Email Validation Glossary

We’ve created a glossary for email validation, verification, and marketing terms. View the full index here and suggest additions.

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A B C D E F G H I L M O P R S T U W X
  • An A Record is a fundamental DNS (Domain Name System) record used to translate a domain name to the corresponding IP address of the computer hosting the website or service. It is also known as Address Record. Without A records, users would have to memorize the IP addresses of websites they want to visit, which would be inconvenient and prone to mistakes. The A record enables users to access websites using easy-to-remember domain names instead of complex IP addresses. DNS servers store A records in a zone file, which is a database containing
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  • A/B split testing is a powerful tool for optimizing email marketing campaigns. It allows marketers to test different versions of an email against each other to determine which version performs better. By measuring feedback against key performance indicators (KPIs) such as clicks, opens, and conversions, marketers can make data-driven decisions to improve the effectiveness of their emails. A/B split testing can be as simple or as complex as needed. Simple A/B tests involve testing two versions of an email against each other, typically with only
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  • In email marketing, "Above the Fold" refers to the top portion of an email message that is visible to the recipient without scrolling. It's also sometimes called "Above the Scroll," as it's the part of the email that's immediately visible when the message is opened. The content that appears Above the Fold is particularly important because it's the first thing the recipient sees, and it's what makes the initial impression. This includes the subject line, sender information, and any images or text that appear at the top of the email. The c
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  • Abuse emails are email addresses owned by individuals who are known to mark emails as spam. These individuals, also known as "complainers," can be detrimental to your email campaigns because their complaints can result in your emails being marked as spam, which can damage your sender reputation and impact the deliverability of your messages. Abuse emails in email marketing refer to complaints from recipients who mark unsolicited or unwanted emails as spam, which can harm the sender's reputation and deliverability rates. To mitigate the impact
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  • A catch-all email account is a type of mailbox that is configured to receive all email messages sent to a specific domain, regardless of whether the email address is valid or not. This means that any email messages sent to an incorrect or misspelled email address at the domain will be sent to the catch-all account. Catch-all, also known as "accept-all" is a domain-wide setting mail server that is configured to accept all emails sent to the domain, no matter if the specified mailbox exists or not. Catch-all email accounts are often used by bus
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  • When a MailChimp user receives a "Flagged for Review" notification, it means that MailChimp's system or human review team has detected something unusual or suspicious in the user's most recent campaign, their email lists, or their account as a whole. There are several reasons why a MailChimp campaign, list, or account may be flagged for review. For example, if the user's campaign has a high bounce rate or many spam complaints, it may trigger a review to ensure that the user follows best email marketing practices. Similarly, if a user's emai
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  • Mailchimp takes the security and integrity of its platform seriously, and when it finds anything that may indicate a violation of its terms of service or acceptable use policy, it may initiate an investigation. This investigation may be triggered by various factors, such as a sudden increase in spam complaints or a high bounce rate. When Mailchimp detects such issues, it may temporarily suspend the account and send the account owner an "account under review" message to inform them of the situation. This message will include details about the is
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  • Email verification services often include an Address-by-Address analysis as part of their one-time tuneup service. This analysis is designed to help senders clean their email lists and ensure that they are sending emails to valid and engaged recipients. The Address-by-Address analysis works by examining each email address on the sender's list and verifying its validity and deliverability. This can include checking the syntax and formatting of the email address, as well as verifying that the email domain is active and able to receive messages.
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  • Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a company or individual pays a third-party (the affiliate) to promote its products or services. The affiliate earns a commission for each sale or lead generated through their promotional efforts. The process of affiliate marketing typically involves three parties: the advertiser (the company or individual selling the product), the affiliate (the third-party promoting the product), and the consumer (the end user who buys the product). The advertiser provides the affiliate wit
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  • Alias

    An email alias is a forwarding email address that is used to direct incoming emails to one or more individual recipients. The alias itself has no inbox, login credentials, or storage space and cannot be used to send emails. Instead, it simply directs incoming messages to one or more specified email addresses. Aliases are commonly used for a variety of purposes, such as making your email address publicly available online, for example, in a job ad or on a website. This helps to prevent spam and unwanted messages from cluttering up your primary e
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  • An allowlist, also known as a whitelist, is a list of trusted domains and IP addresses that have been examined and found to be safe and reliable in the reputation system. Allowlists are used by spam-filtering companies and mailbox providers to ensure that only legitimate emails are delivered to their customers' inboxes. Allowlisting is the process of granting a specific domain or IP address express access to a particular privilege, such as the ability to deliver emails. By allowing trusted domains and IP addresses to bypass spam filters and ot
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  • An application programming interface (API) is a set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software applications. APIs define the interactions between software intermediaries, including the types of calls or requests allowed, the acceptable methods of making such calls or requests, and the data formats allowed. APIs may also offer extension mechanisms to allow users to extend existing functionality as necessary. An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of protocols, tools, and standards for building software applications tha
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  • An asynchronous bounce, also known as an async bounce, is a type of email bounce that occurs after the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) connection has been completed and the email has been accepted by the receiving server. Unlike synchronous bounces, which occur immediately if there is an issue with the email address or server, asynchronous bounces can occur at any time, even weeks after the initial delivery attempt. Asynchronous bounces can present operational problems, such as backscatter. Backscatter occurs when an asynchronous bounc
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  • An email attachment is any additional file that is included with an email message but is not part of the actual body or HTML of the email. Attachments can be in various formats, including graphics, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, videos, text files, and Word documents. While attachments can be useful for sharing information with recipients, they can also be problematic in email marketing campaigns. Attachments are not recommended in email marketing campaigns because many recipients view them as suspicious or potentially harmful. Spammers of
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  • Authentication in email marketing refers to the process of verifying the identity of the sender and ensuring that the email is not fraudulent or spoofed, often using protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These are techniques created to confirm the identity of a sender. It answers the question of whether the sender is who they claim to be. It comes in handy in uncovering and blocking suspicious mail and protecting recipients from the abuse of spoofing and phishing. The usual authentication protocols are DMARC, DKIM, and SPF. There are thre
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  • BIMI

    Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is a powerful tool that allows brands to increase their visibility and credibility in email communication. By incorporating their logo into their emails, brands can enhance their brand recognition and differentiate themselves from other senders. BIMI is a standardized system that works by verifying sender information and displaying the brand's logo in supported email clients. To implement BIMI, a brand must have already implemented DKIM, DMARC, and SPF. These three methods of verifying sender
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  • As an email marketer, being on a blacklist can have severe consequences on your email deliverability and brand reputation. A blacklist is a list of domains, email addresses, or IP addresses that have been identified as sources of spam or malicious content by ISPs and ESPs. When you are on a blacklist, your emails will be blocked, and you will be unable to reach your subscribers' inboxes. An email blacklist is a real-time list of IP addresses or domains believed to be sending spam. Organizations such as internet service providers (ISPs), free m
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  • Blast

