e-Campaigns Glossary

A/B Split - To test two different offers, you can divide the list into two segments. One segment receives message A, the other segment would receive message B.

Aliasing (redirecting) - Using a fictitious address with which to send and receive eMail. Typically done to avoid having people write to long "real" eMail addresses or if underlying eMail address is subject to change. Provides a permanent address to the world.

Bounced Message - A returned, undeliverable eMail message.

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 1000 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.

eCampaign - A group of email messages sent to the same or different audience relating to an overall promotion. Each wave of the campaign builds on the previous campaign success.

E-Marketing - Electronic Marketing. Generally refers to targeted marketing solutions that use the most advanced forms of technology to personalize corporate email communications, reach qualified leads, and increase ROI through fully automated, electronic campaigns.

E-zine - Electronic Magazine or newsletter.. Magazines that are published digitally, rather than on paper. Some online magazines are electronic versions of traditional print magazines, and others are only offered online and cover almost every topic imaginable.

Encoding - A method of sending binary (non-text files) with eMail messages. Common encoding options include: Mime, BinHex, UUencode, etc. Sender and receiver must both use the same method.

Filter -  Software that gathers data, categorizes it, and then outputs the categorized data. For example, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer customized filters to users of their free e-mail products as a means for organizing their incoming e-mail messages. Filters can help keep unwanted e-mail or "spam" out of a user's inbox, and are utilized by web site operators to gather, categorize, and output visitor data into reports.

Firewall - A security barrier designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a company's computer network. Firewalls may be implemented in hardware, software, or both. Messages must pass through this security gate which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet specific requirements.

Hard Bounce - an e-mail that was undeliverable because the domain does not exist,
t he domain does not have a mail server, or the e-mail address does not exist on the domain.

Header - The first part of a received eMail message which contains information about the routing of the message while traversing the Internet. Much of this may not be displayed if the eMail software program keeps it hidden (usually an option).

IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol. A method to access and manipulate eMail that is stored remotely on another computer. Messages do not get transferred to the user's computer, making it easier to manage eMail when accessing from multiple computers.

Landing Page - The page to which the email directs the prospect via a link. This page is used to collect contact information on the lead (usually just the basics - name, title, company, phone number, email address), and present the offer to the message recipient. Without a successful landing page, your email campaign is going to flop. The Web page your readers click to does the heavy lifting. Use concise yet friendly copy to request the basics, usually no more than name, title, company, phone number, and email address. Then make it easy and fast to download the offer. Ideally, it's a sequence of quid pro quo pages. You politely ask for contact information to collect a lead. In return, your reader gets the opportunity to specify how she wants to continue a conversation with you (by e-newsletter, phone, postal mail, etc.).

Lead - A prospect who is engaged actively in the buying decision for a product or service.

Mailer Daemon - A Unix program used in the management of eMail messages. Not generally encountered by a user unless the user gets a bounced message.

Mailing List - A collection of eMail addresses of people who have asked to receive regular eMail discussions on a particular topic, and for which they can sometimes submit messages for disbursement to the entire group.

Merge/Purge - As more B2B email lists become available for rental, merge/purge becomes a B2B issue. According to the Association for Interactive Media (AIM), merge/purge is "the practice of purchasing multiple e-mail lists, combining (merging) them, and eliminating (purging) any duplicate names." When you're renting lists from several different sources for the same target audience (e.g., engineering product managers), find out if some form of merge/purge is possible so your intended recipients don't get two copies of your message. You don't want to be labeled as a spammer.

Netiquette - Network Etiquette. Acceptable practices of using various Internet resources. Example: DON'T USE ALL CAPS. IT APPEARS AS IF THE WRITER IS SHOUTING.

Opt-In - is the action a person takes when he or she actively agrees, by email or other means, to receive communications. It requires tactics and mechanisms to encourage and allow people to become recipients.

Opt-In eMail - Commercial email delivered with prior permission.

Opt-Out - The action a person takes when he or she chooses not to receive communications. It requires tactics and mechanisms by which people can ask to be removed reliably from an email list .

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.

Privacy  - The quality or condition of being free from unsanctioned intrusion. Communications need to reassure the prospect through clear, accessible and enforced assurances so he/she can feel comfortable about providing personal information and transacting business.

POP/POP3 - Post Office Protocol. A mail protocol used to service intermittent dial-up connections to the Internet. Mail is held until the user accesses the account, at which time the mail is transferred to the user's computer.

Response Rate - The effectiveness of an eCampaign measured by the number of responses as a percentage of the number of ads or eMails distributed in an eCampaign.

Recency, Frequency, Monetary (RFM) - A marketing methodology used to segment customers based on how recently they made a purchase, how frequently they purchase, and how much money they spend. The best customers are those with a high RFM rate.

Signature Line - A set of 4 - 8 lines of text placed at the end of an eMail message to provide the reader with the author's contact information, favorite quote, special of the month, autoresponder/Website address, etc. The signature line is composed and placed into the eMail software's signature file for automatic appending.

SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The most common protocol used for transferring eMail across the Internet.

Soft Bounce- an e-mail that was undeliverable because the mail server was down, the mail server was not accepting mail at the time, or the subscriber's inbox was full.

SPAM - The opposite of permission-based emails. It means sending to contacts that have not requested any information from you or your business. A SPAM approach can be very damaging to the reputation of your business because SPAMS are perceived as intrusive junk mail.

Subject Line - The title of the email communication. This is the first element of the communication recipients will see when they access their email. It has to grab attention and be credible or the email will not get opened. Did the title of this article make you want to open and read it? The subject line is one of the most important elements of successful email marketing, but most email marketers still don't know how to craft a good one. Think of the subject line as the purest distillation of your email marketing message. If you understand what motivates your target audience -- what their pain points are in relation to your product or service -- you have a good chance of getting a click.

Targeting - Sending the right message to the right recipient at the right time.

Timing - Scheduling the email campaign to reach the audience at the most opportune time so it is most likely 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. It's also important to plan for the most appropriate interval between emails in a campaign, to maximize overall effectiveness.