Email Glossary

Marketing Email

Marketing emails are promotional messages sent to subscribers who have opted in to receive them. This includes newsletters, product announcements, promotions, and campaigns. They require explicit consent and must include unsubscribe options.

Types of Marketing Email

Newsletters: Regular content updates to subscribers. Weekly, monthly, or custom cadence.

Promotional: Sales, discounts, special offers. Time-sensitive with clear CTA.

Product announcements: New features, updates, launches. Build excitement and drive adoption.

Re-engagement: Win back inactive subscribers. Last attempt before removing from list.

Drip campaigns: Automated sequences based on user behavior or timeline. Nurture leads over time.

Legal Requirements

CAN-SPAM (US):

  • ●Don't use misleading headers or subjects
  • ●Identify message as an ad
  • ●Include physical address
  • ●Honor opt-outs within 10 days
  • ●Monitor third-party senders

GDPR (EU):

  • ●Explicit consent required
  • ●Easy to withdraw consent
  • ●Data portability rights
  • ●Right to be forgotten
  • ●Privacy policy required

CASL (Canada):

  • ●Express or implied consent
  • ●Identification of sender
  • ●Unsubscribe mechanism
  • ●Consent records required

Best Practices

List building:

  • ●Double opt-in for quality
  • ●Clear value proposition
  • ●Never buy lists
  • ●Organised lists from the start

Content:

  • ●Mobile-first design
  • ●Compelling subject lines
  • ●Personalization (but not creepy)
  • ●Clear single CTA
  • ●Preview text optimization

Timing:

  • ●Test send times for your audience
  • ●Consistent schedule builds expectation
  • ●Avoid over-sending (max 2-3/week)

Metrics That Matter

Open rate Industry average: 15-25%. Measures subject line effectiveness and sender reputation.

Click-through rate Industry average: 2-5%. Measures content relevance and CTA effectiveness.

Conversion rate Varies wildly. Measures ultimate campaign success.

Unsubscribe rate Keep under 0.5%. Higher suggests content mismatch or over-sending.

Spam complaint rate Keep under 0.1%. Higher damages reputation quickly.

Related Terms

Transactional Email

Automated emails triggered by user actions like password resets and order confirmations.

Email Deliverability

The ability of your emails to reach recipients' inboxes instead of spam.

List Hygiene

The practice of maintaining a clean email list by removing invalid and inactive addresses.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I email my list?
It depends on your content and audience expectations. Most businesses find 1-2 emails per week works well. More than that risks fatigue and unsubscribes. Less than monthly and subscribers forget you.
What's a good open rate?
15-25% is typical across industries. B2B tends higher, B2C retail lower. More important than benchmarks: is your rate improving or declining? Monitor your analytics, engaged subscribers should be 40%+.
Should I remove inactive subscribers?
Yes. Subscribers who haven't opened in 6-12 months hurt your deliverability. Try a re-engagement campaign first, then remove those who still don't respond. A smaller, engaged list beats a large, dead one.
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