Plain-English Glossary

Marketing has a habit of inventing words for simple ideas. This glossary collects the terms that come up most often on Out & About Marketing and explains each one in a sentence or two. Where an article covers the idea in depth, we link to it.

Planning and branding

Brand guidelines

A short document setting out the colours, fonts, logo use and tone a business keeps the same everywhere.

Channel

Any route by which a customer meets your message, such as email, a map listing, a shop window or a local paper.

Conversion

The moment someone does what you hoped, for example booking, buying or sending an enquiry.

Marketing plan

A written record of what marketing should achieve, for whom, through which channels and on what budget. Ours fits on a single page.

Vector graphic

An image built from shapes rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at any size. SVG is the common web format.

Press and media

Boilerplate

The short standard paragraph at the end of a press release describing the business.

Embargo

A request that journalists hold news until a stated date and time.

Lead

The opening paragraph of a news story or release, which should carry the whole story in brief.

Pitch

A short personal message suggesting a story to a particular journalist. See how to pitch a local journalist.

Earned media

Coverage you receive because a journalist chose to write about you, as opposed to advertising you pay for.

Local marketing

Business profile

The listing that shows your name, hours, location and reviews in map and search results.

Review gating

Asking only customers you expect to be happy for a review; discouraged by platforms and best avoided.

Service area

The places a business travels to, shown instead of a street address when customers do not visit you.

Review link

A direct web address that opens the form for leaving a review, which saves customers from searching.

Money

Cash flow

The timing of money coming in and going out, which matters as much as the totals.

Fee-based adviser

A financial adviser paid directly by the client rather than through commission on products sold.

Diversification

Spreading money across different kinds of holdings so that one poor result does less harm.

Missing a word? Send it our way via the contact page, or browse the topics we write about to see where each term is used.