Glossary

Definitions

Above-the-fold or sill (preview pane in your e mail client)
The part of a web page or email client that is visible without scrolling. If you have a 'Join our mailing list' or 'Subscribe now' tag on your website, place it 'above the fold, sill', it makes it easy for visitors and clients then to opt-in and opt-out.

Absolute link
All NEWSLETTER or graphic emails require an absolute link (as opposed to relative) for the images on the email to generate and be visible. For example;
Relative link, img src="images/SharperEmail_logo.gif "
Absolute link; img src="http://www.SharperEmail.com/images/SharperEmail_logo.gif"
The image must be parked (uploaded to the internet address or domain address) in the appropriate folder designated by the URL address.

Affirmative Consent
Indicates that permission has been given by the recipient for you to send them email. The recipient of your email has been clearly and fully notified of the collection and use of his/her email address and has consented prior to such collection and use (subject to your privacy statement and terms and conditions, and the laws and regulations applying in the country of receipt). Affirmative consent is considered world's best practice in this arena. It is therefore required by all reputable email marketing companies and ISP services.

Auto Responder
A program, script, plug-in or any other software solution that automatically sends a response/alert to a specified email contact when someone sends a message to its address. The most common uses of auto responders are for subscribe (opt-in) and unsubscribe (op-out) confirmations, welcome emails and customer-support questions. Industry's best practice now is to have a double opt in; after you subscribe you receive an email alert requesting you to respond by clicking on a link to confirm your voluntary subscription.

Bounced Email
Put simply, a bounced email is one in which the address was either wrongly typed, the delivery address is no longer active (intended recipient has changed email address) or the domain address
(this is the address after the '@' in the email address) is no longer active.

Campaign
An email marketing message or a series of like-minded messages designed to accomplish an overall goal in a pre-designated area.

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003
The United States of America introduced this Federal anti-spam legislation. It was passed in 2003 and requires the following in each email: a legitimate header, a valid "From" address, a straightforward
"Subject" line. Also required by the act are an unsubscribe/opt-out option and/or instructions and a physical address on how to opt-out of receiving mail from the mailing organization. It also requires that all un-subscribes are processed within ten days of receipt.

Challenge Request
An automated message forwarded by the receipt of an email specifically for the purpose of identifying the sender as a trusted source. The forwarded response requests the sender of the email to act on certain instructions in order to validate themselves. If the sender provides a valid response, his email address is added to the recipient's white list of trusted senders and his message is passed along to the recipient.

Confirmed Opt-In (required by The European Spam Directive)
A more controlled method of obtaining permission to send email campaigns. Confirmed opt-in adds an additional step to the opt-in process. It requires the subscriber to respond to a confirmation email, either by clicking on a confirmation link, or by hitting the reply button to the email thus confirming their subscription. Only subscribers who take this additional step are then added to the list.

CPM (or Cost per thousand)
In e-mail marketing terminology, CPM commonly refers to the cost per 1000 names on a given rental list. For example, for a rental list priced at $250au, CPM would mean that the list owner charges
$0.25au per e-mail address pre-mailed.

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

Conversion Rate
The number or percentage of emailed recipients who responded to your specific e-mail marketing campaign or promotion. This is the measure of your e-mail marketing campaign’s success. Your conversions can be measured in all things related to the campaign, that is, in sales, phone calls, appointments and so on.

E-mail Blocking
E-mail blocking typically refers to blocking by ISPs. E-mails that are blocked are not processed through the ISP and are essentially prevented from reaching their addressed destination. Most ISPs actively block email coming from suspected spammers or tag the subject line 'SUSPECTED SPAM'. Email

Newsletter ads or sponsorships
Buying ad space (just like you do in a newspaper) in an email Newsletter or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles that target the audience represented by the list that is used. Advertisers pay to have their ad (plain text, HTML and or both depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the email.

ESP
Email Service Provider.

E-zine
An e-zine in an American term to describe an electronic magazine or Newsletter emailed to a list of subscribers. As described above, advertisers pay to have their ad (plain text, HTML or both, depending on the publication) inserted into the body of the email. Buying ad space in an e-zine or email Newsletter, or sponsoring a specific article or series of articles, allow advertisers to reach a targeted audience, thus hoping to drive traffic to a specific website, store or office. This also instigates
(Hopefully) signups to a Newsletter or produces sales of a product or service.

