Email marketing is evolving as one of the strongest mediums of digital marketing. Email remains one of the effective mediums to reach your audience. Almost all internet users nowadays have at least one active email address and most check them daily.
That’s why email marketing is now adopted by all types of businesses. But there are a lot of email marketing terminologies and a beginner might get confused. To ensure that you are doing everything right to meet the goals you need to have a clear idea of the terms.
In this post, I will discuss some of the important terms that you need to know.
So let’s get started.
Ultimate List of Email Marketing Terminologies
Check out some of the must-know terms used in email marketing.
1. Email Marketing Tools
Email marketing tools are specialized software and applications used in email campaigns. Email marketing software is used for email design, list building, sending emails, email optimizing, checking performance, generating email reports, etc.
It is also known as an email service provider (EPS).
Email marketing tools have been around in the market for a while and evolved a lot. It reduces the headache of marketers and simplifies the complex aspects of marketing. These tools help you deliver effective email campaigns to boost your profits.
Some of the best tools include GetResponse, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contacts, Mailchimp, etc. If you are serious to enter the world of email marketing, then you should choose one of the tools.
2. Email Campaign
An email campaign is one email or sequence of emails that are deployed to multiple contacts at once. Each campaign sent to achieve a specific goal also allows you to build strong and trusting relationships. Depending on your business type, you can set different goals and accomplish them.
To start an email campaign you need to have a tool and email list. A typical email marketing campaign includes a clear call-to-action (CTA) designed to encourage the reader for taking some action.
Every email marketing tool offers pre-made templates to design an email campaign. Using email segmentation and personalization techniques you can make an email campaign successful. Focus on writing a good subject line, email body, and proper call-to-action options.
3. Responsive Emails
Responsive emails are a special type of email that is automatically adjusted based on the device screen size. More than half of the users use a mobile device to read emails.
All modern tools come with a drag-and-drop email builder to create responsive emails. The responsive design is by default available in these tools nowadays. You can preview email content to check how it will look on desktop and mobile.
4. Autoresponder
Email automation is dominating the space and everyone wants to implement it for their own business. Autoresponders allow you to trigger automated emails to people on your email list. You can set a trigger when a certain action is being performed.
One of the simplest examples of an autoresponder is the welcome email. You can set up an auto-responder that sends a welcome email when someone joins your email list. In some cases, autoresponders contain a series of emails. Drip marketing also uses this technique to deliver a series of emails.
Email marketing tools come with the feature to create autoresponders. E-commerce sites can take advantage of email automation features and send abandoned cart emails, similar product recommendations, etc.
5. Dynamic Content
Dynamic content means changing the email subject line and body based on the subscriber’s basic demographic information. The dynamic email content is used to provide a more personalized experience to subscribers.
This concept works on the variable. A variable is used as the dynamic part of the content and you can show the personalized message on the recipient side. The system will replace the variable with the appropriate data of the user and seems personalized.
You can combine personalized dynamic content with automation to deliver engaging content for your audience. This type of email gives a feeling that the company cares about the customer and writes an email just for him/her.
6. A/B Testing
A/B Testing is also known as split testing in email marketing. It is the process of comparing two versions of emails or web pages and checking the performance. So you can fine-tune marketing efforts and use proper optimizations.
As a business you want subscribers to take action. So you can prepare two email variations with a different subject, email content, CTA, visual elements, etc.
A/B testing can drive more revenue even if the most minor changes have a significant impact.
Email marketing software comes with this feature and you can create an A/B testing campaign in a few clicks. Both the performance can be compared side by side to see which email version is performing well.
7. Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is a popular email marketing terminology. It is the percentage of emails in your list that don’t receive your emails. As the recipient’s server returned them your emails can’t be delivered to the person.
The bounce rate can be calculated using a simple formula:
(Number of bounces/number of delivered emails) x 100 = your email bounce rate
The bounce rate is again divided into 2 subcategories. Hard bounce and soft bounce.
- Hard Bounce: If an email return back to the sender as the recipient server doesn’t accept then it is called a hard bounce. Some of the possible reasons for a hard bounce are the email doesn’t exist, the domain name is not available, the address is mistyped, the mail server completely blocked the delivery, etc.
- Soft Bounce: If an email is accepted by the recipient’s mail server already and then bounced back to the sender then it is called a soft bounce. Some of the possible reasons for a hard bounce are the mailbox is full, the email server is down, the email size is too large, etc.