    Blasting or Batch-and-Blast means sending a large number of commercial emails to a large population of subscribers. Such emails are hardly personalized. Sometimes, blasting may translate to spamming. Marketers used to believe that the best way to reach their goals is to hit as many inboxes as possible. This belief birthed the Blast strategy. But thanks to the new email best practices and legal regulations, it is clear that increased engagement doesn’t come from bombarding recipients with offerings, even when they do not opt-in for emails fro
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  • Block

    An ISP or mailbox provider may prevent your email message from getting accepted due to authentication, reputation, spam failures, or any other cause that negates their spam and email policies. In that case, they block the email message. The email of the recipient may block inbound mail from our server. This may be a result of blacklisting. A mail block happens when the receiving server blocks an email totally, i.e., 100% rejection without trying to deliver the email into the inbox. A block may be due to a blacklisted reply-to-address, a tem
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  • When an Email Service Provider (ESP) blocks a sender from sending an email, it means that the sender has violated the ESP's email-sending policies or standards. This could be due to various reasons, such as sending spammy content, sending to invalid email addresses, or having a high bounce rate. When a sender is blocked, they are expected to comply with the ESP's monitoring standards before they are unblocked. Compliance with the ESP's monitoring standards usually involves identifying and correcting the issues that caused the block in the fi
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  • Blocklists, also known as blacklists, are a tool used by mailbox providers and ISPs to protect their users from unwanted and potentially harmful emails. When an email sender is suspected of sending spam or other malicious content, their IP address or domain is added to the blocklist, effectively blocking any outbound email from that sender. Blocklists work by preventing bulk inbound email from reaching the subscriber's inbox, either by rejecting it at the server level or filtering it out before it reaches the inbox. This helps protect users fr
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  • Bounce

    Bounced emails occur when an email message fails to reach the intended recipient's mailbox provider or ISP. These bounces can be classified into different types, including soft bounce, hard bounce, technical bounce, block bounce, or unknown bounce. A hard bounce occurs when the email address is permanently closed or does not exist and cannot receive any further electronic messages. In contrast, a soft bounce occurs when an email message fails to deliver due to a temporary issue, such as a full inbox or a server outage. Email service providers
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  • Bounce handling is an essential feature offered by most Email Service Providers (ESPs) and mail-sending platforms to manage bounced emails effectively. When an email bounces, it means that it was not delivered to the intended recipient, either due to an incorrect email address or a technical issue. By handling bounces, email marketers can ensure that their email list remains clean and up-to-date, improving email deliverability and engagement. Bounce handling typically involves segregating bounces into two categories: hard and soft bounces.
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  • When an email bounces, the system returns a message to the sender telling them why their email could not be delivered. This string of information is the bounce message. Bounce messages are not always clear or easy to comprehend. For instance, you may get "550 5.1.1 The email account you tried to reach is not existing." Other names of Bounce Messages include SMTP Bounce Message, SMTP errors, bounce codes, or error codes. A bounce message is also called a “bounce.” It is an automated message sent from an email system to notify the sender of
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  • This metric evaluates the number of sent mails against the number of bounced or undelivered mails. The metric can be bounce-type specific, for instance, Hard Bounce Rate. Likewise, it can be an aggregate against all bounces versus sent mails. Bounce rates are not always accurate, considering some systems fail to clearly or accurately revert to the sender on why their emails weren't delivered. Estimating the Bounce Rate When you divide the number of bounced emails by the number of emails sent and multiply the result by 100, you get the email b
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  • When emails are marked as spam by the mailbox provider or ISP, they are usually filtered into a specific folder known as the bulk folder, junk folder, or spam folder. These folders are designed to separate unwanted emails from legitimate ones and prevent them from cluttering up the recipient's inbox. A bulk folder in email marketing, also known as a spam folder, is a separate folder in a recipient's email client where emails that are identified as potential spam or unwanted are automatically filtered and stored. Emails that are rejected or un
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  • The success of an email marketing campaign hinges on the Call-to-Action (CTA), which serves as the primary directive or recommendation intended to motivate recipients to take specific actions, either through compelling content or clickable links positioned prominently above the fold. The Call-to-Action (CTA) in email marketing is a compelling prompt or link that motivates recipients to take specific actions, such as making a purchase or subscribing, and serves as a key driver of engagement. In the realm of email marketing, the Call-to-Action
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  • CAN-SPAM, which stands for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, is a significant legislation enacted in 2003 to regulate commercial email within the United States. This comprehensive act imposes specific obligations on businesses and individuals involved in initiating and transmitting commercial email messages while enforcing penalties for violations to ensure compliance with its provisions. CAN-SPAM is a US legislation enacted in 2003 that regulates commercial email by imposing requirements on senders and en
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  • The Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), implemented in 2014, has played a vital role in promoting responsible email marketing practices and combating various forms of online threats, including spam, phishing, and the spread of malicious software. By requiring organizations and individuals to obtain express consent from all Canadian recipients before sending commercial electronic messages, CASL has helped to minimize the proliferation of unsolicited and potentially harmful communications. This proactive approach has contributed to a safer
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  • A CNAME (Canonical Name) record is a fundamental component of the Domain Name System (DNS) that allows domain names to be aliased or mapped to other domains. Unlike other DNS records that directly point to an IP address, a CNAME record points to another domain. Think of a CNAME record as a series of clues leading to a final destination. When a domain has a CNAME record, it serves as a clue that leads to another domain with a CNAME record, and this chain continues until it reaches the ultimate destination, which is a domain with an A record
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  • These are email addresses with mailboxes on a domain capable of “catching” all the emails sent to the same domain. It doesn’t matter if the address exists or not. Catch-all emails are commonly used by government and business organizations to ensure they catch all the emails headed to their domain. If you send an email to misspelled recipients at your domain, such emails are “caught” by the catchall account. Here is an instance – if the catchall is defined as all@nameofdomain.com, and an email intended for chris@nameofdomain.com
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  • Click

