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Email Marketing Glossary.

Clear, no-fluff definitions of every email marketing term that matters—from open rates to double opt-in. 

 

A

A/B Testing A/B testing (or split testing) is the practice of sending two versions of an email — differing in one element — to see which performs ... View definition
Abandoned Cart Email An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to a shopper who added items to their cart but left without buying. It reminds them of ... View definition
Alt Text Alt text (alternative text) is descriptive text attached to an email image that displays when the image doesn't load — improving ... View definition
Autoresponder An autoresponder is a pre-written email — or sequence of emails — sent automatically in response to a trigger, such as someone subscribing ... View definition

B

Back-in-Stock Email A back-in-stock email notifies subscribers that a previously sold-out product is available again. Because recipients asked to be told, ... View definition
Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation groups subscribers based on their actions — purchases, browsing, email engagement, and more — so you can send ... View definition
BIMI BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is a standard that displays your brand's verified logo next to your emails in supporting ... View definition
Blocklist An email blocklist (formerly blacklist) is a database of IP addresses or domains flagged for sending spam. If you're listed, mailbox ... View definition
Bounce Rate Bounce rate is the percentage of emails that couldn't be delivered to recipients' inboxes. A high bounce rate signals list quality problems ... View definition
Broadcast Email A broadcast email is a one-time email sent to a selected list or segment at a specific moment — as opposed to an automated email that sends ... View definition
Browse Abandonment Email A browse abandonment email is an automated message triggered when a shopper views products or categories but leaves without adding anything ... View definition

C

Call to Action (CTA) A call to action (CTA) is a short prompt — often a button or link — that tells the reader exactly what to do next, such as "Shop now" or ... View definition
CAN-SPAM Act The CAN-SPAM Act is a US law that sets the rules for commercial email. It requires honest sender information, accurate subject lines, a ... View definition
CASL CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) is a Canadian law that requires consent, clear sender identification, and an unsubscribe mechanism to ... View definition
CCPA The CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) is a state privacy law that gives California consumers rights over their personal data, ... View definition
Click-Through Rate (CTR) Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of delivered emails in which a recipient clicked at least one link. It measures how compelling ... View definition
Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) Click-to-open rate (CTOR) is the percentage of people who opened an email and then clicked a link inside it. It isolates how effective your ... View definition
Cold Email A cold email is an unsolicited message sent to a recipient who has no prior relationship with the sender, typically for outreach, sales, or ... View definition
Conversion Rate Email conversion rate is the percentage of recipients who complete a desired action — usually a purchase — after receiving or clicking your ... View definition
Cross-Sell Email A cross-sell email recommends complementary or related products based on what a customer has bought or viewed — encouraging additional ... View definition
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the course of their relationship. It ... View definition

D

Dedicated IP A dedicated IP is a sending IP address used exclusively by one sender, so your email reputation is entirely your own — unlike a shared IP, ... View definition
Deliverability Rate Deliverability rate is the percentage of your emails that actually reach recipients' inboxes, rather than bouncing or being filtered to ... View definition
DKIM DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an authentication method that attaches a cryptographic signature to your emails, letting receiving ... View definition
DMARC DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM, telling mailbox providers how to handle ... View definition
Double Opt-In Double opt-in is a signup method where a new subscriber must confirm their subscription by clicking a link in a confirmation email before ... View definition
Drip Campaign A drip campaign is a series of pre-written emails sent automatically in a set sequence — triggered by a schedule or a subscriber's actions ... View definition
Dynamic Content Dynamic content is email content that changes automatically based on each subscriber's data or behavior, so a single email can display ... View definition