As per a report, the average bounce rate across industries is below 2%. So, if you send 100 emails in a campaign then 2 or fewer bounces are good. High bounce rates put an impact on the sender’s reputation.
7. Open Rate
Open rate refers to the percentage of email users who opened the email after receiving it. Many marketers consider these metrics to determine the effectiveness of an email campaign.
To calculate the open rate you can use the following formula.
Open rate = unique opens / (sent emails – bounced emails)
You don’t have to use any formula if using an email marketing tool. The tool can track a show you a detailed report on open rates including other stats.
If users are not opening your emails then you can drive conversions. A low email open rate is a wake-up call for you. This shows that the email marketing strategy needs improvements.
8. Deliverability
Email deliverability refers to the percentage of emails placed into the recipient’s inbox. It completely depends on the email service provider’s reputation and infrastructure. Some other factors include IP reputation, the domain used, custom authentication, etc.
You should always use an email testing tool to see the scores. You can track whether or not emails are getting to the inbox using the GreenArrow Inbox Monitor tool. Sender reputation is calculated in a range of 0 to 100 to find the sender score.
To maintain good deliverability keep your email list clean and wipe out inactive subscribers. You can use services like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce for accurate email validation.
9. Click Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate or shorten CTR is an important metric to measure user engagement on an email. CTR refers to how many recipients clicked on a hyperlink, button, or image within an email.
The email click-through rate is calculated by the following formula.
Click-Through Rate = (Number of email clicks / Number of delivered emails) x 100
It is one of the biggest challenges in email marketing “how to encourage the subscriber to click on a link associated with an email”. If subscribers just read emails and don’t take action then you can generate sales.
Constant Contact is a well-known player in this industry and you can check the latest click-through rate report.
10. Opt-in
Opt-in is a frequently used email marketing terminology that refers to the process of inviting random visitors to sign up for your email list. It is also known as permission marketing where you are allowing visitors to put their emails to receive marketing emails.
Sign-up forms are mostly used to encourage visitors to opt in for email marketing messages. It helps marketers to build a strong email list quickly.
Email sign-up methods can be categorized into two categories. Single opt-in and double opt-in. Let me explain the major fundamental difference between the two.
- Single opt-in: It is a one-step process and visitors have to enter their email address one time in the signup form. They became a subscriber immediately without any email verification.
- Double opt-in: It is a two-step process. Visitors have to enter their email addresses in the signup box. Then a confirmation email will be sent and they must click to confirm. After that, the email will be added to the list.
It is a good topic for debate that’s been going on for years among email marketers. In general both single opt-in and double opt-in has their advantages and disadvantages.
11. Opt-out
Opt-out is an email marketing process that allows subscribers to unsubscribe if they no longer want to receive emails from you. This is the opposite process of opt-in.
The reasons for unsubscribing can vary but include irrelevant emails, frequent promotional emails, etc. Unsubscribing is not pleasant for a business. But it cleans up your mailing list and allows people to leave in peace if not interested.
If the unsubscribe rate is too high, you need to reconsider your email mail marketing techniques. Segment your email list, send promotional and engaging emails, and add personalization to reduce your unsubscribe rate.
12. Conversion Rate
Email conversion rate refers to the percentage of subscribers who have taken an action and completed the goal. The action can vary based on your email campaign goals.
To calculate your email campaign conversion rate use the following formula.
Conversion Rate = (Number of conversions / Number of delivered emails) x 100
An attractive call to action (CTA) encourages readers to complete the conversion. It can be a free eBook download, purchase, join a webinar, renewal, etc.
The era of one-size-fits-all marketing emails is long gone. To maximize the conversion you need to take advantage of segmentation and personalization techniques.
13. Inbox Placement Rate
Inbox Placement Rate (IPR) is a rising email marketing terminology over deliverability. This term refers to the percentage of emails delivered to the subscriber’s inbox rather than the spam folder. Deliverability shows the total number of emails send to any folder.
You can calculate the inbox placement rate using the below simple formula.
IPR = (Number of emails delivered to the inbox / Number of delivered emails) x 100
Much research shows that there is a significant increase in malicious phishing emails. So leading email clients like Google have developed an email filter that puts emails in different sections like promotional, spam, etc. No user visits that section. If your emails are going there then forget about open and conversions.
14. Landing Page
A landing page is a standalone web page designed for a specific purpose. Usually, visitors land on this page after clicking through an advertisement or promotional link.
