This direct marketing glossary comes in handy for many of our users. It's just been updated and expanded with loads of new and helpful definitions. Enjoy!

Direct Marketing Glossary

A/B Split

When a list is divided into two equal segments, each of which is tested for different offers as part an effort to determine which is more effective.

Above-the-fold

The part of an email or web page that is visible without scrolling. It is generally suggested that the most desirable offers and critical information be placed above-the-fold.

Auto Reply

When an email recipient is “Out of the Office” or “Away on Vacation” they often set up an automated reply message alerting the sender to this fact.

Bandwidth

The amount of information that can be transmitted over a network such as the Internet in a specific amount of time.

Blocking

When emails are prevented from reaching their intended destination, typically due to action taken on the part of the Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Blacklists

Lists of IP addresses belonging to organizations that have been identified as senders of SPAM (unsolicited commercial email). Blacklists are often used by ISPs as part of the filtering process that determines which IP addresses they prohibit from sending mail to their members.

Bonded Sender Program

Sponsored by IronPort Systems, the Bonded Sender program identifies legitimate email traffic. Originators of legitimate email can now post a financial bond to ensure the integrity of their email campaign. Receivers who feel they have received an unsolicited email from a Bonded Sender can complain to their ISP, enterprise, or IronPort and a financial charge is debited from the bond. This market-based mechanism allows email senders to ensure their message gets to the end user, and provides corporate IT managers and ISPs with an objective way to ensure only unwanted messages get blocked.

Bounces

A “Bounced” email indicates that an attempt to deliver an email to a particular address has failed. This may occur if the email address is no longer valid or the intended recipient's ISP and/or email servers were not functioning over a period of 3 consecutive days. (See following item for more information on specific types of “bounces”).

Bounce – Hard

An email address that is rejected for a permanent reason that cannot be resolved.

Bounce - Soft

An email address that is rejected for what is most likely a temporary reason, such as an overfilled inbox.

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them. Among other measures, the law:

Bans false or misleading header information. Your email's "From," "To," and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.
Prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.
Requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email.
It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.

The CAN-SPAM Act also provides for penalties for a number of other offenses, which can be reviewed here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

Call-to-Action

Phrasing that encourages a reader to take action. For example, "Click here to register for the VerticalResponse newsletter." or "Get started with your free trial of VerticalResponse today!"

Click-through Rate (CTR)

An indicator of response to a given email message, as measured by the percentage of recipients that click on a link enclosed in the email. To determine the click-through rate, divide the number of responses by the number of emails opened (multiple this number by 100 to express the result as a percentage).

Content

The copy, graphics and images that comprise the presentation.

Contextual Link

A Web link incorporated into a line of text that is generally less awkward and space-consuming than a conventional link.

Conversion Rate

A metric which measures the percentage of people converted into subscriber or buyers out of the total population exposed to a particular campaign.

Copy

The text of the email, distinct from the graphics.

CPA (or Cost per acquisition)

A payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.

CPM (or Cost per thousand)

In e-mail marketing, CPM commonly refers to the cost per 1,000 names on a given rental list. For example, a rental list priced at $250 CPM would mean that the list owner charges $.25 per e-mail address.

Database

A database is a collection of information stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. For email marketing purposes, a database is the software that stores your records or lists. Your database may be in the following forms: MS Excel, ACT!, Saleslogix, Salesforce, GoldMine, Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, Sybase, Oracle, and many other forms.

Confirmed Opt-in

“Confirmed opt-in”, also known as “double opt-in” or “closed-loop” in some circles, provides an additional layer of security by requiring that email accounts be both subscribed and then verified by a conformation email before they are added to the list. As a result, only those people with access to the account can respond to the confirmation message, greatly reducing the chance of abuse. For this reason, double opt-in is regarded as the gold standard for secure email marketing.

Email Campaign

When you build an email and send it to your recipients using VerticalResponse this is defined as an email campaign. Your campaign may be a newsletter or may consist of offers. Some marketers may define a campaign as a series of email messages using a common theme, but in the VerticalResponse system, any email sent is classified as a campaign.

Email Reader or Client

An application used to send, receive, store and view e-mail.

ESP

Email Service Providers (ESPs) are companies like VerticalResponse that provides a service of enabling a user to send permission-based email campaigns to designated users. They are usually Application Service Providers (ASPs) who offer their services in an online fashion. There are also software ESPs as well.

