Understanding the most common terms in email marketing

Ever felt like email marketers are speaking a different language? You’re not alone. From “drip campaigns” to “DMARC,” half the jargon can go right over your head. In this post, we will break down the essential terms in clear, friendly, no-fluff language.

Why a glossary matters

• Clarity: Knowing the lingo helps you understand strategy, spot areas for improvement, and talk confidently with your team.

• Speed: You’ll move faster when you’re not stuck Googling definitions mid-project.

• Strategy: Terms like “segmentation” or “deliverability” aren’t just jargon. They’re levers you can pull to improve performance.

Key terms every marketer should know

We pulled from trusted resources-like Litmus, HubSpot, and Campaign Monitor-to blend compact and comprehensive lists so you get the best of both worlds:

Campaign basics

• Email campaign (batch and blast): Sending a single message to a large audience at once. Usually one-off, not triggered. (Note: Some platforms, like Customer.io, define a campaign as a triggered journey, but many ESPs define a “campaign” as a one-time batch and blast message.)

• Drip campaign: A series of pre-written emails sent based on timing or user behavior. Great for onboarding or nurturing. (Also known as automation series in platforms like Klaviyo or Mailchimp.)

Engagement and content

• Call to action (CTA): The prompt or link that encourages action-for example, “Shop now” or “Learn more.”

• Dynamic content: Email elements (like images or text) that change based on recipient behavior or profile. To use dynamic content, it’s necessary to have zero or first-party data about your subscribers. Learn more about this in our email personalization guide.

Technical and compliance

• Transactional: Automated emails triggered by specific actions like sign-ups or password resets. Typical subscription settings do not apply to these emails.

• Bounce rate: The percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered. Broken into:

  • Hard bounce: Permanent failure, like an invalid email address.

  • Soft bounce: Temporary failure, like a full inbox.

• Blacklist / blocklist: Lists of flagged senders (emails, IPs, domains) often used by spam filters. High reputation risk.

• Opt-in / double opt-in / opt-out:

  • Opt-in: User gives permission to join your email list.

  • Double opt-in: A follow-up confirmation email is required to complete subscription. It ensures quality and reduces spam complaints.

  • Opt-out: Automatically signed up and must explicitly unsubscribe. Legally prohibited in many regions.

Technical infrastructure

• Email service provider (ESP): The software or platform-like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or Sendgrid-used to build, send, and track emails.

• Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): Security protocols that verify your emails are legitimate and help improve deliverability.

• Deliverability: The percentage of emails that actually make it to the inbox, not just delivered to spam or blocked. See our full guide on deliverability metrics here.

Legal and compliance

• CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.): Sets rules for commercial email, including having a clear unsubscribe link, accurate sender info, and a physical address.

• CASL (Canada): Requires explicit consent before sending marketing emails. Much stricter than CAN-SPAM.

Glossary snapshot

Want to go deeper? Browse our full series on email marketing fundamentals or get in touch if you want help building campaigns that actually perform.