E

Email Authentication Email authentication is a set of protocols — SPF, DKIM, and DMARC — that prove your emails genuinely come from your domain, protecting ... View definition
Email Automation Email automation is the use of software to send emails automatically based on triggers like time, subscriber behavior, or data — instead of ... View definition
Email Blast An email blast is a single email sent to a large portion of your list at once, usually without segmentation. It's a broad, one-to-many ... View definition
Email Churn Rate Email churn rate is the rate at which you lose subscribers — through unsubscribes, bounces, spam complaints, or inactivity. It's the flip ... View definition
Email Copywriting Email copywriting is the craft of writing email content — subject lines, body, and CTAs — that captures attention, holds interest, and ... View definition
Email Deliverability Email deliverability is your ability to land messages in the recipient's primary inbox rather than the spam folder. It depends on sender ... View definition
Email Engagement Rate Email engagement rate is a measure of how actively your subscribers interact with your emails — through opens, clicks, replies, and ... View definition
Email Frequency Email frequency (or cadence) is how often you send emails to your subscribers. Getting it right balances staying top of mind against ... View definition
Email List An email list is the collection of contacts who have opted in to receive email from your business. Unlike social followers, it's an ... View definition
Email Newsletter An email newsletter is a recurring email sent to subscribers on a regular schedule to share news, content, product updates, and offers. It ... View definition
Email ROI Email ROI (return on investment) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on email marketing. It's consistently one of the ... View definition
Email Template An email template is a reusable, pre-designed layout you can populate with content for each send. Templates keep your emails consistent, ... View definition
Express Consent Express consent is explicit, opt-in permission a person gives to receive marketing communications from you — for example, by ticking an ... View definition

F

Feedback Loop A feedback loop (FBL) is a service offered by mailbox providers that notifies a sender when a recipient marks their email as spam, so the ... View definition
Forward/Share Rate Forward/share rate is the percentage of recipients who forward your email or share it via a social/share link. It signals how valuable and ... View definition

G

GDPR (Email Marketing) The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is an EU privacy law that governs how you collect, store, and use personal data — including ... View definition

H

Hard Bounce A hard bounce is a permanent email delivery failure — typically because the address is invalid or doesn't exist. Hard-bounced addresses ... View definition
Hero Image A hero image is the large, prominent visual at the top of an email — usually the first thing a reader sees. It sets the tone, communicates ... View definition
HTML Email An HTML email is built with HTML and CSS to include formatting, images, buttons, and branding — the format behind most designed marketing ... View definition

I

Inbox Placement Inbox placement is the percentage of your delivered emails that actually land in the primary inbox rather than the spam or promotions ... View definition
Interactive Email An interactive email includes elements recipients can engage with directly inside the email — like image carousels, quizzes, accordions, or ... View definition
IP Warming IP warming is the process of gradually increasing email volume from a new IP address to build a positive sending reputation with mailbox ... View definition

L

Lead Magnet A lead magnet is a free, valuable offer — like a discount, guide, or quiz — that you give in exchange for a visitor's email address. It's ... View definition
List Growth Rate List growth rate measures how fast your email list is expanding over a period, accounting for new subscribers minus unsubscribes and ... View definition
List Hygiene Email list hygiene is the ongoing practice of removing invalid, bouncing, and unengaged contacts from your list to keep it healthy and ... View definition
List Segmentation List segmentation is the practice of dividing your email subscribers into smaller groups based on shared traits — like behavior, purchase ... View definition

M

Marketing Automation Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing tasks and campaigns — across email, SMS, onsite, and more — based on ... View definition
Merge Tags Merge tags are placeholders in an email that automatically pull in subscriber-specific data — like a first name, city, or last product ... View definition
Multivariate Testing Multivariate testing (MVT) tests multiple email elements and their combinations simultaneously to find the best-performing mix — a more ... View definition

N

Nurture Sequence A nurture sequence is a series of automated emails designed to build trust and guide leads toward a purchase over time, by delivering ... View definition

O

Omnichannel Marketing Omnichannel marketing delivers a unified, seamless customer experience across every channel — email, SMS, onsite, social, and more — with ... View definition
Open Rate Open rate is the percentage of delivered emails that recipients open. It's a core email marketing metric used to gauge how well your ... View definition
Opt-In Opt-in is the act of a person actively giving permission to receive email from your business, typically by submitting a signup form. It's ... View definition
Opt-In Form An opt-in form is the on-site form where visitors enter their details to subscribe to your emails. It's the primary tool for turning ... View definition
Order Confirmation Email An order confirmation email is a transactional message sent immediately after a purchase, confirming the order details. It's expected, ... View definition

P

Permission-Based Marketing Permission-based marketing is the practice of only sending email to people who have explicitly opted in to receive it. It's the foundation ... View definition
Personalization Email personalization is the practice of tailoring email content to individual subscribers using their data — such as name, purchase ... View definition
Plain Text Email A plain text email contains only unformatted text — no HTML, images, or styling. It looks like a personal message and can feel more ... View definition
Post-Purchase Email A post-purchase email is a message (or series) sent after a customer buys — to confirm the order, set expectations, gather feedback, and ... View definition
Preference Center A preference center is a page where subscribers manage their email preferences — content topics, frequency, and channels — instead of ... View definition
Preheader An email preheader (or preview text) is the short snippet of text shown alongside or beneath the subject line in the inbox. It works with ... View definition
Product Launch Email A product launch email announces a new product or collection to your subscribers. It's often part of a sequence that builds anticipation ... View definition
Promotional Email A promotional email is a marketing message focused on driving a specific action — such as a sale, discount, product launch, or event — ... View definition

