← Email Marketing from Scratch
Glossary: Email Marketing from Scratch
Every key term from the course, in plain English. Bookmark this page — you'll come back to it.
- Email list
- Your collection of subscriber addresses. The asset everything else in email marketing builds on.
- Lead magnet
- Something valuable you offer in exchange for an email address — a guide, discount, checklist, or template.
- Opt-in
- When someone actively gives you permission to email them. Required — never add people without it.
- Welcome sequence
- The automatic series of emails new subscribers receive. Your highest-opened emails — don't waste them.
- Open rate
- The percentage of recipients who open an email. 20–30% is healthy for most small lists.
- Click rate
- The percentage who click a link inside. 2–5% is typical; higher means the content resonated.
- Unsubscribe rate
- The percentage who opt out per email. Under 0.5% is normal; spikes mean something changed.
- Deliverability
- Whether your emails reach the inbox vs. spam. Affected by your reputation, content, and list hygiene.
- Spam complaint
- When a recipient marks your email as spam. Keep under 0.1% — providers punish higher rates.
- Segment
- A subgroup of your list (buyers vs. prospects, for example). Segmented emails consistently outperform blasts.
- Automation
- Emails triggered by actions — a welcome series on signup, a follow-up after purchase. Set up once, runs forever.
- Subject line
- The line that determines whether your email gets opened. Short, specific, and honest beats clever.
- Preheader
- The preview text after the subject line in the inbox. Free extra space — use it.
- CAN-SPAM
- US law governing commercial email: real sender info, honest subjects, and a working unsubscribe link.
- List hygiene
- Regularly removing bounced and dead addresses. A smaller clean list outperforms a big dirty one.