    Click tracking is a valuable data point in email marketing that captures the actions of individual subscribers when they interact with an email by clicking on links or images. This data is typically monitored through unique URLs or tracking codes embedded within the email content. By tracking clicks, marketers can gather insights into various click-related metrics, such as click-to-open and click-through rates, which provide valuable information about subscriber engagement and campaign effectiveness. Understanding click behavior allows marketer
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  • Click-through rate (CTR) is a vital email metric that provides insights into subscriber engagement by estimating the number of clicks in relation to the total number of emails delivered or sent. It is often expressed as a percentage and can be defined differently depending on the reporting and sending platforms used. Click-through rate (CTR) is a percentage metric that measures the proportion of recipients who clicked on a link or CTA in an email out of the total number of emails delivered or sent. Assessing the engagement of your email campa
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  • The Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) is another essential percentage-based email metric that provides insights into the effectiveness of an email campaign's content, design, and messaging. It specifically estimates the number of clicks in relation to the number of opens. The Click-to-Open Rate is a valuable measure for evaluating how well an email engages recipients and convinces them to take the desired action. By considering only the clicks from recipients who opened and read through the email, it offers a more accurate assessment of how the desi
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  • Cloudmark is a leading spam filter company that employs a unique approach to combat email spam by utilizing a vast network of users and spam traps as a feedback system. This system enables Cloudmark to swiftly and automatically detect and block any form of messaging abuse, whether it originates from outbound or inbound sources. By doing so, Cloudmark ensures that spam does not impact infrastructures, networks, help desks, or end subscribers. Cloudmark is a leading spam filter company utilizing user feedback and traps to detect and block spam,
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  • Co-registration, also referred to as "co-reg," is an email marketing technique that effectively boosts the number of subscribers within a database by offering the opportunity to opt into multiple third-party lists when registering with a company or organization. While co-registration can be an efficient means of rapidly expanding an email list, there are reservations and debates surrounding its acceptability as an email marketing practice. Co-registration works by presenting users with the option to subscribe to additional newsletters or promo
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  • Email communication plays a crucial role in commercial activities such as advertisements, promotions, or sales. In this context, a commercial email is any email created to promote a product, service, or brand. These emails are also known as promotional emails or bulk emails. Commercial emails are the emails you send to the recipients who have opted-in for your brand’s promotional messages. They include newsletters, new product updates, sales offers, emails to increase onboarding and user engagement, and more. Commercial emails are specifica
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  • The complaint rate, calculated by dividing the number of spam complaints by the total number of emails delivered, is a crucial metric in email marketing. However, it is important to note that mailbox providers typically only provide a subset of individual complaints through the Feedback Loop (FBL) rather than the complete set. Additionally, each Email Service Provider (ESP) may have its own method of calculating the complaint rate. The complaint rate in email marketing is the ratio of spam complaints received by mailbox providers
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  • When an email recipient marks a message as "spam" within their mail client, the sender receives an automated notification, commonly known as a feedback loop (FBL) message. These FBL messages serve as complaints and indicate that a recipient has identified the email as unsolicited or unwanted. The total count of these complaints is an important email-centric metric that can significantly impact a sender's reputation. "Complaints" in email marketing refer to the instances where recipients mark emails as spam or unsolicited, indicating their diss
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  • Compliance in email marketing refers to the act of following established rules, guidelines, industry best practices, and the Terms of Service set by the Email Service Provider (ESP). It is important to note that compliance standards may vary among ESPs, so it is advisable to consult your specific ESP for detailed rules and regulations. Compliance refers to adhering to the set rules and guidelines, industry best practices, or the Terms of Service of the Email Service Provider. The compliance standards of each ESP differ. Contact your ESP for sp
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  • An acknowledgment email, also known as a confirmation email, is sent by an organization or company to confirm the receipt of an information request or subscription made by a user. These emails serve as a verification and reassure the user that their request or sign-up process has been successfully completed. Confirmation emails are typically generated and sent automatically once a user initiates a specific action, such as filling out a form or providing their email address to access a service. Confirmation emails are vital in establishing a
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  • Confirmed Opt-In (COI), also known as double opt-in, refers to the practice employed by organizations or companies to obtain verifiable confirmation from recipients before adding their email addresses to a mailing list. When a user submits their email to join a mailing list, the organization or company sends a confirmation email asking the recipient to verify their intent by clicking a designated link. Confirmed Opt-In describes a situation where an organization or company with verifiably confirmed permission for a recipient's email address to
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  • The email body refers to the content contained within an email message, including text, links, images, and any other visual or interactive elements. It is the main component of an email that conveys the intended message to the recipient. The email body plays a crucial role in effectively communicating information, engaging the recipient, and achieving the desired outcomes, such as driving conversions or conveying important updates. It provides an opportunity to deliver a well-crafted message that captures the recipient's attention and encourag
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  • Conversion refers to the desired action taken by a recipient in response to an email message's call-to-action. It signifies the successful completion of a specific goal or objective set by the sender. While the ultimate conversion is often associated with a purchase, it is essential to recognize that email conversions encompass a broader spectrum of interactions. In email marketing, a conversion occurs when a recipient performs the expected action outlined in the email, which can vary depending on the campaign's objective. Examples of email co
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  • Email conversion rate is a crucial metric that measures the effectiveness of an email campaign by determining the percentage of subscribers who successfully complete a desired action or goal. It provides valuable insights into the campaign's performance and helps marketers assess the effectiveness of their strategies. Conversion rate is the percentage of individuals who take a desired action out of the total number of people who were exposed to a marketing campaign or message. Understanding Email Conversion Rate: The email conversion rate, a
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  • CSV

    Comma-Separated Values (CSV) files are widely used to store and exchange tabular data in a plain-text format. They are popular among businesses and individual consumers due to their simplicity and versatility. Our system accepts only data files in the .csv format as email lists, ensuring seamless integration and compatibility. CSV files provide a convenient way to organize data in a structured manner. Each row in the file represents a record, while each column contains specific data attributes. This format allows for the inclusion of variou
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  • De-duplication or de-duping is the removal of duplicate data points or entries from a data extension or list. If the same email address is present multiple times on a database or file, they are removed by de-duplication. Most CRMs or data management systems have the feature to prevent duplication of entries.
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  • When a sender or company used only one IP address for all their emails, such an IP is a dedicated IP address. Such an organization or company does not share its dedicated IP address with another organization or sender. When companies want the full management of their IP sender, they use a dedicated IP address. Each inbox provider keeps track of the IP addresses of incoming traffic. They also monitor the reputation score for the same IPs. But when you have a dedicated IP, it puts the burden of responsibility for its reputation on you. This is
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  • This broadly describes how well a sender can deliver an email to the stated destination or inbox. When some email marketers want to assess the possibility of their email campaigns getting to the inboxes of their subscribers, relative to bulking, spam issues, bounces, throttling, and delivery-like ISPs, they use deliverability. Your deliverability may suffer if you do not use a custom authentication while sending, use single opt-in, or send from a free domain email address. Other elements that may affect deliverability include low engageme
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  • Whether you are sending marketing newsletters, transactional emails or keeping in touch with customers, one of the most important metrics for any email campaign is its deliverability rate. Simply put, the deliverability rate refers to the percentage of messages that successfully reach the intended recipient's inbox. With so many spam filters in place these days, achieving a high deliverability rate takes work. Let's take a closer look at what email deliverability means. Delivery rate or inbox placement rate is the folder placement performance
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  • Deliverable emails are sent to addresses with an MX record and a valid format.
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  • This refers to the difference between the number of sent emails and the number of filtered or bounced messages. It is not a representation of the number of emails that may land into inboxes against those that may land in the junk or spam folder.
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  • This refers to the rate or number of emails sent without bouncing. It is estimated by dividing the number of sent by the number of those delivered. Calculating an Email Delivery Rate When you divide the number of emails sent minus bounces by the number of sent emails, what you get is the email delivery rate. Note that the number of sent emails is different from the number of emails delivered, considering some of the emails may have bounced, and are not counted as part of the emails that are delivered to the recipients’ inboxes.
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  • A server can be bombarded with an excessive amount of traffic or messages than it can ordinarily handle. When this happens, the server shuts down automatically. This is called a denial-of-service attack - a move by malicious groups to destabilize businesses and organizations.
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  • Disposables or temporary email addresses are only valid for a specific period, so they are ideal for short-term usages, such as downloading a freebie or registering or posting a comment on a platform or forum. Disposable email is an email service offered to a registered user for a specified period through a temporary email address. Disposable email is not the same as a disposable email address – the latter only forwards messages to a primary email account, which is usually referred to as an alias. When a user joins a disposable email se
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  • Domain

