N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z (click to view A-M)
Narrowcast: Used to describe targeted email marketing that aims for the highest possible relevance, as opposed to "broadcast" email marketing where one message is sent to an entire list with no segmentation applied. Back to top
Open Rate: The percentage of total recipients who open a given email. An open is only counted when an invisible tracking image placed within an email by an Email Service Provider is viewed. This tracking image is not considered as having been viewed when an email is seen using an email client with images blocked, which makes Open Rates a less reliable metric than many realize. Back to top
Opt-in Code: Code posted on the webpage of a company's website that allows a subscriber to signup for email from the company and be automatically added to that company's email list. Back to top
Opt-in Email Marketing: The process of collecting permission to email users whereby the user must take action to receive email communications. Also known as Permission-based Email Marketing.Back to top
Permission-based Email Marketing: The practice of sending email communications only to recipients who have given their consent to receive them. Back to top
Personalization:Inserting a token into your email message that allows you to draw personal information from the recipients account, i.e. first name, title, customer number, etc. Back to top
Predictive Modeling: Mathematically-based formula used to dynamically segment subscribers based on who is most likely to engage with a particular message. Back to top
Preview Pane: Available in some email clients, preview panes display a portion of a selected email message without the recipient actually having to open the full message. In some clients, the size of the preview pane can be adjusted to display all or most of an email. Back to top
Psychographics: Identification of personality characteristics and attitudes that affect a person's lifestyle and purchasing behaviors. Psychographic data points include opinions, attitudes, and beliefs about various aspects relating to lifestyle and purchasing behavior. Back to top
Quick Poll: A simple survey built directly into the body of an email, allowing for quick and easy collection of research data from members of a mailing list. Back to top
Recipient: Any member of a mailing list who receives a particular email communication without a hard/soft bounce affecting delivery. Back to top
Render: Used to describe whether or not images within an email display, particularly tracking images used to determine open rates. For this reason, some in the email marketing industry have proposed changing what is now called an "open rate" to be referred to as a "render rate." Back to top
Reply-to Address: The email address to which a recipient can reply to from your email message. This address must be a working email address and must be live for at least 30 days after your email is sent. Back to top
Segmentation/Targeting: Identifying and sending to only a select portion of an email list based on a shared pre-determined criteria, such as the recipients' zip code or online purchase history. Segmentation is used to help increase the relevance of a message to the recipients. Back to top
Sender ID: Email authentication technology protocol that verifies the domain name from which email is sent. Back to top
Sender Score Certified: Email certification process that requires originators of legitimate email adhere to a baseline set of industry standards for email communication. Back to top
Single Opt-in: Method of list building where only a single action is required of an interested party before he/she is added to a mailing list (such as submitting a web form). Differs from Double Opt-in in that no follow-up action is required on the part of new subscribers in order to confirm their opt-in status. Back to top
Snippet Text: The first line of text within an email, also called the Pre-header. While often used to prompt recipients to add the sender to his/her safelist, Snippet Text is increasingly being used for more high-value content. In email clients such as Gmail, Snippet Text is displayed after the subject line in recipients' inboxes, making it a valuable area for key messaging. Back to top
Soft Bounce: An email that makes it to a recipient's email server but is bounced back. This can be due to a recipient's inbox being filled to capacity. A soft bounce email may be deliverable at a later time if re-sent after the initial bounce. Back to top
SPAM: Unsolicited bulk or commercial email. The prevalence of SPAM emails has led to laws against SPAM being enacted by the U.S. government, as well as more stringent filtering methods implemented by widely-used email clients. Back to top
SPAM Score: A determination of the probability that messages from a certain sender will be classified as SPAM when delivered to email clients. The score itself refers to the IP address being used to send the messages. All messages sent from the same IP address share the SPAM score of that IP address. Back to top
SPAM Trap: An email address that has been specifically created to detect individuals who have illegally scraped or collected email addresses. The belief is that any email sent to a spam trap address is indeed Spam, as the email address is not usually used as a real email address. Back to top
Split List: A list that has been segmented in some way(s). Examples could include a 50/50 split, customer vs. prospect split, a split based on subscriber profile information such as their Industry, etc. Back to top