False Positive
Legitimately subscribed permission-based email that is blocked due to the limitations of current email blocking and filtering techniques utilized by the ISP. False positives are an industry-wide problem. It is estimated by some sources that around 1/5 of permission-based email is erroneously blocked by either anti-spam software or incorrectly installed server-based solutions.

Flash
Another form of animation or design resulting in a greater degree of sharpness and color clarity. It can be extremely stylish and, when done well, interesting.

From Line or sender line
The from line has two parts: part one is the "From Name" - say, for example, "Joe Blow" Part two is the "From Address" - the electronic address including "@" such as, sales@SharperEmail.com
Your recipients may see just the from name, just the from address, or both, depending on the configuration of their email client and also the specific email client software used.

Hard bounce/Soft bounce
A hard bounce (described in the Bounced Email entry above) is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a permanent issue like a non-existent address. A soft bounce is the failed delivery of an e-mail due to a temporary issue, like a full mailbox, server down, congestion on the net or outage.

House List (enterprise list)
A permission-based (fully opted-in) list that you built yourself. Used to market, promote your product or service and build a relationship with your clients. Your house list is truly your most valuable asset. In the marketing world they say it is '7 times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one'.

HTML e-mail
An e-mail that is formatted using HTML or Hypertext Markup Language instead of plain text. HTML makes it possible to include unique fonts, graphics and background colors and other visuals. Flash visuals (high quality animated visuals) and other high-end marketing techniques can be written into the backend of the email. To view the HTML in any website or even HTML email, simply right click and view the source. HTML makes an e-mail more interesting. When used properly and with style it can generate much higher response rates than plain text.

NEWSLETTER
NEWSLETTER is a coined expression that simply refers to HTML email, as described above. When most people think of email, they think of plain text. When you use the term NEWSLETTER in marketing it conjures up a whole different range of opportunities.

ISP
Internet Service Provider.

Landing Page
A web page that is directly linked from an email for the purpose of providing additional information directly related to products or services promoted in the email.

Links
Text links, hyperlinks, graphics or images that, when clicked or when pasted into a browser, send the prospect to another online location (for example a landing page or other pages of a website). Links in emails are a potential source of action. Links need to be visible, appealing, clear and inviting.

Open Rate
The percentage of e-mails opened in any given e-mail marketing campaign, or the percentage opened of the total number of e-mails sent.

Opt-in (or Subscribe)
To opt-in or subscribe to an e-mail list is to choose to receive e-mail communications by supplying your e-mail address to a particular company, website or individual, thereby giving them inferred permission to e-mail you. The subscriber can often indicate areas of personal interest (for example, surfing, cars) or indicate what types of e-mails he/she wishes to receive from the sender (for example, Newsletters, sales campaigns, offers too good to resist). If you are not sure, read the
privacy statement; reputable email marketing companies usually have a direct link to their privacy statement and an explanation of how they will use your email address, for example, on opting in you may imply permission for the company to sell your address to like-minded businesses. Always check to see if you can opt-out with the click of a button.

Opt-out (or Unsubscribe)
To opt-out or unsubscribe from an e-mail list is to choose not to receive communications from the sender by requesting the removal of your e-mail address from their list. Industry best practice is to offer at least two ways to opt-out, one being an opt-out link in the email and the other being a link provided to your website with the opportunity to opt-out there.

Outage
The interruption of automated processing systems, support services or essential business operations which may result in the organization’s inability to provide service for some period of time.

Permission-based e-mail (Fully subscribed legitimately)
E-mail sent to recipients or subscribers who have opted-in or subscribed or have given inferred permission to be sent e-mail communications from a particular company, website or individual. Whichever way you look at it, permission is an absolute prerequisite for legitimate marketing. Phishing
Phishing refers to email scams which have the purpose of identity theft. Identity thieves send fraudulent email messages with return addresses, links, and branding that appear to come from credit card companies, banks and some of the Web's most well known sites including eBay®, PayPal®, NINEMSN®, Yahoo®, COMMBANK, to name just a few. These messages are designed to "phish" for personal and financial information (for example, passwords, usernames, social security numbers, credit card numbers, mother's maiden name, and so on) from the recipient. For examples, visit www.anti-phishing.org.

Preexisting Business Relationship
The recipient of your email has made a purchase, requested information, responded to a questionnaire or a survey, or had offline contact with you, in other words, has given inferred permission for you to email them.