    The unique name of an organization or company on the internet, e.g., deluxe007.com
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  • The DNS is an internet naming system designed to translate domain names into IP addresses. It is literally the dictionary of domain names.
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  • This refers to an email-validation system created to identify and prevent phishing and spoofing. It relies on two known mechanisms to do the job – the DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and the Sender Policy Framework (SPF). With a DMARC, a sender can set a public policy (p=) to command the ISPs on what to do with mails that are not authenticated. With DMARC, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are better positioned to stop malicious email practices from happening, including domain spoofing to phish for the personal information of recipients.
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  • DomainKeys is a depreciated email authentication system. Yahoo created it to verify the message integrity and the domain name of an email sender. The merger of some parts of DomainKeys and Identified Internet Mail became today’s DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), which has replaced DomainKeys.
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  • An organization is the handler of a message. In this position, they can either be an originator of the message or an intermediary. DKIM helps the organization to take responsibility for a message once it is in transit. The organization’s reputation is a determinant factor in seeing the message as trustworthy and fit for further handling, e.g., delivery. So, DKIM validates the domain name identity linked with a message using cryptographic authentication. A good reason to implement the DKIM standard is to improve the deliverability of your e
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  • When an email content changes from one recipient to another in line with a set of data extensions or variables present in a marketer’s audience base, such content is dynamic content. Dynamic content allows for a streamlined message that suits your targeted audience. It may indicate suggested items, attributes, personas, past purchases, and other tailored content.
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  • Also called “e-append,” this is an email marketing practice where the known customer data is matched against a vendor’s database to extract their email addresses. In this case, the customer data includes a postal address, last name, and first name. It is not considered an email best practice because it doesn’t involve express opt-in permission. Email Append can be defined as “the process of adding a consumer’s email address to that consumer’s record. The email address is obtained by matching those records from the marketer’s
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  • Email verification, also known as email validation, plays a crucial role in maintaining the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. By utilizing an email checker, validator, or verifier, businesses can ensure that their email lists are clean and accurate, leading to improved deliverability and engagement. Let's delve deeper into the process of email verification and explore its benefits. Email verification is the process of validating the authenticity and deliverability of an email address. It involves a series of checks that identify an
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  • An email client or MUA (mail user agent) is an essential software application that enables users to manage their emails efficiently. It provides a user-friendly interface for reading, composing, and sending emails. While there are many email clients available these days, some features that can improve and extend their functionality include: Customization: Email clients should allow users to customize their user interface. This includes the ability to change the font, color, and layout of the client to their liking. This can help users wor
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  • Deliverability is a crucial metric in email marketing that measures the percentage of emails that successfully reach the intended recipient's inbox. This depicts the number of your emails that ended up in inboxes. Email marketing considers deliverability a vital metric – it partly determines your open and click-through rates. To improve deliverability and increase open and click-through rates, here are some strategies: Keep a clean email list: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses. This will redu
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  • An email filter is essential for managing the influx of email messages. It works by analyzing the content of an email and applying a set of rules to determine whether the email should be delivered, marked as spam, or blocked altogether. To improve and extend the functionality of email filters, consider the following: Customization: Email filters should allow users to customize their settings and rules. This includes the ability to create custom filters based on specific criteria, such as sender, subject line, or content. This can help user
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  • The email prefix, also known as the local part of an email address, is a critical component of an email address. It is the part of the email address that comes before the @ sign and identifies the recipient's mailbox. To improve and extend our understanding of email prefixes, consider the following: Formatting: The local part of an email address has specific formatting requirements. It typically consists of alphanumeric characters, plus some special characters like dots, hyphens, and underscores. However, there are rules around where these
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  • An Email Service Provider (ESP) is a technology company that specializes in providing email services and email marketing solutions to businesses and individuals. To improve and extend our understanding of ESPs, consider the following: Deliverability: One of the most important responsibilities of an ESP is to ensure that emails are delivered to the intended recipients' inboxes. This involves managing sender reputation, complying with email laws and regulations, and optimizing email content for maximum deliverability. Segmentation and Per
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  • Email validation is a crucial process that helps ensure the accuracy and deliverability of email addresses. To improve and extend our understanding of email validation, consider the following: Syntax Validation: Syntax validation is the process of checking whether an email address conforms to the standard email address format. This involves checking for the presence of an "@" symbol, a domain name, and proper use of characters and special characters. Domain Validation: Domain validation is the process of verifying the domain name associ
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  • Email verification is the process of verifying the accuracy and deliverability of email addresses in a given email list. To improve and extend our understanding of email verification, consider the following: Validation Methods: Email verification can use various validation methods to check if an email address is valid, deliverable, and active. These methods can include syntax validation, domain validation, email server validation, and mailbox validation. Bulk Verification: Email verification can be performed in bulk, allowing businesses
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  • Email engagement is a critical success metric for email marketing campaigns. To improve and extend our understanding of email engagement, consider the following: Behavioral Metrics: Behavioral metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates can provide insights into how engaged subscribers are with your email content. Monitoring these metrics can help businesses identify which emails are resonating with subscribers and which ones are not. Audience Segmentation: Audience segmentation involves divi
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  • When it comes to email marketing, having a clean and well-organized email list is essential for successful campaigns. To assist in this process, email service providers like MailChimp offer features such as 'Everything Lists' and 'Safe Lists.' These lists provide valuable insights and help in segmenting your data effectively. Let's explore these lists in more detail and understand their significance in email marketing. 1. Everything List: The 'Everything List' is a comprehensive compilation of your original email data, including all the addre
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  • When an email subscriber opts-in manually and permits you to add them to your email program, they have given you explicit content. For instance, asking a subscriber to click a checkbox to consent to receive an email on completing a sign-up form is the same as asking for explicit content. It is the safest method of seeking an opt-in and permission from a new subscriber. Email marketing relies on permission-based marketing, which means that businesses must obtain explicit consent from subscribers before sending them promotional emails. To imp
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  • Sometimes, the ISP or the recipient's anti-spam program may erroneously reject a legitimate message or filter it as spam. This is known as a false positive - when a valid email address is incorrectly identified as invalid or non-deliverable. False positives present a major issue for email marketers and senders. Introduction In the world of email communication, it is not uncommon for legitimate messages to be mistaken as spam and rejected by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or recipients' anti-spam programs. This occurrence, known as a false
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  • A few major mailbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo notify senders when individual recipients mark their emails as spam or unsubscribe in their mailbox. This service is called the Feedback Loop (FBL) and allows senders to track complaints about their emails. The reports from FBLs list the email addresses that marked emails as spam so the sender can remove them from future mailings. A Feedback Loop (FBL) is a mechanism that allows email senders to receive feedback from ISPs or mailbox providers regarding recipient complaints and spam r
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  • Footer

