10 Essential Email Marketing Terms for Beginners

Intro: New to email marketing? Let’s decode the lingo. These 10 must-know terms will help you understand what’s going on — and make smarter marketing moves.

1. What Is an Email List?

The foundation of your email marketing: a collection of email addresses from people who've agreed to receive messages from you.

2. Open Rate

The percentage of recipients who opened your email. A key indicator of subject line effectiveness and audience engagement.

3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links contained in a given email.

4. Bounce Rate

The percentage of emails that were not successfully delivered to recipients' inboxes (can be hard or soft bounces).

5. Email Automation

Sending emails automatically based on predefined triggers or schedules, like welcome series or abandoned cart reminders.

6. Double Opt-In

A two-step subscription process where users confirm their email address after initially signing up. Improves list quality.

7. Segmentation

Dividing your email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria (e.g., demographics, purchase history) to send more relevant content.

8. A/B Testing

Comparing two versions of an email (e.g., different subject lines or calls to action) to see which one performs better.

9. Deliverability

The ability of your emails to successfully reach recipients' inboxes rather than spam folders.

10. Unsubscribe Rate

The percentage of recipients who opt out of receiving future emails from you.

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