Digital Marketing Terms
Everything you need to know about email and digital marketing
Trying to decode some corporate email jargon? We got you. The Reply Two glossary spells out most digital marketing terms in language we can all understand.
Allowlist
An email allowlist is a pre-approved list of trusted senders that bypasses standard filtering. It ensures your emails land in subscribers' inboxes rather than spam or promotions folders. Every major email provider (Gmail, Microsoft, Apple) uses allowlists, as do most companies and ESPs.
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CAN-SPAM is the law that keeps commercial emails honest. Passed in 2003, this U.S. regulation sets rules for sending commercial messages and gives recipients the right to stop you from emailing them. Think of it as the "please behave yourself" rulebook for email marketers.
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A Custom domain is your very own branded web address used for sending emails, instead of using the default domain from your email service provider (ESP). Think yourname@yourbrand.com versus yourname@genericemailprovider.com. This puts your brand front and center in every subscriber interaction, from inbox to click.
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DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is your newsletter's digital signature that proves emails actually came from you, not some sketchy impersonator. It works by adding an invisible cryptographic signature that receiving servers can verify. Your DKIM record in your DNS proves you're legit so you can skip the spam folder.
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DNS (Domain Name System) acts like the internet's phone book. It translates human-friendly domain names (acme.com) into computer-friendly IP addresses that computers use to find each other. For email, DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC tell receiving servers your emails are legit. Key email-related DNS records include: A: Points your domain to a specific IP address MX: Directs incoming mail to your mail server TXT: Stores text information, used for SPF and other verifications SPF: Lists authorized email senders for your domain DKIM: Adds a digital signature to verify email authenticity DMARC: Sets policies for how receivers handle authentication failures CNAME: Creates domain aliases, often used for ESP verification
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A dedicated IP is a unique Internet Protocol address used exclusively by one sender for email distribution. Unlike shared IPs where multiple senders use the same address ranges, a dedicated IP gives you complete control over your sending reputation.
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Deliverability is your email's ability to successfully land in subscribers' inboxes rather than getting trapped in spam folders or rejected outright. It's the difference between your carefully crafted newsletter being seen or getting lost in the digital void. Your deliverability rate is the percentage of emails that make it to the inbox.
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Open Rate refers to that percentage your email service provider brags about when people supposedly "open" your emails. It's tracked by a tiny invisible pixel that loads when someone views your message, or when their device pretends to.
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The root domain is the main web address of your site or email sending infrastructure, without any subdomains or paths. It's the bare-bones URL that forms the foundation of your digital presence. E.g., yourbrand.com is the root domain of newsletter.yourbrand.com
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