Call to action A call to action is the specific thing an email asks the reader to do next: book a call, download a guide, reply with an answer, register for an event.
Click rate Click rate is the share of delivered emails where someone clicked at least one link.
Click-to-open rate Click-to-open rate is the share of people who opened an email and then clicked a link inside it.
Deliverability Deliverability is whether your emails actually land in the inbox, rather than in spam or nowhere at all.
Double opt-in Double opt-in means a new subscriber has to confirm their email address before they are added to your list.
Drip campaign A drip campaign is a set of emails sent automatically on a fixed timer after a trigger.
Editorial calendar An editorial calendar is a schedule of what you will publish, when and where.
ICP (ideal customer profile) An ICP, or ideal customer profile, is a clear description of the kind of company that gets the most value from what you sell and is most likely to buy.
Landing page A landing page is a single web page built for one purpose, where a visitor arrives from a specific link or ad.
Lead magnet A lead magnet is something useful you give away in exchange for an email address.
Lifecycle email A lifecycle email is an email sent because of where a person is in their relationship with your company.
LinkedIn-to-email LinkedIn-to-email is the practice of turning attention on LinkedIn into email subscribers.
List hygiene List hygiene is the ongoing work of keeping your email list accurate and made of people who want to hear from you.
Newsletter A newsletter is a regular email sent to your whole list, or a large segment of it, on a schedule.
Nurture sequence A nurture sequence is a planned series of emails that moves one group of people toward one specific next step.
Open rate Open rate is the share of delivered emails that were opened.
Owned audience An owned audience is the group of people you can contact directly, usually by email, without asking a platform for permission.
Preheader A preheader is the short preview text that appears next to or below the subject line in most inboxes.
Re-engagement email A re-engagement email is a message sent to subscribers who have stopped opening or clicking, to find out whether they still want to hear from you.
Sales cycle A sales cycle is the time and steps between a company first showing interest and a deal being signed.
Segmentation Segmentation is splitting your email list into smaller groups so that each group gets messages that fit them.
Sender reputation Sender reputation is the score inbox providers keep on your sending domain and address, based on how your past emails were received.
Signup page A signup page is a landing page whose only job is to get someone onto your email list.
Subject line A subject line is the short line of text that shows in the inbox before an email is opened.
Welcome sequence A welcome sequence is the short series of emails a person gets right after they join your list.

How to use this glossary

Each page defines one term in plain words, says why it matters for a B2B email program, and links to the guide or tool that goes deeper. The definitions describe how the terms are generally used; your email platform may label things differently.

See also the articles and guides, the free tools and the templates.