Vocabulary
8 key words for this lesson
OPEN RATE
The percentage of people who opened your email out of everyone who received it — the first measure of whether your subject line worked.
The campaign achieved a 34% open rate, which is well above the B2B average of 22%.
CLICK-THROUGH RATE
The percentage of people who clicked a link inside your email — shows whether your content and call to action motivated people to take the next step.
A high open rate with a low click-through rate means the email was opened but the call to action did not work.
A/B TEST
A method where you send two versions of the same email to different groups — changing one element — to find out which version performs better.
The team ran an A/B test on the subject line and the second version had a 40% higher open rate.
DRIP CAMPAIGN
A series of automated emails sent over time — each one designed to move the prospect one step closer to taking action.
The drip campaign sends five emails over three weeks to move prospects from awareness to a booked call.
UNSUBSCRIBE RATE
The percentage of people who opted out of your email list after receiving a campaign — a signal that the content is not relevant to them.
An unsubscribe rate above 0.5% is a warning sign that the content is not relevant to the audience.
DELIVERABILITY
Whether your emails actually reach the recipient's inbox — rather than going to spam or being blocked by their email server.
The open rate dropped because of a deliverability problem — the emails were going to spam instead of the inbox.
SEGMENTATION
Dividing your email list into groups based on shared characteristics — so you can send each group a more relevant, targeted message.
After applying segmentation to separate clients from prospects, the click-through rate on the prospect list doubled.
SUBJECT LINE
The short text that appears in the inbox before an email is opened — the single most important factor in whether someone opens or ignores your email.
A strong subject line either addresses a pain point, makes a specific promise, or creates genuine curiosity.
Phrases
6 phrases and their meanings
CLEAN [THE LIST]
To remove invalid, inactive, or unengaged contacts from your email list — improving deliverability and engagement rates.
The team cleans the list every quarter by removing contacts who have not opened an email in six months.
WARM UP [A LIST]
To gradually re-engage a cold or inactive email list with lighter content before sending a conversion-focused campaign.
A cold list was warmed up with three short emails before the main campaign was sent.
SPLIT TEST
Another term for A/B testing — to test two versions of an email element against each other to find the better performer.
The team split tested the call to action button before launching the full campaign.
FOLLOW UP [ON AN EMAIL]
To send a second email to people who did not respond to the first — a common and effective tactic in B2B campaigns.
The team always follows up on the first email because most conversions come from the second or third message.
OPT IN / OPT OUT
To choose to receive (opt in) or stop receiving (opt out) emails from a brand — an essential part of email compliance and list management.
Every contact on the list has opted in through a content download or a direct signup form.
PERSONALISE [AN EMAIL]
To tailor the email content to the individual recipient — using their name, company, industry, or behaviour to make it feel written for them specifically.
The team personalises each email by including the recipient's company name and the specific sector they work in.
Videos
Watch these terms used in context
Dialogue
Read the dialogue and hover the blue words for definitions
Dana
MarcusMarcus — I have the month one email campaign results. Before I walk you through the numbers, I want to give you the context so you know how to read them.
Go ahead. What was the open rate?
31%. The B2B average is 22%, so that is strong. The subject line — 'You asked for proof. Here it is.' — outperformed the A/B test variant by 28%. That subject line is going on the next campaign too.
And the click-through rate?
3.8% — below our target of 6%. So the email was opened, but the call to action did not move enough people to click. That is the only thing I want to fix next month — everything else worked. We are going to split test the call to action on the next send: 'Read the case study' versus 'Book a 30-minute call'. I expect the softer ask will convert better at this stage of the drip campaign.
What about unsubscribe rate? I am always nervous about that one.
0.3% — very healthy. Anything under 0.5% means the content is relevant to the list. The segmentation we did before sending made a real difference — we separated the cold prospects from the warmer leads and sent different emails to each group. The warmer segmentation converted at four times the rate of the cold list.
And deliverability? We had problems with that last quarter.
Deliverability was clean this time — 98.7% inbox rate. Before we sent, I cleaned the list — removed 400 contacts who had not opened anything in six months — and re-authenticated the sending domain. Those two steps fixed the problem from last quarter completely.
What is the plan for the rest of the drip campaign this month?
Emails three, four, and five go out over the next two weeks. Email three handles the most common objection — 'what if it does not work for our size of company?' — and personalises using the recipient's industry in the first line. Email four is the call booking invite. Email five is the follow-up — we always send one. Sixty percent of our bookings come from the fourth or fifth email, not the first.
Exercises
Complete all three exercises to see your final score
Matching
Click a word, then click its correct definition.
Click a word on the left, then its definition on the right.
Words
Definitions
Fill in the Blank
Drag the correct words from the word bank to complete each sentence.
Sentence 1
Our— — —was 34% — well above the B2B average of 22%. The subject line 'You asked for proof — here it is' outperformed everything we have tested.
