email terms
IPR
(Inbox Placement rate) the rate of emails that were delivered to the inbox as opposed to the junk and spam folders
JMR
(Junk Mail Reporting) Microsoft's feedback loop program
MTA
(Mail Transfer Agent) Programs that are responsible for routing and sometimes delivering mail
MUA
A Mail User Agent is a client application that allows users to send and retrieve email from their computers. (Thunderbird, Outlook etc.)
Blacklist
A compiled list of known spammers IP addresses.
List-Unsubscribe
A header that allows recipients to opt-out of a organization's messaging list.
Whitelist
A list of contacts that the user deems are acceptable to receive email from and therefore should not be filtered or sent to spam
Supression Filter
A list of email addresses you have removed from your regular mailing list.
Spam Filter
A mechanism used to identify spam email and keep it out of the recipient's inbox
Feedback Loop
A mechanism, process and signal that are looped back to control a system within itself. So that the senders can adjust their behavior.
Server
A program or computer system that stores and distributes email from one mailbox to another, or relays email from one server to another in a network
Preview Pane
A setting that desktop and webmail email clients offer that allow users to preview content without actually clicking on the message
IP Address
A signature of a computer connected to the internet, look up static and dynamic IP addresses for more information
Cloudmark
A spam filter company that uses a network of users as a feedback mechanism to identify and block spam.
X-header
A user defined header element that is injected into the header portion of the email message
Return Path
Also referred to as Bounce Address or envelope sender address, the address that a message came from. Opposed to the friendly from address
Block
An ISPs refusal to deliver mail that is often considered malicious to the recipient
MX Record
An Mail Exchange Record is a type of resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS) specifying how Internet e-mail should be routed using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
Domain
An organizations registered name on the internet. Google.com SendGrid.com etc.
Spam
Bulk Unsolicited email
CAN-SPAM Act
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003
Term
Definition
DKIM
Domain Keys Identified Mail is an identifier of the sender of an Email in its transit.
DNS
Domain Name System, An intermediary that takes a domain name and translates it to an IP for delivery. For more information look up SMTP
ECOA
Email Change of Address tracks email address changes and updates
Pristine Spam Traps
Email addresses that were never used. There is no chance that these emails were ever opted in
Recycled Spam Traps
Email addresses that were once used by a real person, later abandoned, and reactivated by ISPs and used to detect who is sending crap email
Re-engagement Campaingn
Email campaigns that seek to remove users that do not care to respond to emails. An attempt to win them back and get them engaging again. If not the email addresses are removed from their list
Inactives
Email recipients that have not responded or taken any action to your Emails within a long period of time.
Soft Bounce
Email sent to an active email address but is rejected from the receiving server
Delivered
Emails that have reached their destination without being bounced.
HTML Message
Emails that use HTML syntax and encoding.
Content Filters
Filters that sort Email from the words used within the Email itself.
List Rental
Frowned upon practice of sending emails on another companies behalf, SendGrid opposes this the same way it does list purchasing
Reciever
ISP or network that is accepting your email
Phishing
Identity theft where a link within an Email redirects to a fake website to trick customers to giving up their information
From Line
Indicates who the sender of an email is.
ISP
Internet Service Provider, a company that provides internet connectivity to its customers.
Bulk Mail
Mail that is automatically stored in a webmail or desktop email clean-SPAM Accent.
List Hygiene
Maintaining a Email list so that the addresses therein are active and happy
Opt-in
Means for companies to connect with their mailing list and finding who is willing to receive the Email.
Opt-out
Means for recipients of Emails to remove themselves from mailing lists.
Authentication
Means to track Email messages and prove legitimacy or forgery. examples being DKIM, Domain Keys, Sender ID, and SPF.
Hard Bounce
Messages sent to an invalid Email account (closed or non-existent)
BACN
Messages that have been sent with consent from subscribers but are often unread
SNDS
Microsoft provided service that gives senders data on mail sent to Hotmail addresses
List Fatigue
Overuse of a mailing list, causing diminishing returns
POP
Post Office Protocol is the method that programs retrieve mail from email servers.
Sender Policy Framework
Protocol used to eliminate email forgeries
Reputation
Sender reputation is comprised of domain and IP reputation, this is a sign of how well you work with others and whether receivers should trust you in the future
Greylisting
Servers that graylist reject Emails that are sent from contacts the server does not recognize. However on a legitimate attempt to resend the Email the servers will accept.
Read Rate
Similar to open rate however read rate is generally more accurate since read rate is not dependent on image downloads
Postmaster
The Person who manages mail servers at an organization
Segment
The ability to slice a list into specific pieces determined by various attributes, such as open history or opt-in source
Open Rate
The amount of mail opened in relation to all the mail sent.
Reply-to addresses
The email address that received messages sent from users who click reply in their email clients
Infrastructure
The hardware used to deployed by an ESP
Sender Id
The informal name for anti-spam program that combines Sender Policy Framework and Caller ID
List Purchase
The practice of buying a mailing list, this is legal but not accepted by ESPs as it is spam
Spoofing
The practice of changing the sender's name in an email to look as though it came from another address
Throttling
The practice of regulating how many email messages a broadcaster needs to send to one ISP or mail server at the same time.
rDNS
The process in which an IP address is match correctly to a domain name, this is a precaution to catch spammers
Subscribe
The process of joining a mailing list
Email Client
The program that reads and sends email messages, not to be confused with an Email Server which transports Email without human interaction.
Click-Through Rate
The ratio of links clicked within an email to the total number of recipients of an Email.
Click-to-Open Rate
The ratio of unique click-troughs on a link or links within an email to the total number of unique opens of the email
Complaint Rate
The ratio of unique complaints to an Email to the total number of recipients of an Email.
Deliverablity
The success rate of an Email getting to its destination.
Transational Mail
Transactional messages defined under CAN-SPAM as any email "facilitating, completing or confirming a previously agreed upon transaction.
Email Service Provider
Us! an Email service provider delivers bulk Email on behalf of their clients
Responsive Design
Using a CSS3 coding technique called media queries, Responsive allows your email to automatically reformat, resize, and optimize itself based on screen size.
Above The Fold
Wording of Email that is visible before the receiver opens the message.
Domain Keys
an Email identification system that allows DNS servers to verify the DNS location of an Email's sender
SMTP
server to server mail transfer protocol.