TERMINOLOGIES
Below are basic terminologies of email marketing that are helpful to understand some of the words used in this
reference manual:
• WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get. This is used to describe a web editor interface that lets you
design newsletter templates using buttons similar to those found in a word processor such as Microsoft Word.
Examples of buttons include bold, italic, using headings, a button to insert images, and more.
• Autoresponder – An autoresponder sends off an email to a subscriber automatically. A single autoresponder is
most common – this typically just replies to a subscriber when they sign up. A sequential autoresponder is a
little more advanced and allows you to schedule a series of predefined emails to be sent out on a specified
schedule to each subscriber.
• Email Lists – A list of contact email addresses, usually created by personal contact, subscribed, registered or
customers that have purchased products or services.
• Subscriber Lists – Lists that have been created by either in a physical store or website whereby email addresses
were acquired by opt-in processes. Ex. Customer enters store and provides an email address or a visitor on a
website receives a newsletter, an offer of a discount, a free gift, information or other by providing an email
address.
• Unsubscribed Lists – Lists of contacts that did not ‘opt-in’, sign up, register or subscribe in giving out their
contact information, including email address. These lists are normally acquired from government or public lists
that have email addresses exposed or from websites that have been ‘scraped’. It is critical that lists like these
are verified and further, have a clear ‘Unsubscribe’ link with the email campaign.
• Purchased Lists – Lists that have been bought from a company the includes contact information such as email
addresses. These are considered a form of an Unsubscribed List. Sending a Purchased List also has a higher
degree of blacklisting with Email Marketing Service Providers (EMSP) as the contacts may not only contact the
sending person/company, but file a complaint with the EMSP. If there are a number of complaints, the EMSP
will terminate the account.
• List Segmentation – Send messages to subsets of your subscriber base to help establish a stronger connection
via more relevant newsletters. You can target subsets of your subscriber base and mail out promotions and
offers based on demographics, purchasing history, geographic location, and more.
• Attachments – most EMSP’s do not allow attachments for a simple reason – they increase the probability of a
given message being viewed as spam (as a result, the EMSP (and your) delivery rates may be affected.
Attachments can also be flagged as computer virus files. You’re better off using inline links in your email,
which
you can then link to a hosted file. When the user clicks the link, they are given the option to download the file.
Not as streamlined as an email attachment, but much more likely to allow the email to reach its full audience.
• Spam Score/Checking – finding out whether your subscribers actually got your email is important. If they
didn’t, why not? Some EMSP’s offer spam score utilities that help you determine the likelihood of your
newsletter ending up in a spam box before you hit send.
• Opt-In or Unconfirmed Opt-In: When an e-mail service provider requires an “opt-in” process, this means that
e-mail recipients have agreed to receive e-mail advertising, e-mail marketing or e-mail communication
specifically from the company or individual sending e-mails.
• Double Opt-In or Confirmed Opt-In: When an e-mail service provider requires a “double opt-in” process that
means that e-mail recipients have signed up to receive e-mail advertising, marketing or communications
specifically from the company or individual sending e-mails. In addition, these individuals have confirmed
(usually by clicking a link) that they did indeed, sign up to receive such e-mail communication.
• No Opt-In Requirements: Very few e-mail service providers these days allow for e-mail addresses to be
imported without any opt-in requirements. Opt-in requirements have been established to reduce SPAM mail
and e-mail abuse.
• List Verification – A process that verifies that email addresses exist. If a server does not respond or returns an
email address does not exist, it is called a bounce. The higher a bounce rate, the higher probability of your
email address being blacklisted.
• Blacklist - A list of known or suspected spammers. There are a number of ways one can be blacklisted – DNS
(Web site, email address), IP address (number assigned to your devices) are the more evident ones. What is
important to understand here is that while your individual computer cannot be tracked, the IP Address (see
below) your internet service provider assigns you can be blacklisted. For example, if you send high-bounce
bulk email out from your home, your provided IP Address (from ATT&T, Verizon or other) could become
blacklisted. Not only will your email to your particular list not get through, but ANY email you send out from
your home could be prevented from getting out, and for anyone residing there.
• Spam Triggers - There are a number of other ‘factors’ such as subject line words, use of emphasis
(exclamation!), body context words (trigger words such as free, for sale, discounts that are considered off limits
or dangerous.) For more information on trigger words see the following website that has some, not all spam
trigger words - http://webmarketingtoday.com/articles/spamfilter_phrases/. You do not have to memorize this
list, it is a list to give you an idea of what can trigger a message as spam. Using one or two of these phrases
hardly places your message as spam. But when used in greater number with other factors it will. Spam triggers
are also determined by not only ‘content’ words, but what is in headers, URL’s and the body. Again, you may
want to take a quick glance at the following website - for examples of what a major anti-spam program is
looking for - http://spamassassin.apache.org/tests_3_0_x.html. Other factors include high send rates, messages
marked as spam by receivers, high number of images, etc. There are many factors.
• Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) - This number is an exclusive number all information technology
devices (printers, routers, modems, et al) use which identifies and allows them the ability to communicate with
each other on a computer network. It is a number ****.****.**** (IP) that could be blacklisted if you have high
bounce rates or other factors.
• Domain Name System (DNS) - This allows the IP address to be translated to words. It is much easier for us to
remember a word than a series of numbers. The same is true for email addresses. It is the website name
www.****.com or email name server @****.com (DNS Name) that could be blacklisted if you have high
bounce rates or other factors.