Sentence 2
A 34% open rate with a 2%— — —tells you the email was opened but the content or call to action did not land.
Sentence 3
We ran an— — —on the subject line — version A versus version B — to find out which one generated more opens.
Sentence 4
Our— — —sends five emails over three weeks — each one moves the prospect one step closer to booking a call.
Sentence 5
An— — —above 0.5% is a warning sign that the content is not relevant to the list — or you are emailing too frequently.
Sentence 6
Our open rates dropped — not because of the content, but because of— — —. Three hundred emails had gone to spam.
Sentence 7
Once we applied— — —— separating existing clients from cold prospects — the click-through rate on the prospect list doubled.
Sentence 8
A great— — —does one of three things: addresses a pain point, makes a specific promise, or creates genuine curiosity.
Tip: Think about the meaning of each word and what makes sense in the sentence.
Multiple Choice
Choose the best answer for each question about the dialogue.
1.The email open rate dropped from 30% to 18% this month. What should you check first?
2.What does a high open rate combined with a very low click-through rate tell you?
3.What is the purpose of a drip campaign in B2B marketing?
4.What is the most effective element to A/B test first in a new email campaign?
5.What does a high unsubscribe rate usually indicate?
6.Why is email segmentation important for campaign performance?
7.A subject line reads: 'Important update from TechFlow'. What is the problem?
8.What should you do before sending an email campaign to a list that has not been contacted in eight months?
Group Activities
Role-play scenarios and discussion questions for group classes
🎯 Choose the Best Response
Work in groups. Read each situation and choose the best response. Discuss why before clicking.
Customer says
“Client after seeing the monthly email report: 'Our open rate is only 18%. This campaign is failing.'”
Salesperson responds…
Customer says
“Client: 'I want to buy a list of 20,000 contacts and email them all next week.'”
Salesperson responds…
Customer says
“Client: 'Email three in the drip sequence got zero replies. Should we skip emails four and five?'”
Salesperson responds…
Customer says
“Client: 'Can we personalise the emails with their first name? I have seen that in campaigns and it looks professional.'”
Salesperson responds…
🔗 Customer Profile Match
Read the three email campaign problems. Match each to the fix that addresses it most directly. Discuss as a group before clicking 'Check Matches'.
Plans / Options
Fix the call to action
Warm prospects who have already read a case study do not need more information about the product — they need the right next step. Replace the feature-heavy body copy with one specific result from the case study and change the CTA from 'Book a Call' to something lower-friction: 'See how we did it' or 'Read the 90-day result'. The audience is warm — meet them where they are, not at the beginning.
Rewrite the subject line
A 9% open rate with strong content and clean deliverability is almost always a subject line problem. 'BrightPath October Newsletter' gives no reason to open — it is a description of the email, not a reason to read it. A/B test two new subject lines that address a specific pain point or make a specific promise. The content will do its job once people open the email.
Reduce frequency and segment the list
An unsubscribe rate of 1.8% signals that the audience feels over-emailed. Three emails a week to 15,000 people with the same message is too frequent and too broad. Move to once a week maximum, and segment the list — active prospects get a different email from cold contacts. Sending less frequently but to better-targeted segments will reduce unsubscribes and improve all other metrics.
Customers — which plan fits each one?
Campaign A — TechFlow
Open rate: 28%. Click-through rate: 1.2%. The email content is a detailed explanation of TechFlow's product features — three paragraphs of text followed by a 'Book a Call' button. The audience is warm prospects who have already downloaded a case study.
Campaign B — BrightPath
Open rate: 9%. The email content is strong — specific, relevant, well-written. But the subject line reads: 'BrightPath October Newsletter'. The list is well-segmented and opted-in. Deliverability is clean.
Campaign C — NovaSpark
Open rate: 25%. Click-through rate: 4%. But the unsubscribe rate is 1.8% — well above the healthy threshold of 0.5%. The campaign is emailing the full 15,000-person list with the same message three times per week.
✏️ Finish the Salesperson's Line
The email marketer has started explaining or presenting. Finish the line clearly and practically. Use vocabulary from this lesson.
Customer
“Client: 'How do we write a subject line that gets people to actually open the email?'”
Salesperson
“The best subject lines do one of three things — and you should test all three to find out what your audience responds to most. …”
Customer
“Client: 'We have 8,000 contacts but we have never emailed them before. How do we start?'”
Salesperson
“Before we send anything, we need to do two things: clean the list and warm it up. …”
Customer
“Client: 'What should our drip campaign look like for warm prospects — people who have already downloaded a case study?'”
Salesperson
“Because they are warm, we do not need to start from scratch — we pick up where the case study left off. …”
Customer
“Client: 'Our unsubscribe rate went up to 1.5% this month. Should we be worried?'”
Salesperson
“Yes — 1.5% is above the healthy threshold of 0.5% and it is telling you something important. …”