ESPC

The Email Service Provider Coalition (ESPC) was formed to fight spam while protecting the delivery of legitimate email. The ESPC members have recognized the need for strong spam solutions that ensure the delivery of legitimate email and have been very active in the war against spam. VerticalResponse is an active member of this organization.

Font

A specific size and style of type within a type family.

Frequency

The intervals at which email marketing efforts are repeated: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc.

Footer

Some emails include a “footer”. This is the area at the bottom of an email where you might find unsubscribe information.

“From” Line

The information that appears in the “From” line at the top of the email and typically indicates the identity of the sender.

Hard Bounced Email

A hard bounce is an e-mail message that has been returned to the sender because the recipient's address is not valid. A hard bounce might occur because the domain name doesn't exist or because the recipient is unknown.

Header

The header in an email is the part of the email that is not transparent to the recipient unless they have their “View Headers” turned on. This tells the recipient what servers the email is coming from and what programs are being used to generate this email. Headers contain information on the email itself and the route it's taken across the Internet. Recipients can normally see the "to" (identity of recipient), "from" (identity of sender) and "subject" (information in the subject line) headers in their inbox. You can modify these to influence their decision to open or delete an email.

Headline

The announcement recipients see when they open an email. Ideally, the headline expresses the company’s value proposition and encourages the recipient to read further.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language

A “markup” language designed for the creation of web pages and other information viewable in a Web browser.

HTML Email

HTML email is simply an email created with HTML that allows for the display of images as opposed to simple text. Ninety five percent of all email readers have the ability to display HTML emails, which are more visually appealing and attention-grabbing than mere text.

House List

A permission-based list that you build yourself. Use it to market, cross sell and up-sell, and to establish a relationship with customers over time. Your house list is one of your most valuable assets.

ISP

An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Comcast and various local phone companies are common ISPs.

Landing Page

The page on a website where the visitor arrives (which may or may not be the home page). In terms of an email campaign, one can think of the landing page as the page to which the email directs the prospect via a link.

Layout

The arrangement of content within an email; designed to optimize the use of space while presenting the critical content in the portions of screen most likely to attract the recipient’s immediate attention.

Links

Text links, hyperlinks, graphics or images which, when clicked or when pasted into the browser, direct the prospect to another online location.

Load Time

The length of time it takes for a page to open completely in the browser window.

Look and Feel

The degree to which design, layout and functionality is appealing to prospects and fits the image the business is trying to portray.

Mailing List

A set of email addresses designated for receiving specific email messages.

Multi-part MIME Email

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard for the format of email. Virtually all Internet e-mail is transmitted in MIME format.

Navigation

The means by which a user can click from page to page on a website and move around within a page.

Nth Sampling

When a subset of the list is constructed based on every Nth individual. For example, if one is doing Ninth-Testing, every ninth person on the list is sent an email.

Open Rate

The number of HTML message recipients who opened your email, typically measured as a percentage of the total number of emails sent, although calculation methods may differ. The open rate is considered a useful metric for judging response to an email campaign but it should be noted that open rates for text emails can’t be calculated. Also, some email clients, using preview panes, allow recipients to scan message content without actually opening the message, which is falsely calculated as an open.

Opt-in

Opting-In is the action a person takes when he or she actively agrees, by email or other means, to receive communications from an email marketer. There are different types of opt-in practices, some of which are more demanding than others (See also: Single Opt-in, Confirmed Opt-in)

Opt-out

Opt-out email marketing assumes the recipient wants to receive email unless they specifically ask to be removed from the list – in other words, “opt-out” or “unsubscribe”. If readers fail to state explicitly that they no longer wish to remain on the list, they can expect to receive messages until they make their desire known. Response rates tend to be lower when sending opt-out email, so be prepared for this result when you’re analyzing your campaigns.

Permission

The practice of only sending e-mail messages to those recipients who have agreed (or asked) to receive them.

Personalization

The practice of writing the email to make the recipient feel that it is more personal and was sent with him or her in mind. This might include using the recipient's name in the salutation or subject line, referring to previous purchases or correspondence, or offering recommendations based on previous buying patterns.

Phishing

In a phishing scam, a spammer, posing as a trusted party such as a bank or reputable online vendor, sends millions of e-mail messages directing recipients to Web sites that appear to be official but are in reality fraudulent. Visitors to these Web sites are asked to disclose personal information, such as credit card numbers, or to purchase counterfeit or pirated products.