Subject Line: Used as the first point of contact with an email recipient, the subject line is the only portion of an email message guaranteed to be seen in all email client inboxes (i.e. those with and without preview panes available). The importance of subject lines is twofold: not only does the appeal of a subject line directly affect whether or not recipients will open the email, but a subject line containing unfavorable elements can trigger SPAM filters and be considered junk mail by email clients. Back to top
Subscriber: Any member of a mailing list who has opted-in of his/her own accord to receive mail from that particular sender. Back to top
Text-based Email: A black and white email consisting only of typed text. Preferred by recipients who view email on mobile devices, or those who prefer email without images. Back to top
Total Clicks: The total number of times a link was clicked, includes recipients who may have clicked multiple times. Back to top
Total Opens: The total number of times an email was opened, includes recipients who may have opened the email multiple times. Back to top
Unique Clicks: The number of individual recipients who click on a link within a given email. Even if one person clicks on three links within an email, he/she is only counted as one unique click. Back to top
Unique Opens: The number of individual recipients who opened a given email. Different from Total Opens in that each individual is only counted once. A recipient who opens an email three times will be counted as one Unique Open, while adding three to the number of Total Opens. Back to top
Unsubscribe: When an email recipient requests to no longer receive email communication from a particular sender. The option to unsubscribe from a mailing list is required by law to be available on all email marketing communications. Back to top
Web version: Most email marketing messages contain a link which points to a Web Version of the message. This is usually displayed at the top of the message so it is the first thing recipients will see if they have images suppressed. Web versions of emails contain the same content, but are viewed as standalone web pages instead of through an email client. Back to top
Whitelist: A list of email addresses that a user designates as safe to receive email from. Inclusion on a whitelist means that no email from those particular senders will ever end up in the user's junk mail folder unless express action is taken by the user to remove an address from the whitelist. Back to top
ZIP Code Radius Filter: Segmentation feature allowing the sender to isolate a regional portion of a mailing list based on recipients' proximity to a specified ZIP Code. Back to top
N
Narrowcast: Used to describe targeted email marketing that aims for the highest possible relevance, as opposed to "broadcast" email marketing where one message is sent to an entire list with no segmentation applied. Back to top
O
Open Rate: The percentage of total recipients who open a given email. An open is only counted when an invisible tracking image placed within an email by an Email Service Provider is viewed. This tracking image is not considered as having been viewed when an email is seen using an email client with images blocked, which makes Open Rates a less reliable metric than many realize. Back to top
Opt-in Code: Code posted on the webpage of a company's website that allows a subscriber to signup for email from the company and be automatically added to that company's email list. Back to top
Opt-in Email Marketing: The process of collecting permission to email users whereby the user must take action to receive email communications. Also known as Permission-based Email Marketing.Back to top
P
Permission-based Email Marketing: The practice of sending email communications only to recipients who have given their consent to receive them. Back to top
Personalization:Inserting a token into your email message that allows you to draw personal information from the recipients account, i.e. first name, title, customer number, etc. Back to top
Predictive Modeling: Mathematically-based formula used to dynamically segment subscribers based on who is most likely to engage with a particular message. Back to top
Preview Pane: Available in some email clients, preview panes display a portion of a selected email message without the recipient actually having to open the full message. In some clients, the size of the preview pane can be adjusted to display all or most of an email. Back to top
Psychographics: Identification of personality characteristics and attitudes that affect a person's lifestyle and purchasing behaviors. Psychographic data points include opinions, attitudes, and beliefs about various aspects relating to lifestyle and purchasing behavior. Back to top
Q
Quick Poll: A simple survey built directly into the body of an email, allowing for quick and easy collection of research data from members of a mailing list. Back to top
R
Recipient: Any member of a mailing list who receives a particular email communication without a hard/soft bounce affecting delivery. Back to top
Render: Used to describe whether or not images within an email display, particularly tracking images used to determine open rates. For this reason, some in the email marketing industry have proposed changing what is now called an "open rate" to be referred to as a "render rate." Back to top
