Cold Email Glossary
Definitions for every term you need to know in cold email, outbound sales, and email deliverability.
A/B Testing
Sending two variants of an email to different segments to determine which performs better on a specific metric (open rate, reply rate, etc.).
BDR (Business Development Representative)
A sales role focused on outbound prospecting and generating qualified meetings for account executives.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of sent emails that couldn't be delivered. Hard bounces indicate invalid addresses; soft bounces are temporary delivery failures.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing spend, sales team costs, and tools.
CAN-SPAM Act
US federal law regulating commercial email. Requires opt-out mechanism, physical address, and honest subject lines.
Cadence
A structured sequence of outreach touchpoints (emails, calls, social touches) over a set period.
Cold Email
An unsolicited email sent to a prospect with no prior relationship. The foundation of outbound sales development.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
An email authentication protocol that uses cryptographic signatures to verify an email was sent by the domain it claims to be from.
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. An email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM.
Deliverability
The ability of an email to reach the recipient's inbox rather than spam folder. Affected by domain reputation, content, and authentication.
Domain Warming
Gradually increasing email sending volume from a new domain to build sender reputation with email providers.
Email Personalization
Customizing email content based on prospect-specific data points like company, role, recent news, and pain points.
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation. EU law governing data privacy that affects cold email by requiring legitimate interest basis for processing.
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
A description of the type of company that would benefit most from your product. Includes firmographic criteria like industry, size, and tech stack.
Intent Data
Behavioral signals indicating a prospect is actively researching solutions in your category.
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
A lead that has shown enough engagement with marketing content to warrant sales outreach.
Open Rate
The percentage of delivered emails that were opened. Tracked via pixel or image loading. Industry average for cold email: 30-50%.
Outbound Sales
A sales strategy where reps proactively reach out to prospects rather than waiting for inbound leads.
Personalization Token
A placeholder variable in an email template that gets replaced with prospect-specific data (e.g., {{company_name}}).
Prospect Research
The process of gathering information about a potential customer before outreach. Includes company data, role, tech stack, and recent activity.
SDR (Sales Development Representative)
A sales role focused on outbound prospecting, qualifying leads, and booking meetings for account executives.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
An email authentication method that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
Sequence
A multi-step email campaign with automated follow-ups sent on a schedule. Typically 3-7 emails over 2-4 weeks.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
A prospect that has been vetted by sales and meets criteria for a genuine sales opportunity.
Subject Line
The preview text recipients see before opening an email. Best-performing cold email subject lines are 4-7 words, lowercase, and specific.
Warm Intro
An introduction to a prospect made through a mutual connection, significantly increasing response likelihood.
Social Proof
Evidence that others trust and use your product. In cold email, referencing similar companies or sharing results builds credibility.