Salutation

This is the area in an email where you address your recipient. Examples are “Dear Customer”, “Hello Larry”, and “Dear Member”.

SenderID

Sender ID is an e-mail industry initiative championed by Microsoft and other industry leaders as a technical solution to help counter spoofing—the No. 1 deceptive practice used by spammers. (See: Spoofing and Phishing)

Signature File

A short block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information about them.

Single Opt-in

Under single opt-in formats, businesses only mail addresses that have been actively subscribed to their list, typically by completing a web form, filling out a business reply card or sending an email to a specific address. Because the registration process is proactive, a single-opt in policy offers a higher level of security than the opt-out approach, but also has the following limitations:

Since single opt-in procedure does not require email address verification, it is possible to register other people without their consent, merely by having knowledge of that person’s email address.
A mistyped address or the entry of a bogus email account that happens to belong to someone else can result in a company mailing a customer who has not registered to receive messages.
Single opt-in email policies are susceptible to spam traps. Spam traps are essentially email addresses or domains that have not registered to receive any email. Therefore, any messages they do receive must be spam. The problem for marketers comes when people deliberately subscribe spam trap addresses to their lists, or one is inadvertently added. This scenario exposes the mailer to blacklisting by ISPs or the organization operating the spam trap.

Soft Bounced Email

A soft bounce is an e-mail message that gets to the recipient's mail server but is returned undelivered before it reaches the recipient. A soft bounce might occur because the recipient's inbox is full and may be deliverable at another time or may be forwarded manually by the network administrator in charge of redirecting mail on the recipient's domain.

SPAM, UCE

SPAM or Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE) is unsolicited email, particularly of a commercial nature. Sending email to people who have not requested to receive messages from you will likely result in SPAM complaints.

Spoofing

E-mail spoofing involves forging a sender's address on e-mail messages. It can be used by malicious individuals to mislead e-mail recipients into reading and responding to deceptive mail. These phony messages can jeopardize the online privacy of consumers and damage the reputation of the companies purported to have sent the messages. Spoofed e-mail often contains phishing scams. (See: Phishing)

Subject Line

The email subject line is the line that appears in an email client indicating the topic of the message. This is the line used to entice the recipient to open the email and read further.

Targeting

The ability to serve messaging to the users most likely to be receptive to the message, based on their geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics.

Teaser

A message, or part of a message, designed to arouse curiosity and interest and cause the reader to explore further, but without revealing too much detail about the offer being promoted.

Timing

Scheduling the email campaign to reach the audience at the most opportune time for it to be read. Timing might be seasonal (for example, vacation or school), dependent on holidays, etc. or mailings might go out on a standard schedule. Even the day of the week and what time of day the mailing goes out are important considerations: for example, a Friday afternoon mailing may be great for retailing customers, but bad for business-to-business customers.

Tracking

Collecting and evaluating the statistics from which one can measure the effectiveness of an email or an email campaign.

Type

A size or style of typewritten or printed character. For example, a serif type (or typeface), a sans-serif type, 10 point type, 14 point type.

Unique Forwarders

The number of unique individuals who forward an email. When the number of unique forwards is totaled, each person that forwards a particular email is counted just once, no matter how many times they forward that message.

Unsubscribe

When the owner of an email address unsubscribes, this indicates that the individual no longer wishes to receive emails from your organization. People can unsubscribe either by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of each email sent through our system, or by replying to the email with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Up-Selling / Cross-Selling

Presenting customers with an opportunity to purchase products, services or accessories that are related to items in which they have shown an interest or purchased previously.

Usability

A measure of how easy it is for a user to complete a task. In the context of Web pages this concerns how easy it is for a user to find the information they require from a given Web site.

Value

The overall appeal and usefulness of the product or service to the prospect.

Viral Marketing

Elements and functions included in a communication that encourage and allow recipients to pass the offer along to others, thereby leveraging the marketing effort ("tell a friend," "please forward," etc.).

Viral Forwards

The number of referrals sent.

Viral Responses

The number of recipients who received the referral, opened it and clicked on a link.

Whitelists

Whitelists are lists of commercial emailers (including ESPs) who have been approved to send mail through the ISP. The ISP requires a list of IP addresses that email will be sent from, and in some cases a test period where the commercial emailer will be approved or rejected.