Privacy policy
A clear description of a website or company's policy on the use of certain information collected from and about website visitors and what they do. Your privacy policy is an opportunity for visitors and subscribers to assess your integrity and to establish a fully open and honest relationship with all who subscribe. It is wise to remember that most Western Governments have established Directives and Acts to support and protect individuals' privacy. Know your boundaries.

Rental list (or Acquisition list)
A list of prospects or a targeted group of recipients who have opted-in to receive information about certain subjects. Using permission-based rental lists, marketing companies can send e-mail messages to audiences targeted by interest category, profession, demographics and more. Be sure your rental list is a certified permission-based, opt-in list. Permission-based lists are rented or leased, never sold. Relative

URL
All NEWSLETTER or graphic e-mails require absolute addressing (as opposed to relative) for the images on the email to generate correctly and be visible, for example;
Relative link; img src="images/SharperEmail_logo.gif", this will work within a root system on a website situated on a server and on your own computer but not in an NEWSLETTER. Emails have no fixed address so they require absolute URLs. For example,
Absolute link; img src="http://www.SharperEmail.com/images/SharperEmail_logo.gif"
The image must be parked (uploaded to the internet address or domain address) in the appropriate folder designated by the URL and can be called from anywhere on the net.

ROI
Return on Investment. From an email marketing perspective, understanding this number helps you determine where to put your advertising dollars, which campaigns are performing best, what percentage of your investments are turning directly into income, and how much it costs you to find and retain clients.

Segmentation
Dividing or separating your email list based on interest categories, purchasing behavior, demographics and more for the purpose of targeting specific email campaigns to the audience most likely to respond to your marketing campaigns.

Signature/Footer
A tagline or short block of text at the end of an e-mail message that identifies the sender and provides additional information such as company name and contact information. US Law requires that you have your name and company address in the signature. A good footer also invites a marketing opportunity.

Single Opt-in
Once the most widely accepted and routinely used method of obtaining email addresses and permission. A single opt-in list is created by inviting visitors and customers to subscribe to your email list. When you use a signup form on your website, a message immediately goes out to the subscriber acknowledging the subscription (a good example of an auto-responder). This message should reiterate what the subscriber has signed up for, and provide an immediate way for the subscriber to edit her interests or opt-out. Industry best practice now dictates a double opt in.

Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail)
E-mail sent to someone who has not opted-in or given inferred permission to the sender to send any mail to them. Our definition of SPAM is, "It’s spam if it is both unsolicited and bulk and has no inferred connection to the receiver or receivers". Our technical interpretation is "The recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate and explicit permission for it to be sent, that is, opted-in, subscribed to receive the received email; AND The transmission and reception of the message appears to the recipient to give a disproportionate benefit to the sender. "

Spoofing
The falsification of an email header so that the email appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source; SPAM, in other words.

Subject line
The short line of type in an email that indicates what the message is about. Your subject line should be short, and it should include a specific benefit that accurately reflects your offer in order to be effective. The subject line’s importance cannot be overstated. Most International Spam Acts and Directives prohibit the use of misleading subject lines.

Suppression List (variant on an opt-out list)
A list of email addresses whose owners have asked to be removed from a specific email list so that they no longer receive email regarding that specific product or service. If you use multiple email products, or have multiple databases from which you send emails, you should use a suppression list or filters to process all unsubscribe requests across all lists.

Targeting
Selecting a target audience or group of individuals likely to be interested in a certain product or service. To get the best out of a campaign, analyze your list and target accordingly. Targeted campaigns yield a higher response rate and result in fewer un-subscribes.

URL (or Universal Resource Locator)
Put simply, a URL indicates a website, page or any other document address or location on the Internet. URLs indicate the location of every file on every computer accessible through the Internet. USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
Your USP is the unique attribute(s) of your business that makes your company, product or service the best solution to a problem, the best way to fulfill a need or desire or the best way to achieve a goal. Your USP answers the prospective recipient’s question: "Why should I do business with you instead of someone else?"

Viral Marketing
Another Americanism and intimates a type of marketing that is carried out voluntarily by the targeted company's customers. Or another way of putting it is 'word-of-mouth advertising'. Email has made this type of marketing both relevant and prevalent. Tools such as "send this page, article or website to a friend" encourage people to refer or recommend your company product, service or a specific offer to others.