    The footer is the section at the very bottom of an email message, below the main email content. It contains standardized information that remains consistent across all email campaigns sent out by a brand. A footer usually includes the following elements: Contact information - includes the company name, email address, physical address, and phone number so recipients can get in touch easily. Unsubscribe - Contains a prominent one-click unsubscribe link so recipients can opt out of future emails if they wish. Preference center - A link
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  • The friendly form of an email address is the part that appears before the "@" symbol in most email clients or MUAs (Mail User Agents). The sender can customize this to make it more recognizable and memorable to the recipient. For example, instead of using "jdoe1234@gmail.com", a sender might use "johndoe@gmail.com" as the friendly form. However, it's important to note that the actual form of the email address - the part before the "@" symbol - and the domain name - the part after the "@" symbol - will always remain the same. This is because th
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  • The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law that was introduced on May 25, 2018, as a replacement for the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive. The GDPR is designed to protect the personal data of European Union (EU) country residents and to harmonize data protection laws across the EU. The GDPR applies to all organizations that process the personal data of EU residents, regardless of where the organization is located. This means that even organizations outside of the EU must comply with the GDPR if they p
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  • GPT, or the Global Deliverability Platform, is a powerful set of web-based tools designed to help deliverability professionals and email senders optimize their email campaigns and improve their email deliverability rates. GPT provides a range of domain-based data metrics, including encryption, authentication information, spam rates, domain and IP reputation, and more. One of the key features of GPT is its ability to provide comprehensive domain-based email metrics. By analyzing email data at the domain level, GPT can provide valuable insights
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  • Graymail is a type of email that is sent to an individual who has previously given their permission to receive it. This can include promotional or marketing content, newsletters, or other types of email communications. However, unlike spam, graymail is sent with the recipient's consent, making it a legitimate form of email marketing. One of the main challenges with graymail is that recipients may not engage with the content or may lose interest over time. This can lead to lower engagement rates, and sometimes, recipients may mark the email as
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  • Greylisting is an effective anti-spam technique that is used by email servers to prevent unsolicited messages from reaching their users. Greylisting works by temporarily rejecting any email that comes in from an unknown sender. Once the email is rejected, the sender is notified that their email has been temporarily blocked and is asked to resend it after a certain period of time. This delay in accepting emails from unknown senders is designed to thwart spammers who often use automated systems to send out large volumes of unsolicited emails. By
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  • A hard bounce is a type of email delivery failure that occurs when an email message is sent to an invalid, non-existent, or incorrect email address and is returned to the sender due to a permanent error. This is in contrast to a soft bounce, which is a temporary delivery failure that can be caused by issues such as a full mailbox or a temporary server outage. Hard bounces can occur for several reasons, including typos in the email address, changes in the recipient's email address, or a complete block on the recipient's email server. When an em
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  • Header

    Email headers are an important component of every email message, providing specific routing information that helps to ensure that the message is delivered to the correct recipient. Headers contain a range of information, including SMTP relays, authentication details, date and time stamps, subject lines, recipient and sender email addresses, and other metadata. Email headers are typically hidden from view in most email clients, but they can be accessed by viewing the source of the message. By doing so, recipients can see the full header informa
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  • A spam trap email address is an email address that is specifically designed by mailbox providers or internet service providers (ISPs) to catch spammers. Real people do not use these email addresses and are often hidden in unexpected places across the internet, making them difficult for spammers to identify. Honeypot spam traps, or pristine spam traps, are the most severe type of spam trap. They are email addresses that have never been used before and are not associated with any real person or entity. Honeypot spam traps are typically created b
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  • Implicit consent is a controversial practice in email marketing because it raises questions about the quality of the email list and the potential for recipients to mark messages as spam or unsubscribe. While it may seem like a convenient way to quickly grow your email list, it can actually harm your reputation and ultimately damage your brand's relationship with potential customers. Implicit consent in email marketing refers to the assumption that a recipient has given permission to receive emails based on a previous business relationship or i
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  • When a subscriber becomes inactive, it can negatively impact your email marketing campaign's overall performance. Not only does it decrease your open and click-through rates, but it also increases the chances of your emails being marked as spam. Therefore, it is crucial to have a plan to manage inactive subscribers. An inactive subscriber in email marketing refers to a recipient on an email list who has not engaged or interacted with the emails or the brand in a significant period of time. One effective strategy is to segment your inactive su
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  • In email marketing, having a reliable and effective infrastructure is critical to ensuring your emails reach subscribers' inboxes. The physical components and hardware involved in email sending are collectively called the infrastructure. Infrastructure in email marketing refers to the hardware, software, and network components that are used to send, receive, and manage email communications. Let's take a closer look at each of these components: SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard protocol used for sending emails ove
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  • Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are crucial players in the email marketing industry as they are responsible for delivering emails to subscribers' mailboxes. In addition to providing internet access and webmail to users, ISPs also have the responsibility of ensuring that their users receive high-quality email content that is relevant and engaging. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) in email marketing is a company that provides internet connectivity and email services to individuals and businesses, and can also filter and deliver emails to rec
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  • An IP address is a unique numerical identifier assigned to every internet-enabled device. In email marketing, the IP address is used to send emails to subscribers. There are two types of IP addresses used in email marketing: shared and dedicated. Shared IP Address A shared IP address is an IP address that is shared by multiple email senders. This means that your email campaigns will be sent alongside other senders' campaigns. Shared IP addresses are typically used by smaller email lists or businesses that send a low volume of emails. However
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  • The IP Reputation of a sender is a comprehensive approach to your IP, encompassing factors like sender actions, email deliveries, reports, and spam complaints. Factors like low open/click rates, spam complaints, and bounces adversely affect the sender’s reputation. Since emails are sent from IP addresses, they are seen as unique identifiers of email streams. An IP address can either be dedicated or shared. Shared IP addresses are such that several companies send their emails using the same IP address. IP Reputation in email marketing refers
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  • List

