group of people an email campaign is meant to reach, defined by data such as demographics, interests and purchase history.

A transactional email is triggered by an action or account event, such as an order confirmation, a receipt or a password reset.

Triggered emails are sent automatically when a subscriber takes an action, such as signing up, abandoning a cart or making a purchase.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second sign-in step, such as a code from your phone, on top of your password to protect accounts.

Unsubscribing is when a recipient asks to stop receiving emails from a sender, usually by clicking the unsubscribe link in an email.

Upselling encourages a customer to buy a more expensive product, an upgrade or an add-on, often through post-purchase or cart emails.

User-generated content (UGC) is content created by customers rather than the brand, such as reviews, photos and social posts, used to build trust.

A unique selling proposition (USP) is the main benefit that sets your product apart from competitors and gives people a reason to choose you.

A welcome email is the first message a new subscriber or customer receives after signing up, introducing your brand and what to expect.

A white hat sender follows email best practices: sending only to people who opted in, honoring unsubscribes and keeping lists clean.

Email workflows are automated sequences of emails sent based on triggers and conditions, such as a signup, a purchase or inactivity.