justClick Blast has put together a thorough glossary of basic email marketing terms and definitions that will make you look and feel like an email marketing guru as soon as you become familiar with them.
A mailing list is divided into two equal segments, and each is tested for different offers in order to determine which is more effective.
The portion of a web page that you first see without scrolling. "Above-the-fold" is generally the more desirable location on a Website because it is the most readily visible. Any opt in links, tags or banners are better placed at this location.
An automated reply message usually set up by the user that alerts the sender when the intended recipient of the email is 'out of the office' or 'away on vacation'.
Action usually taken by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or corporate servers that prevents email messages from suspected spammers to reach the inbox in their intended destination. Usually, the ISP bounces back a message to the sender to inform the their email has been blocked.
The Bonded Sender Program identifies legitimate email traffic. Legitimate email originators post a financial bond to ensure the integrity of their email campaign. If you receive an unsolicited email from a Bonded Sender, you can complain to their ISP, enterprise, or to IronPort Systems (sponsor of the program) and a financial charge is debited from the bond. This allows email senders to ensure their message reaches the end user, and provides corporate IT managers and ISPs with an objective way to ensure that only unwanted messages are blocked.
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, describes penalties for spammers and companies who advertise their products in spam messages if they violate the law, gives consumers the right to ask spammers to stop sending their messages.
The CAN-SPAM Act can be found here
This formula of obtaining permission to send email messages and/or campaigns requires that the subscriber confirms his subscription by clicking on a confirmation link or by replying to a confirmation email, before you include them in your opt in list. See also: Double Opt in
The copy (text), graphics and images in a web page, Website and or presentation.
A link to a Web location that is incorporated into a line of text in a simpler way than a conventional link. For example, click here [[not an actual link]] to return to the justClick media home page.
A payment model where payment is contingent on certain actions, such as sales or registrations.
"Filtering" is a technique used to block email based on the content included in the "from:" and/or "subject:" lines, or in the copy of an email body. Filtering software finds key words that identify an email as spam. In this case, the email messages are blocked on an individual basis.
A legitimate, permission based email that is false positive occurs when a legitimate permission based email is erroneously filtered and/or blocked as spam.
A type with dimensions and style that are specific to a type family (for example, Gill Sans Serif Condensed Bold 12).
The line at the top of an email message where the sender typically types his/her name/company.
The failed delivery of an email message that is rejected and returned to the sender due to a permanent reason that cannot be resolved, such as a non existent address, an unknown recipient or a domain that doesn't exist.
(see: Hard bounce)
The header of an email is a part of the document that is usually not visible to the recipient unless 'view headers' feature of their email software is selected.
Headers include information such as the server from where the email was sent, the program used to originate it, the route it followed through the Internet, and more.
The headline in an email marketing message usually speaks of the company sending it and entices the recipient so that he/she reads the whole message.
This is a permission based list that you build over time through your relationship with your customers and use to market, cross sell and up sell, as well as to connect with your customer base. This list is one of your most valuable assets (remember the notion that it is seven times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to procure a new one), so make sure you update it and make it grow.
An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. AOL, Juno, Yahoo!, MSN, Comcast and various local phone companies are common
The page on a website where the visitor arrives, It is not necessarily the home page, but maybe a bookmarked page or a linked page. In the sphere of email marketing, the landing page is the page where the message directs the recipient via link.
Text, graphics or images that direct to another online location when clicked.
The amount of time it takes for a web page to open completely in the browser window.
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard format for email. Almost all Internet e-mail is transmitted in MIME format.
The practice of only sending email marketing messages/newsletters to a list of recipients who have agreed (opted in, subscribed or requested) to receive them from an individual, a website or a company.
Legitimate, professional, reputable email individual or company marketers use this method to build their business.
(See also Acquisition list)
The practice of writing the email messages in a way that makes the recipient feel that it was composed specifically for him/her.
Including the recipient's name in the salutation line, references to his/her message/purchase in the body, and suggestions based on previous business with the recipient, all contribute to the personalization of your message.
The first line in an email message, where you address the recipient. It can be a generic salutation ('Dear/Valued subscriber', 'Dear/Valued member') or a more personalized one ('Dear Jean', 'Hi, Peter.', 'Hello, Tom!')
An email industry initiative headed by Microsoft and other industry leaders to offer a technical solution against phishing/spoofing - a popular deceptive practice used by spammers. (See also: Spoofing and Phishing)
A short block of text automatically posted at the end of an email message identifying the sender and providing contact and other information on them.
It can be used as a means to communicate a message and/or add a call-to-action with a link.
The failed delivery of an email message that is rejected for a temporary reason -such as full mailbox on the recipients end- or because the receiving server is unavailable due to maintenance or repair.
Spam, the common reference to UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) refers specifically to email of a commercial nature that a recipient has not subscribed to or actively requested.
Spam is unwanted, unexpected email from a sender unknown to the recipient.
Sending email to people who have not requested your messages will likely result in spam complaints.
(See: Subheadings)
The field in an email message where the sender indicates the topic of the message. In email marketing, it is often used to motivate the recipient to open the message and read its content.
Identifying, collecting and evaluating data that reveal the effectiveness of an email, a mailout or an email campaign.
A size or style of typewritten or printed character. For example, a serif typeface, a sans-serif typeface, a bold type, a 12-point type, 14-point type.
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