    In email marketing, a list is a collection of email addresses that have been gathered through various means, such as opt-in forms, sign-ups, purchases, or other interactions with a brand or business. The list is the segment of the email address to which the email messages are sent, and it represents the audience that the brand or business is communicating with. A list is the segment of the email address where the email message is sent to. A high-quality email list is critical for the success of email marketing campaigns, as it can directly im
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  • List hygiene or data hygiene refers to the act of maintaining your email list to prevent spam complainers, unsubscribes, and hard bounces. List hygiene keeps the list clean and updated while improving deliverability. An important aspect of email marketing campaigns is creating and properly managing email subscriber lists. This is called list hygiene. What you set out to achieve with list hygiene is making sure you get the best possible engagement and conversion rates from sent email messages. List hygiene encompasses different techniques an
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  • When an email marketer contracts a third party to help them send email messages to their list in the bid to increase their reach, the tactic is called list rental. It is not one of the best practices in email marketing because it targets subscribers without their consent. List rental is a controversial tactic in email marketing that involves renting or purchasing a third-party email list to send marketing messages to a wider audience. In list rental, the email marketer contracts a third-party vendor who owns the email list to send emails on th
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  • A list-unsubscribe is a custom header added to marketing emails that provides recipients with a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe link within their mail client, improving the user experience and reducing the likelihood of recipients marking the email as spam or junk. The list-unsubscribe feature is supported by major email clients such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and the iOS native mail client and can be implemented as either a MailTo or HTTPS link. In addition to improving the user experience, the list-unsubscribe feature can also benefit e
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  • When senders intentionally attempt to overwhelm a mail server by sending a large volume of messages in a short period, it is known as mail bombing or list bombing. The impact of mail bombing can be severe, ranging from filling up the disk space of the mail server to causing the server to crash. Unfortunately, mail bombing has been utilized as a form of cyber attack by cybercriminals with malicious intent. These attacks aim to disrupt the operations of an organization or shut down their email services, causing significant financial loss and r
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  • An MTA is a service application that handles the relay or forwarding of electronic mail messages to recipients or relay sites from senders. It may also store incoming emails. An MTA, or Mail Transfer Agent, is a critical component of the email infrastructure that handles the routing and delivery of electronic mail messages to recipients or relay sites from senders. It acts as a relay and forwarding service application, responsible for storing incoming emails and ensuring the consistent routing of all messages. When a message is sent, the MT
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  • A mailbox provider (MBP) is any company that provides senders with email hosting but not internet services. Although MBPs and ISPs are used interchangeably, they have different definitions. MBPs, as a generic term, comprise ISPs. A mailbox provider (MBP) is a company that provides email hosting services to senders. MBPs are responsible for storing and managing email messages on behalf of their customers, and they typically offer a range of features and services designed to enhance the email experience, such as spam filtering, virus scanning, a
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  • Merge fields are an essential feature of MailChimp, a popular email marketing platform. These fields hold additional subscriber information, such as name, address, phone numbers, and more. By using merge fields, senders can create personalized email campaigns that are more engaging and relevant to their subscribers. When a MailChimp account is linked to DeBounce, a powerful email validation and verification service, the merge fields for every email on the list can be updated and verified for accuracy. This means that senders can have more conf
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  • The Multi-Part MIME comprises bundles of a simplified plain text version of your email, alongside the HTML version. If a mail client supports this format, it will render the HTML version. Otherwise, it will render the text version. When an email is sent using Multi-Part MIME, the email client will automatically detect whether the recipient's email client supports HTML formatting. If the email client does support HTML, it will render the HTML version of the email. If not, it will render the plain text version instead. The plain text version
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  • MIME, or Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, is a standard that extends the capabilities of email messages beyond simple text. With MIME, users can exchange a wide range of file types, including visual files such as images and videos, audio files, and other types of data. MIME works by adding additional information to the email message header, indicating the type of file being transmitted and how it should be handled by the recipient's email client. This information is used to ensure that the file is properly interpreted and displayed for t
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  • MX records are a critical component of the Domain Name System (DNS) and play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth delivery of email messages. When an email is sent from one domain to another, the sending email server relies on the recipient's MX record to determine where to send the email. In basic DNS terms, an MX record is a type of DNS resource record that specifies which email servers are authorized to accept incoming email for a particular domain. This record includes information about the location of the mail servers, such as their IP a
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  • An MX lookup test is a useful tool for identifying the mail servers that are associated with a particular domain. This test can help to identify any issues with the domain's MX records, such as incorrect or missing information, and can help to ensure that email messages are delivered reliably and efficiently. When an MX lookup test is performed, it queries the domain's authoritative name server to retrieve the MX records associated with the domain. These records are then listed in priority order, indicating the order in which mail servers shou
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  • MailChimp has an abusive-prevention system in place, which collects information from billions of emails to forecast bad behavior. This system is called Omnivore. The gathered information also helps to keep senders in compliance. You can read more about: the Omnivore warning and How resolve the omnivore warning.
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  • Opt-In