Reply-to Address: The email address to which a recipient can reply to from your email message. This address must be a working email address and must be live for at least 30 days after your email is sent. Back to top
S
Segmentation/Targeting: Identifying and sending to only a select portion of an email list based on a shared pre-determined criteria, such as the recipients' zip code or online purchase history. Segmentation is used to help increase the relevance of a message to the recipients. Back to top
Sender ID: Email authentication technology protocol that verifies the domain name from which email is sent. Back to top
Sender Score Certified: Email certification process that requires originators of legitimate email adhere to a baseline set of industry standards for email communication. Back to top
Single Opt-in: Method of list building where only a single action is required of an interested party before he/she is added to a mailing list (such as submitting a web form). Differs from Double Opt-in in that no follow-up action is required on the part of new subscribers in order to confirm their opt-in status. Back to top
Snippet Text: The first line of text within an email, also called the Pre-header. While often used to prompt recipients to add the sender to his/her safelist, Snippet Text is increasingly being used for more high-value content. In email clients such as Gmail, Snippet Text is displayed after the subject line in recipients' inboxes, making it a valuable area for key messaging. Back to top
Soft Bounce: An email that makes it to a recipient's email server but is bounced back. This can be due to a recipient's inbox being filled to capacity. A soft bounce email may be deliverable at a later time if re-sent after the initial bounce. Back to top
SPAM: Unsolicited bulk or commercial email. The prevalence of SPAM emails has led to laws against SPAM being enacted by the U.S. government, as well as more stringent filtering methods implemented by widely-used email clients. Back to top
SPAM Score: A determination of the probability that messages from a certain sender will be classified as SPAM when delivered to email clients. The score itself refers to the IP address being used to send the messages. All messages sent from the same IP address share the SPAM score of that IP address. Back to top
SPAM Trap: An email address that has been specifically created to detect individuals who have illegally scraped or collected email addresses. The belief is that any email sent to a spam trap address is indeed Spam, as the email address is not usually used as a real email address. Back to top
Split List: A list that has been segmented in some way(s). Examples could include a 50/50 split, customer vs. prospect split, a split based on subscriber profile information such as their Industry, etc. Back to top
Subject Line: Used as the first point of contact with an email recipient, the subject line is the only portion of an email message guaranteed to be seen in all email client inboxes (i.e. those with and without preview panes available). The importance of subject lines is twofold: not only does the appeal of a subject line directly affect whether or not recipients will open the email, but a subject line containing unfavorable elements can trigger SPAM filters and be considered junk mail by email clients. Back to top
Subscriber: Any member of a mailing list who has opted-in of his/her own accord to receive mail from that particular sender. Back to top
T
Text-based Email: A black and white email consisting only of typed text. Preferred by recipients who view email on mobile devices, or those who prefer email without images. Back to top
Total Clicks: The total number of times a link was clicked, includes recipients who may have clicked multiple times. Back to top
Total Opens: The total number of times an email was opened, includes recipients who may have opened the email multiple times. Back to top
U
Unique Clicks: The number of individual recipients who click on a link within a given email. Even if one person clicks on three links within an email, he/she is only counted as one unique click. Back to top
Unique Opens: The number of individual recipients who opened a given email. Different from Total Opens in that each individual is only counted once. A recipient who opens an email three times will be counted as one Unique Open, while adding three to the number of Total Opens. Back to top
Unsubscribe: When an email recipient requests to no longer receive email communication from a particular sender. The option to unsubscribe from a mailing list is required by law to be available on all email marketing communications. Back to top
V
W
Web version: Most email marketing messages contain a link which points to a Web Version of the message. This is usually displayed at the top of the message so it is the first thing recipients will see if they have images suppressed. Web versions of emails contain the same content, but are viewed as standalone web pages instead of through an email client. Back to top
Whitelist: A list of email addresses that a user designates as safe to receive email from. Inclusion on a whitelist means that no email from those particular senders will ever end up in the user's junk mail folder unless express action is taken by the user to remove an address from the whitelist. Back to top
X
Y
Z
ZIP Code Radius Filter: Segmentation feature allowing the sender to isolate a regional portion of a mailing list based on recipients' proximity to a specified ZIP Code. Back to top