A typical web page has tons of links and causes distraction. But the landing page is super focused and contains the links and CTA buttons that guide a visitor towards conversion. Each landing page should be designed based on your conversion goal.
Landing pages are widely used in email marketing to drive more conversions. So you can find the landing page builder feature in each leading email marketing tool.
15. List Building
Email list building refers to the process of collecting email addresses from visitors. If you want to start email marketing then an email list is the most necessary thing. Everyone wants to grow their email list because it brings new conversions and boosts business.
A lengthy list is not always good. Instead of a vast list, try to create a healthy email list of subscribers who wants to hear from you. For collecting email addresses, you need to show signup forms on the website.
You can easily create sign-up forms and collect emails using email marketing software. Use recommended list-building strategies to encourage visitors to give their precious email addresses.
16. Sales Funnel
The sales funnel is a predefined stage that a visitor needs to follow to make a purchase. It is like an inverted pyramid that starts with a lot of your potential customers. At the bottom of the funnel, some visitors converted into a customer.
A typical funnel structure contains four main stages.
- Awareness: It is the first stage of funnel marketing where you have to spread awareness. You can bring visitors from social media, search ads, or even word of mouth.
- Interest: In this stage, visitors trying to make some research on your product and think about the problem your product/service can solve. You need to catch a visitor’s interest.
- Decision: In this stage, the customer is already ready to buy but considering some more options. Here you can provide a discount code and free shipping so that customers make buying decisions.
- Action: This is the last step of the sales funnel. Here visitor makes a purchase and becomes a part of your business’s ecosystem. You can track the lost leads and find the reasons why you lost them.
17. Segmentation
Segmentation refers to the categorization of email subscribers into small groups based on set criteria. Email list segmentation can increase your email open rates, and boost conversions.
You can cater emails specifically to each small email list having independent interests. This means you can send the right message to the specific subscriber and build a better relationship. You can segment using differentiating factors including demographics, past behavior, engagements, etc.
Leading email marketing software allows you to segment emails. Diving deeper into each segmentation can give a clear view of the subscriber’s behaviors and interests.
18. Bulk Emails
Bulk Emails refer to the process of sending a large number of emails at once. These emails are promotional messages sent to promote a brand, service/product, or generate additional revenue.
You should send it to people who have signed up to receive marketing emails from your business. Email service providers allow you to send bulk emails based on the plan.
Email engagement plays a great role in email deliverability. Send emails to those contacts who truly want to hear from you. An unsubscribe option needs to be in the promotional emails to opt out if subscribers don’t want to receive emails anymore.
19. Transactional Emails
Transactional emails are sent from a business to customers for an account-related activity or commercial transactions. This type of email is automated and triggered by customer interaction.
Some of the examples include password reset, abandoned cart, invoice of the current purchase, delivery status, booking confirmation, etc. In most cases, the customer already consents to sending marketing emails. So no additional permission is required from the customer side.
You can set triggers using email marketing software that sends emails when customers take certain actions. Transactional emails don’t have an option to unsubscribe. If you send both promotional and transactional emails we recommend separating them using separate email addresses or IP addresses.
20. Email Blacklist
Blacklisting emails is the practice of identifying spam IP addresses and domain names associated with spam content and blocking them. It safeguards users from receiving unwanted malicious content.
There is a gigantic list of IP addresses and public domains sending spam emails. Internet Service Providers (ISP), Email Service Providers (ESP), and Anti-spam agencies (ASA) maintain their email blacklists.
When a mail server receives an email it automatically checks the domain name and IP address against the blacklist. If the incoming IP address belongs to the list, it rejects the email or places it in the spam folder.
21. IP Address
An Internet Protocol Address also known as an IP address is a unique numerical address that points to an Internet location. It is included in the header part of all emails sent.
In email marketing, an IP address is divided into two parts.
- Shared IP: It is shared by multiple senders. You can assume it is like a rented apartment where many people can live. It costs less and you can use it for sending smaller volumes of emails.
- Dedicated IP: There is a single sender in the dedicated IP responsible for its reputation. It is costly and you can use it for sending a high volume of emails.
Conclusion
So these are some of the best email marketing terminologies you should know. As you dive into the new world of email marketing, you’ll likely face a whole new vocabulary and set of concepts.
Get acquainted with the above terms because you will face them regularly in the journey of email marketing.