    Subscribers may be asked to fill out a certain signup form before joining an email list. This is called opting-in. Opt-ins are express consent from recipients that allow senders to email them. It is best to use a “double opt-in,” i.e., the potential recipient fills out the form first and then confirm the subscription to your list. Opt-in is a critical aspect of email marketing that ensures recipients have given explicit consent to receive emails from a particular sender or email list. Email marketers can build a high-quality email list tha
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  • Unsubscribing or opting out is a critical aspect of email marketing that ensures that email recipients can stop receiving emails from a particular sender or email list. Email marketers can maintain a high-quality email list that includes engaged and interested subscribers by allowing recipients to opt-out. When a subscriber decides to stop receiving emails from a particular sender or email list, they can typically opt out by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email message. This link should be clearly visible and easy to ac
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  • Panel data refers to the process of obtaining data from end-user mailboxes through the integration of free email applications while sharing pseudonymous, aggregate data in return. This approach typically involves email subscribers who have opted-in to webmail plugins and free mail applications, which serve as the first part of the sender's database. However, there are concerns regarding how senders notify their users about collecting and utilizing their data in this context. It's important for senders to be transparent and clear about their da
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  • Permission is a clear and express approval where a recipient actively requests the sender to include their email address on a list. Obtaining permission is crucial for successful email marketing campaigns; there are different ways to achieve this. One way is to ask new users to check a box while signing up, confirming their interest in receiving your emails. Another method is to request leads to enter their email addresses in a form indicating their interest in receiving your promotions and updates. Lastly, collecting permission can be done by
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  • Phishing is a type of cyber attack that involves the use of misleading emails, messages, or websites to trick unsuspecting recipients into providing sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information. These emails are designed to look legitimate, often using logos and branding from reputable companies to deceive the recipient. Phishing attacks can take many forms, including emails claiming to be from banks, social media companies, or online retailers. These emails often contain urgent or alarming mess
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  • When retrieving emails from a mail server, email clients traditionally use the Post Office Protocol (POP). With POP, the client downloads the entire email from the server to the client's device, then deletes the email from the server. This means that once the email is downloaded, it is only accessible on that specific device. Post Office Protocol (POP) is an email protocol used to retrieve emails from a mail server to a client device. However, a newer and more versatile protocol is the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). With IMAP, email
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  • A postmaster is a group of individuals responsible for managing email traffic and ensuring deliverability for mailbox providers and ISPs. They are typically tasked with monitoring email traffic for issues such as spam, phishing, and other forms of abuse. Postmasters are responsible for managing email traffic and ensuring the deliverability of legitimate emails for their organization's users. They work to maintain the reputation of their email infrastructure by monitoring email traffic for issues such as spam, phishing, and other forms of abuse
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  • The preference center is a landing page where email subscribers can manage their email preferences and customize their email experience. This includes selecting the types of emails they want to receive, how often they want to receive them, and the format in which they want to receive them. The preference center is an important tool for email marketers, allowing subscribers to tailor their email experience to their individual preferences. This can help to improve engagement and reduce unsubscribe rates, as subscribers are more likely to stay en
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  • When a subscriber’s permission has expired, the sender launches a re-confirm campaign to remind clients of past correspondence and ask them to re-confirm their email opt-in. It is recommended to send a re-engagement campaign periodically to ensure list hygiene and keep your subscribers in the loop. Re-engagement emails usually inform the recipients of their non-engagement, which is why you sent them the messages. However, the structure and timing of these emails depend on how regularly you send emails to your list. A re-confirm campaign i
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  • A re-engagement campaign in email marketing refers to a strategic effort undertaken by a sender to rekindle the interest and engagement of subscribers who have been inactive or unresponsive for an extended period. The primary objective of a re-engagement campaign is to encourage these subscribers to re-opt into the email list and reignite their interest in receiving communications. A re-engagement campaign in email marketing is a targeted effort to revive inactive subscribers by offering incentives and promotions to encourage them to re-engage
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  • A recycled spam trap is a specific type of spam trap that utilizes previously legitimate subscriber email addresses which have been abandoned over time. When senders unknowingly send emails to these abandoned addresses, mailbox providers and ISPs may indicate the presence of recycled spam traps through unknown SMTP bounce errors, highlighting potential issues with list hygiene practices and the inclusion of outdated email addresses. Hitting a recycled spam trap serves as a warning sign that proper list hygiene practices have not been implement
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  • The Reply-To address, in the context of email marketing, refers to the designated email address where replies from subscribers are directed when they respond to a marketing email. Unlike the sender's email address, the Reply-To address is typically masked or hidden from the subscriber, ensuring a seamless and controlled communication process. The Reply-To address in email marketing is the designated email address where subscriber responses are directed, allowing efficient management and timely handling of customer inquiries and feedback. By u
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  • A sender's reputation in email marketing is an evaluation of their credibility and trustworthiness based on a multitude of data points and signals gathered over time. This assessment is performed by individual Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and mailbox providers, each implementing their unique methodologies. Sender reputation is often associated with the sender's domains and IP addresses, which play a crucial role in determining the deliverability and success of email campaigns. Email sender reputation in email marketing refers to the perce
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  • When you send an email, it travels through various servers and networks before it reaches its intended recipient. Along the way, the email may encounter issues such as invalid email addresses, full inboxes, or spam filters. When this happens, the email is returned to the sender, and this is where the return path address comes in. The return path address is the email address from which a message or email originates, and it serves as the destination for any bounces or error messages. In other words, if an email cannot be delivered to the intend
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  • Reverse DNS, also known as rDNS, refers to the process wherein a mail client performs a lookup and translation of an IP address into a domain name, which is the opposite of a DNS lookup that translates a domain name into an IP address. In reverse DNS, the mail client retrieves the associated domain name based on the provided IP address, enabling identification and verification of the sender's domain. Reverse DNS in email marketing refers to the process of looking up and translating an IP address into a domain name, which helps authenticate the
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  • Role-based emails refer to email addresses that are associated with a particular group of individuals or a specific position within an organization. These email addresses are structured using unique formats, such as contact@, team@, info@, sales@, support@, and more, which indicate the purpose or function of the email account. These role-based email addresses serve as centralized points of contact for specific departments, teams, or functions within a company. They enable efficient communication and streamline the handling of inquiries, reques
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  • Any email tagged “Safe” will definitely be deliverable. After verifying their list, a sender can either download an Everything List or a Safe List. The safe list comprises emails with a verification grade (A- or A+) and is deliverable. Sometimes, there may be a history of activity.
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  • Seeds

    It refers to a group of email addresses used in testing the inbox placement, delivery, and rendering of emails. You can either curate personal test email accounts and use them as seeds or source a seed list from a reputable vendor, which comprises domains all over the world. Either way, seeds offer you a scalable means of testing delivery and inbox placement.
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  • A segment is a smaller list obtained from the primary database of the sender. The emails on a segment are chosen based on certain data points or attributes, such as engagement, buying behavior, geography, open history, and more. A segment may also describe the process of creating several smaller lists to target individual campaigns.
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  • A sender may segment their list to send to a target audience within their list rather than all the subscribers in the list. It is advisable to send to only the subscribers in the “Safe” category. Senders can segment their list using the Email Assurance Grade A and A+, considering such emails always have good deliverability.
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  • The SPF is a protocol that prevents email forgeries. The sender’s Domain Name Server information contains a line of code called the SPF record. The incoming mail server reads the SPF record of a sender to verify them. The message will only go through if the verification is successful.
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  • Server

    A server is a computer system or program that handles the storage and distribution of emails from one mailbox to another. It is also responsible for relaying email across servers within a network.
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  • When multiple senders use the same IP address for sending, it becomes a Shared IP. Using a shared IP is not advisable, considering the senders have less control over their IP sender reputation. However, it is cheaper than using a dedicated IP address. Senders can access shared IP pools on some ESPs, joining other clients to send from multiple shared IPs.
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  • SMTP is the most preferred protocol for sending email messages between email servers. The protocol follows the rules on the interaction between a program receiving email and a program sending email, including RFC 5321 and RFC 821.
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  • SNDS is a web-based service offered by Microsoft. It is free and gives the spam trap hits, spam rates, reputation information, and volume for the sender’s IP address.
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  • SMTP

    An SMPT server refers to a system that temporarily receives outgoing mail messages before directing them to the original recipients. Such an approach facilitates messages through multiple servers and ensures they get to the right destinations. The process includes checking that the server has a reverse DNS (PTR) record and estimating its response times.
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  • Simple Mail Transfer Protocols (SMTP) are codes sent to you from various mail servers, showing the reasons emails you sent were rejected. They help identify the reasons your emails bounced and are sometimes demanded by your email validation service providers to understand what causes your bounces.
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  • Spammers usually employ snowshoeing as a means of spreading spam output to several domains and IPs. The aim is to weaken the reputation metrics and avoid filters.
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  • A soft bounce is a temporary delivery problem an email address randomly encounters. Sometimes, the email message may be too large; the recipient’s email server may be unavailable, or the recipient’s mailbox may be full. All of these lead to a soft bounce. If your email returns a soft bounce message, MailChimp will reattempt sending three times before classifying such as hard bounces. You may also read: Hard Bounces versus Soft Bounces
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  • Spam

