funnel
The path a person moves through from first hearing about a business to becoming a customer — usually something like an ad or post, then a page, then an email sequence, then an offer. In loose sales talk, 'funnel' often just means 'the pages and emails that sell something.'
Why it matters to you: If someone shows you 'the funnel,' ask which of those steps it actually covers — most only show you a slice, not the whole path.
lead magnet
Something free — a guide, checklist, video, discount code — offered in exchange for a person's contact information, usually an email address.
Why it matters to you: A lead magnet only has value if it attracts people who'd actually want what you sell next, not just anyone chasing something free.
opt-in
The moment someone gives you their contact information, usually by submitting a form, agreeing to be added to a list you can email or message going forward.
Why it matters to you: This is the line between a stranger and a contact you're allowed to follow up with — how you get that agreement affects both trust and your legal footing.
double opt-in
A two-step version of opting in: after someone submits their email, they must also click a confirmation link sent to that inbox before they're actually added to the list.
Why it matters to you: It shrinks your list to people who genuinely wanted in, which usually helps your emails actually land in inboxes.
landing page
A single web page built around one specific action — usually getting a visitor to give their email or click a button — with little else to distract from it.
Why it matters to you: A landing page is judged on whether visitors take that one action, not on how it looks or how much it says.
sales page
A page built to persuade a visitor to buy a specific product or service, typically longer than a landing page and laying out the offer, the price, and the reasons to say yes.
Why it matters to you: The words on this page carry most of the weight of the sale — it's worth reading it as if you were the customer, not the seller.
nurture sequence
A series of emails or messages sent over time to a new contact, meant to build familiarity and trust before asking them to buy anything.
Why it matters to you: A nurture sequence written for a template audience will feel generic to your actual customers — the value is in whether it sounds like a real, specific business.
broadcast
A single email or message sent out to a list all at once, as opposed to an automated sequence that fires based on what someone does.
Why it matters to you: Broadcasts are manual and immediate, so they're worth checking before they go — there's no automation to blame if the timing or content is off.
automation
A rule set up in advance so that an action — sending an email, adding a tag, moving someone to a new list — happens automatically when a specific trigger occurs, without a person doing it by hand each time.
Why it matters to you: Automations run whether or not you're watching, so it's worth knowing exactly what triggers each one and what it sends before it's turned on.
tag
A label attached to a contact's record to mark something about them — that they downloaded a specific guide, bought a specific product, or clicked a specific link.
Why it matters to you: Tags are how a system decides who gets which message, so a messy or inconsistent tagging setup usually means people get the wrong follow-up.
segment
A subset of contacts grouped by something they have in common — a tag, a purchase, a location — so you can message that group specifically instead of everyone at once.
Why it matters to you: The value of a segment depends entirely on whether the grouping is actually meaningful to what you're sending them.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management — software that stores information about your contacts and customers (who they are, what they've bought, what they've said) in one place.
Why it matters to you: A CRM is only as useful as the data that's actually kept current in it — an outdated CRM is often worse than a simple spreadsheet you trust.
list
The full set of contacts you have permission to email or message, usually stored with whatever information you've collected about each one.
Why it matters to you: A big list isn't the same as a valuable one — what matters is whether the people on it actually want to hear from you.
deliverability
Whether the emails you send actually arrive in someone's inbox, as opposed to landing in spam or being blocked entirely.
Why it matters to you: Deliverability is affected by your sending history and how people react to your emails — it's worth watching, because a great email that lands in spam does nothing.
open rate
The percentage of people who opened a given email out of everyone it was sent to.
Why it matters to you: This number has become less reliable over the past few years due to changes in how phones and inboxes handle emails automatically, so treat it as a rough signal, not a precise one.
click-through rate
The percentage of people who clicked a link inside an email or ad out of everyone it was shown to or sent to.
Why it matters to you: There's no universal 'good' number here — it varies enormously by industry and audience size, so compare it to your own past results, not a benchmark someone quotes you.
conversion rate
The percentage of people who completed a specific action you wanted — buying, signing up, booking a call — out of everyone who had the chance to.
Why it matters to you: Always ask 'conversion of what, into what' — the phrase means nothing without knowing exactly which two numbers are being divided.
cost per lead
How much money was spent, on average, to get one new contact into your list or pipeline — usually calculated by dividing ad spend by the number of leads generated.
Why it matters to you: A cheap lead that never buys anything isn't actually cheap — weigh this number against what those leads are worth, not on its own.
transaction fee
A charge taken by a payment processor or platform on each sale, on top of whatever subscription or setup cost you already pay.
Why it matters to you: These fees are easy to overlook when comparing prices between platforms — check whether they're a flat amount or a percentage of every sale.
churn
The rate at which customers or subscribers cancel or stop paying over a given period of time.
Why it matters to you: There's no honest universal 'normal' churn rate to compare yourself to — what matters is whether your own churn is going up or down over time.
all-in-one platform
Software that bundles several separate functions — often things like email, landing pages, and a CRM — into a single tool instead of using different tools for each.
Why it matters to you: 'All-in-one' describes where the buttons live, not whether the strategy or writing inside it is any good — that part is usually still on you.
white label
A product or service that a business can rebrand and resell as its own, with the original maker's name removed or hidden from the end customer.
Why it matters to you: If you're buying something white-labeled, it's worth knowing who actually built and maintains it, since that affects support and long-term reliability.
evergreen
Content or a sales process designed to keep working automatically over time, rather than being tied to a single date or live event.
Why it matters to you: Evergreen still needs occasional review — a page or sequence left completely untouched for years can quietly go stale or outdated.
launch
A concentrated period of time — often a week or two — during which a business promotes and sells a specific offer, usually with a clear open and close date.
Why it matters to you: Launches create urgency through the deadline itself, which can work well or can simply add stress — it's worth knowing which reason you're choosing one for.
upsell
An additional offer presented to someone who has already decided to buy, encouraging them to purchase something more — often a higher-priced version or an add-on.
Why it matters to you: An upsell only feels fair to the buyer when it's genuinely useful to them in that moment, not just an extra charge tacked onto checkout.
order bump
A small additional item offered right at checkout, usually with a single checkbox, added to the purchase someone's already making.
Why it matters to you: These are easy to accept without much thought, so it's worth checking what you've actually added before you complete a purchase yourself.
member area
A password-protected section of a website where customers access what they've paid for — courses, downloads, ongoing content — after purchase.
Why it matters to you: The real test of a member area is whether customers can actually find and use what they paid for, not how it looks on a sales page.
done-for-you
A service or product where the work is completed on the customer's behalf, rather than the customer doing the work themselves with tools or templates.
Why it matters to you: The phrase is used loosely — ask specifically what is actually completed for you versus what you're still expected to do yourself.