Top 25 E-mail Marketing Terms You Should Know

Sure, you might hear some really, really forward-thinking folks saying that e-mail and the Internet are so ’90s when it comes to nonprofit fundraising. But the truth of the matter is that a good deal of small and mid-sized organizations still are feeling their way.

That in mind, e-mail marketing firm Constant Contact offers this really basic and incredibly helpful glossary of terms for companies and organizations that are just starting to make e-mail marketing and fundraising a priority.

If you have ever felt out of your depth in a discussion about e-mail marketing, rest assured you are not alone. These top 25 common e-mail marketing terms and definitions below will help you expand your e-mail marketing vocabulary and make you look and feel like an expert.

Above-the-fold: The part of a Web page that is visible without scrolling. It is generally a more desirable placement on a Web site because of its visibility. If you have a “join our mailing list” tag on your Web site, you should place it “above the fold,” making it easy for visitors to opt-in.

CPM (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 cents per e-mail address.

CTR (clickthrough rate): The percentage (the number of unique clicks divided by the number that were opened) of recipients that click on a given URL in your e-mail.

Conversion rate: The number or percentage of recipients who respond to your call-to-action in a given e-mail marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your e-mail campaign’s success. You may measure conversion in sales, phone calls, appointments, etc.

E-mail blacklist: It is common for an ISP to a use a blacklist to determine which e-mails should be blocked (see e-mail blocking below). Blacklists contain lists of domains or IP addresses of known and suspected spammers. Unfortunately, these blacklists also contain many legitimate e-mail service providers. Just a few spam complaints can land an e-mail service provider or IP address on a blacklist despite the fact that the ratio of complaints to volume of e-mail sent is extremely low.