    Spam refers to an unsolicited commercial email. Sometimes, it may refer to any mail that is unwanted vs. wanted.
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  • Proofpoint Inc created SORBS. The service offers senders free access to Proofpoint’s DNS-based Block List (DNSBL), which can be leveraged to block email from over 12 million host servers associated with malicious emails, phishing attacks, and spam. Despite being a low impact blocklist, many senders hit the SORBS.
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  • Spam traps are email addresses that have been abandoned for a long time but are still actively tracked. They may also be new email addresses specially created to catch spammers. Anti-spam organizations, ISPs, and other groups are known to use certain email addresses to find people who send emails to outdated contacts or contacts who have not opted-in for such messages. Such email addresses are called spam traps. Spam traps mimic the regular email addresses – they are created from old email accounts that have been abandoned by the origin
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  • This refers to the list of websites found in unsolicited messages. While most lists contain message senders, SURBLs do not.
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  • SpamAssassin is a prominent spam filter that scores emails using different spam detection techniques like authentication checks, content screening, DNS-based spam detection, and more. The assessment comes in the form of multiple tests, all of which collectively return an aggregate score. A message is graded as being spam or not based on this aggregate score. In most cases, an email with a SpamAssassin score of 5 or more is considered spam.
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  • SpamCop is a highly effective email spam reporting service that provides crucial assistance in the battle against unsolicited commercial or bulk emails. When recipients receive such an unwanted message, they can rely on SpamCop's robust analysis system to identify and combat spam. SpamCop is an email spam reporting service that identifies and helps combat unsolicited commercial or bulk emails by providing IP address information for reporting and blacklisting. Upon submission of the suspicious email, SpamCop diligently scrutinizes its content,
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  • Spamhaus is a reputable non-profit anti-spam organization with bases in Geneva, Switzerland, and London. They help in tracking email spammers and spam-related activities. It regularly compiles a list of several popular anti-spam blacklists.
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  • Spoofing refers to the malicious act of misrepresenting the sender’s email address, such that it appears as if the message came from another sender.
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  • When a sender fails to mail to a list regularly, the list becomes stale. A list can also be tagged stale if the subscribers on the list have not renewed their expired permissions or are simply inactive.
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  • When an individual voluntarily subscribes or opts-in to an email list, they become a subscriber. The Email Assurance Grade of a list is estimated using the individual deliverability codes of the email addresses obtained from the address-by-address analysis. Senders can get useful information about their subscribers from the deliverability codes.
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  • Sunset Policy describes specified criteria when an email marketer concludes that an email address is inactive, hence suppressing it from commercial emails in the future. A key component of a sunset policy is the length of time an email address stays without engagement.
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  • This refers to a list of email addresses a sender has deleted from their primary mailing list. The removal may be due to recipients unsubscribing or opting out of the mail program or other reasons to stop getting commercial emails. A suppression file is required per CAN-SPAM.
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  • Tabs

    A tab is a user interface feature commonly found in webmail clients that enhances the organization and accessibility of multiple inbox categories for recipients. Unlike the traditional approach of having a single primary inbox, a tabbed inbox interface offers users the ability to navigate and customize various tabs based on their preferences and email categories. Gmail, for example, provides a robust tabbed inbox interface, enabling users to access and personalize different tabs, such as the Primary tab, Social tab, and Promotions tab. These ta
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  • Email throttling is an essential feature of most email service providers (ESPs) that helps regulate the number of emails sent to recipients within a specific period. It works by controlling the rate at which emails are sent, ensuring that the volume of emails does not exceed the standard ranges. This feature is handy when sending large volumes of emails, as mailbox providers may defer excess messages, causing delivery delays or even rejection of emails. Throttling in email marketing refers to the deliberate restriction or limitation of email s
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  • Toxic domains are a major concern for email marketers and senders alike, as they are often associated with bot-generated, spammy, and abusive emails. These types of emails can harm your sender's reputation and lower your email deliverability rates, making it increasingly difficult to reach your target audience. A toxic domain in email marketing refers to a domain that has a negative reputation, often associated with spam or abusive activities, which can result in deliverability issues and hinder successful email campaigns. Toxic domains can b
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  • Transactional emails are an essential component of any email marketing strategy, as they are designed to facilitate, complete, or confirm a previously agreed-upon transaction between the sender and the recipient. These emails differ from commercial ones in that they focus on providing relevant and useful information to the recipient rather than promoting a product or service. Transactional email in email marketing refers to automated messages sent to individuals based on specific actions or events, such as order confirmations, password resets,
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  • UCEPROTECT is an IP-based spam blacklist that is designed to help organizations combat spam and other unwanted email messages. The system works by maintaining a list of IP addresses that have been identified as sources of spam, and then blocking or filtering messages from those addresses. The UCEPROTECT system is based on a simple premise: that most spam comes from a small number of sources. By identifying those sources and blocking messages from them, organizations can significantly reduce the amount of spam they receive. To accomplish thi
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  • The unique open rate of an email campaign is a key metric that helps email marketers measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. By tracking the percentage of unique emails opened by subscribers, marketers can gain insights into the engagement levels of their audience and the overall success of their campaign. It is important to note that the unique open rate is calculated based on the number of unique opens rather than the total number of opens. Even if a single subscriber opens the same email multiple times, it will only be counted as one
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  • This essentially refers to junk mails or spam. Unsolicited Commercial Emails (UCE), also known as spam, refer to unwanted or unsolicited email messages sent to many recipients for commercial purposes. These emails are typically sent without the recipient's consent or permission and often contain advertisements, promotional messages, or other types of commercial content. UCE can also refer to emails that contain fraudulent or misleading content, such as phishing emails that attempt to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information.
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  • Recipients may ask that their emails be removed from a newsletter or email program. These requests are called unsubscribed. Recipients have the right to opt-out or unsubscribe from receiving emails from a sender or email program at any time. These requests are known as unsubscribes, and they are an important aspect of email marketing compliance and best practices. There are two ways that recipients can unsubscribe from emails: manual and automatic. Manual requests involve the recipient contacting the sender directly, either through an email
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  • Email IP warm-up is an essential process that helps senders establish their credibility and reputation with ISPs and mailbox providers. It is critical to ensure that emails sent from new domains and IPs are delivered to the recipient's inbox and not marked as spam. During the warm-up period, senders need to gradually increase the email volume, starting with a small number of highly-engaged subscribers and gradually adding more over time. This helps to establish a positive sender reputation and ensures that the ISPs and mailbox providers view t
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  • Email whitelisting is a process that allows a sender's emails to bypass spam filters and land directly in the recipient's inbox. It is the direct opposite of email blacklisting, which blocks emails from senders that have been identified as spammers. To be added to an email whitelist, a sender must meet certain criteria and adhere to email marketing best practices. This typically includes having a good sender reputation, sending relevant and engaging content, and following email authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Being on
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  • WHOIS

    The WHOIS domain is a database of domain registration information that is publicly available and used to identify the owner of a particular domain name. This information typically includes the name, email address, physical address, and phone number of the domain owner, as well as the date the domain was registered, its expiration date, and the name of the domain registrar. The WHOIS domain database is maintained by various organizations, including domain name registrars and internet registries, and is accessible through various online tools an
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  • An X-header is a powerful tool for email marketers to customize and optimize their email campaigns. X-headers allow senders to add additional information to the email header that is not part of the standard fields. This additional information can be used for various purposes, such as tracking and reporting email metrics, personalizing emails, or segmenting email lists. One popular use of X-headers is to track email metrics. By adding a unique identifier, such as a subscriber-ID, company-ID, or campaign-ID to the X-header, senders can easily tr
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