Email Marketing Terms: The 22 Most Important You Need To Know

Email marketing, like other digital marketing channels, has its own unique terminology. While many of these terms are self-explanatory, it’s still important to define each email marketing term clearly. This will ensure that you have a solid understanding of the basic terms, which will help you as you learn more with our comprehensive Guide to Email Marketing. You’ll also find some helpful links to learn more about each email term throughout the glossary.

The 22 Most Important Email Marketing Terms You Should Know

1. Email
   A digital tool that allows you to send messages and files over the internet to individuals or groups. Emails can include text, images, and attachments.
2. Email Marketing Campaign
   A marketing tactic that involves sending one or more marketing emails to a specific audience to promote products, services, events, or brands. This can be a single email or a series of emails aimed at achieving a marketing goal.
   Learn how to run a successful email marketing campaign
3. Email Subscriber
   Someone who voluntarily opts to receive emails from a specific business or organization.
   Discover 16 ways to get more email subscribers
4. Email Marketing Service
   A software company that manages email subscriber data, and makes it possible to send bulk emails to your email list.
   7 Best Email Marketing Services
5. Email Newsletter
   A regularly scheduled email sent to subscribers that provides updates, news, or insights about a particular topic, industry, or business.
   How to create an email newsletter
6. Email Marketing Automation (also called Drip Series)
   Automated email campaigns triggered by specific actions of subscribers, such as website interactions or purchase behavior, sending a series of targeted emails based on those actions.
   A Beginner’s Guide to Email Marketing Automation
7. Email List
   A curated collection of email addresses obtained from individuals who have shown interest in receiving email communications from a business or organization.
   Why you need to build an email list and how
8. Opt in (verb)
   The action of voluntarily choosing to receive email communications from a business or individual, usually by signing up on a website or through a promotion.
9. Email Optin (noun)
   A promotional offer or incentive provided to encourage individuals to subscribe to an email list, also known as a lead magnet.
   How to create an email optin
10. Lead Magnet
    A valuable, often free, resource offered to entice individuals to sign up for an email list, such as ebooks, guides, templates, or exclusive content.
    How to create a lead magnet
11. Optin Form
    A digital form used on websites and landing pages to enable visitors to subscribe to an email list, available in various styles like pop-ups or embedded forms.
    63-Point Optin Form Publishing Checklist
12. Subject Line
    The headline text displayed in the email inbox that provides a preview or summary of the email’s content, playing a crucial role in influencing open rates.
    Discover email subject line best practices
13. Open Rate
    A metric that represents the proportion of recipients who open an email compared to the total number of recipients, indicating the email’s initial appeal.
    10 easy ways to improve your open rate
14. Click-through Rate
    The percentage of email recipients who click on one or more links contained in an email, reflecting the effectiveness of the email’s content and calls-to-action.
    7 ways to boost your email click-through rate
15. Conversion
    A specific, desired action taken by an email recipient, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service, following an email prompt.
    14 high converting places to add an email signup form
16. Unsubscribe
    The process by which an individual opts out of receiving future emails from a sender, effectively removing themselves from the email list.
    10 proven ways to reduce email unsubscribe rates
17. Personalization
    The practice of tailoring email content to individual recipients based on their preferences, behaviors, or demographic information, to enhance engagement.
    Read the Ultimate Guide to e-Commerce Personalization
18. Segmentation
    The technique of dividing an email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria like interests, purchase history, or demographic data, to target emails more effectively.
    50 smart ways to segment your email list
19. Landing Page
    A dedicated web page that visitors are directed to from an email, designed to provide detailed information related to the email’s content and encourage a specific action.
    How to create a landing page
20. Mobile Optimization
    The process of designing emails to ensure they are easily readable and navigable on mobile devices, optimizing the user experience for smartphone and tablet users.
    How to increase your mobile conversion rates
21. Spam
    Unsolicited, often irrelevant emails, frequently sent in bulk. It’s crucial to avoid having your marketing emails classified as spam.
    11 ways your email go to spam and how to make sure they don’t
22. Call-to-Action
    A prominent button or link in an email designed to prompt the reader to take a specific action, like making a purchase or signing up.
    How to create the perfect call-to-action

Published by Angie Meeker

Angie Meeker is the General Manager here at OptinMonster. Remember, start with the end user's goals in mind and you'll never go wrong.

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