R

Re-Engagement Campaign A re-engagement campaign is a series of emails aimed at reactivating subscribers who have stopped opening or clicking, before they're ... View definition
Referral Email A referral email invites existing customers to refer friends or family — usually with a reward for both parties — turning satisfied ... View definition
Responsive Email A responsive email is designed to automatically adapt its layout to the recipient's screen size, so it looks good and stays readable on ... View definition
Revenue Per Email (RPE) Revenue per email (RPE) is the average amount of revenue generated for each email delivered. It ties your email program directly to the ... View definition
RFM Analysis RFM analysis is a segmentation method that ranks customers by three behaviors — Recency (how recently they bought), Frequency (how often), ... View definition

S

Seasonal Email Campaign A seasonal email campaign aligns your email marketing with holidays, seasons, and cultural moments — like Black Friday, the holidays, or ... View definition
Send-Time Optimization Send-time optimization is the practice of delivering each email at the time a subscriber is most likely to open and engage — often ... View definition
Sender Name The sender name, or "from name," is the name displayed as the sender in a recipient's inbox. A clear, recognizable sender name is a major ... View definition
Sender Reputation Sender reputation is the trust score mailbox providers assign to your sending domain and IP address. It's the single biggest factor in ... View definition
Sender Score Sender Score is a reputation rating (0–100) assigned to a sending IP address based on its email behavior. A higher score signals ... View definition
Single Opt-In Single opt-in is a signup method where a subscriber is added to your list immediately after submitting a form, without a confirmation step. ... View definition
SMS Marketing SMS marketing is the practice of sending promotional and transactional text messages to customers who have opted in. Its high open rates ... View definition
Soft Bounce A soft bounce is a temporary email delivery failure caused by issues like a full mailbox, an oversized message, or a down server. The email ... View definition
Soft Opt-In A soft opt-in is a limited form of consent that permits emailing existing customers about similar products or services — provided they were ... View definition
Spam Complaint Rate Spam complaint rate is the percentage of recipients who mark your email as spam. Keeping it low — under 0.3% — is essential, because ... View definition
Spam Trap A spam trap is an email address created or repurposed specifically to catch senders who don't practice good list hygiene. Hitting one can ... View definition
SPF SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication standard that lists which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your ... View definition
Subject Line A subject line is the short line of text a recipient sees before opening an email. It's the single biggest factor in whether your email ... View definition
Subscriber An email subscriber is a person who has given permission to receive email from your business, usually by opting in through a form. ... View definition
Sunset Policy A sunset policy is a predefined rule for automatically stopping emails to — or removing — subscribers who have been unengaged for a set ... View definition
Suppression List A suppression list is a list of email addresses you deliberately exclude from sends — such as unsubscribes, hard bounces, and complainers — ... View definition

T

Transactional Email A transactional email is an automated, one-to-one message triggered by a user action or account event — such as an order confirmation, ... View definition
Trigger Email A triggered email is an automated message sent in response to a specific subscriber action or behavior — like abandoning a cart, browsing a ... View definition

U

Unsubscribe To unsubscribe is to opt out of receiving further emails from a sender. Providing a clear, working unsubscribe option is both a legal ... View definition
Unsubscribe Rate Unsubscribe rate is the percentage of recipients who opt out of your emails after a given send. A low, steady rate is healthy; sudden ... View definition
Upsell Email An upsell email encourages a customer to purchase a higher-end, upgraded, or larger version of a product they're considering or have bought ... View definition

W

Welcome Email A welcome email is the first message a new subscriber or customer receives after signing up. It sets the tone for the relationship and ... View definition
Win-Back Email A win-back email is a message (or series) sent to re-engage subscribers or customers who have gone quiet — no opens, clicks, or purchases ... View definition
Workflow A workflow is an automated sequence of emails and actions, triggered by subscriber behavior or data, that runs on its own — the building ... View definition

Z

Zero-Party Data Zero-party data is information a customer intentionally and proactively shares with a brand — such as preferences, intentions, and feedback ... View definition
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