Email Marketing & Automation Flashcards

What is 'email list hygiene' and why is it critical for ecommerce email programs?

Answer: Regularly removing invalid, bounced, and chronically unengaged contacts to protect deliverability

List hygiene involves routinely pruning invalid addresses, hard bounces, and long-term unengaged subscribers to maintain sender reputation, inbox placement rates, and accurate performance metrics.

What distinguishes a 'browse abandonment' email from a 'cart abandonment' email?

Answer: Browse abandonment emails are triggered when a visitor views products without adding to cart; cart abandonment emails are triggered after items are added but not purchased

Browse abandonment fires when a visitor views a product or category page without adding to cart, making it an earlier-funnel signal than cart abandonment, which requires the add-to-cart action.

What is the primary function of an email 'preference center' in an ecommerce program?

Answer: A subscriber-facing page where users can set email frequency, content type, and topic preferences

A preference center gives subscribers control over what they receive and how often, providing an alternative to full unsubscribing that reduces list churn while improving relevance.

In the context of email deliverability, what is 'sender reputation'?

Answer: A score assigned to a sending IP address or domain that ISPs use to determine inbox placement

Sender reputation is a numeric score calculated by ISPs based on sending volume, bounce rates, spam complaint rates, and engagement, which determines whether emails land in the inbox or the spam folder.

What is the recommended best practice for managing email subscribers who have not opened any emails for six or more months?

Answer: Run a targeted re-engagement campaign, then remove subscribers who still do not respond

Best practice is to attempt re-engagement with a dedicated campaign offering a compelling reason to stay; subscribers who remain unresponsive should then be removed to protect deliverability.

Which email metric specifically measures the percentage of sent emails that could not be successfully delivered to the recipient's address?

Answer: Bounce rate

Bounce rate measures the proportion of emails that failed delivery, with hard bounces (permanent failures like invalid addresses) requiring immediate removal to protect sender reputation.

What is 'dynamic content' in the context of ecommerce email marketing?

Answer: Content blocks within an email that change based on recipient data, behavior, or segment in real time

Dynamic content allows a single email send to display different images, copy, or product recommendations to different recipients based on their attributes, making each email feel individually relevant.