English for marketing agencies
Marketing terminology in English for agencies and teams
The words US clients use in briefs, kickoffs, reports and budget talks, with an example for each. Built for agencies, in-house teams and freelancers in Buenos Aires. Channel details live on their own pages.
Book a trial classAgency roles and who does what
Titles change from one agency to another. When in doubt, ask what the person owns: the client, the idea, the budget or the data.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| account manager | The person who owns the client relationship and keeps the work on track | Your account manager will send the weekly update. |
| account executive | A junior or mid-level account role that supports the account manager | The account executive booked the kickoff. |
| strategist | The person who decides the approach: audience, message and channels | Our strategist will walk you through the plan. |
| creative director | The person who leads the creative idea and signs off on the design and copy | The creative director wants one more concept. |
| art director | The person in charge of the visual look of a piece | The art director chose a warmer color palette. |
| copywriter | A person who writes ads, emails and web text | Our copywriter will send two headline options. |
| media buyer | The person who buys and manages paid ad space | The media buyer shifted budget to video. |
| trafficker | The person who sets up ads and sends assets to the platforms | The trafficker needs the final files by noon. |
| community manager | The person who runs a brand's social accounts and replies to the audience (in the US, social media manager is also common) | The community manager answers comments within a few hours. |
| project manager | The person who tracks tasks, deadlines and handoffs | The project manager moved the deadline to Thursday. |
| analyst | The person who pulls the data and explains what it means | Our analyst will send the numbers on Monday. |
| stakeholder | Anyone with a say in the project or an interest in the result | We need to align the stakeholders before the launch. |
| point of contact | The one person you go to first about a topic | Who is the point of contact on your side? |
| in-house team | The marketing people who work inside the company, not at an agency | The in-house team handles social, we handle paid. |
Deal terms and contracts
Say these clearly and confirm them in writing. For legal wording, ask a lawyer: this page explains the words, not the law.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| retainer | A fixed monthly fee to keep a team available | Reporting is covered by the retainer. |
| scope of work (SOW) | The document that lists what the work includes | It is not in the scope of work, so we'd need a change order. |
| scope creep | Extra requests that keep growing the work | We need to watch for scope creep. |
| change order | A written agreement to add work and adjust cost or time | Can we send a change order for the extra videos? |
| kill fee | A payment the client owes if they cancel a project already started | The contract has a kill fee if the shoot is canceled. |
| rush fee | An extra charge for work needed faster than normal | A 24-hour turnaround means a rush fee. |
| usage rights | Permission to use a creative piece, for a set time, place and channel | The usage rights cover social for six months. |
| buyout | A payment that gives the client full or extended rights to a piece | They asked for a buyout of the photos. |
| whitelisting | When a creator lets a brand run ads through the creator's own account | Whitelisting comes with its own fee. |
| NDA | Non-disclosure agreement: a promise to keep information private | We signed an NDA before the launch briefing. |
| MSA | Master services agreement: the main contract that sets the general terms | Each project has its own SOW under the MSA. |
| payment terms | When and how the client pays, such as net 30 | The payment terms are net 30. |
| net 30 | Payment is due 30 days after the invoice date | Can we move from net 60 to net 30? |
| deposit | An amount paid before work starts | We start once the deposit arrives. |
| exclusivity | A clause that stops you from working with the client's competitors | Exclusivity would limit the other accounts we can take. |
| termination clause | The part of a contract that explains how to end it | Check the termination clause and the notice period. |
From brief to post-campaign report
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| brief | A short document with the goal, audience and constraints of a job | Can you send the brief before the kickoff? |
| kickoff | The first meeting that starts a project | The kickoff is on Tuesday at 10 am ET. |
| deliverable | Something you hand over to the client | The deliverables are three reels and one landing page. |
| timeline | The plan of what happens and when | Here is the timeline for the launch. |
| milestone | A key checkpoint in a project | The first milestone is the approved concept. |
| turnaround | The time it takes to finish a task | Our turnaround for edits is two business days. |
| asset | A file used in a campaign: logo, photo, video, document | Could you share the assets in a shared folder? |
| mockup | A visual draft that shows how a design will look | I'll send the mockup for the ad by noon. |
| rounds of revisions | How many cycles of changes are included | The price includes two rounds of revisions. |
| feedback | Comments on a draft. It is uncountable: some feedback, not a feedback | We'll consolidate all feedback in one document. |
| approval | A yes from the client that lets the work move forward | We need approval on the copy by Wednesday. |
| sign-off | The final approval. Also the verb to sign off on | Who has to sign off on the final version? |
| go-live | The moment something is published or launched | The go-live is set for Monday, 9 am ET. |
| launch | The start of a campaign, product or site | The launch is next week. |
| post-campaign report | A summary of results and lessons after a campaign ends | The post-campaign report is due 10 days after the end date. |
| handoff | Passing work from one person or team to another | Design to development handoff is on Friday. |
| pitch | A presentation to win a client or sell an idea | We have a pitch for a new account on Friday. |
| RFP | Request for proposal: a client's call for agencies to bid | They sent us an RFP for their rebrand. |
| white label | Work one agency does that another agency sells under its own name | We do white label design for a US agency. |
Brand and positioning
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| positioning | The place a brand takes in the customer's mind compared with others | Our positioning is simple: the fastest option for small teams. |
| value proposition | The main benefit you promise and why it matters to the customer | The value proposition is not clear on the homepage. |
| USP | Unique selling proposition: what makes you different from competitors | What is the USP against the big players? |
| differentiator | One specific thing that sets you apart | Local support is our main differentiator. |
| messaging | The key ideas and words a brand uses to explain itself | The messaging changes by audience. |
| tagline | A short line that sums up the brand | The tagline fits on the packaging. |
| tone of voice | The personality of a brand's writing | The tone of voice should be friendly, not casual. |
| brand guidelines | The rules for how a brand looks and sounds | Please follow the brand guidelines for the fonts. |
| brand identity | The visible parts of a brand: name, logo, colors, type | The brand identity feels dated. |
| brand equity | The value a brand adds because people know and trust it | Years of good service built strong brand equity. |
| brand awareness | How many people in your market know the brand exists | The campaign goal is brand awareness, not sales. |
| rebrand | A deep change to a brand's name, look or message | The rebrand launches with the new website. |
| competitive landscape | Who else competes for your customers and how they compare | We mapped the competitive landscape in week one. |
| target audience | The group of people you want to reach | Our target audience is HR managers at mid-size firms. |
Funnel, audience and go-to-market
Funnel stages have several names. Say which one you mean: awareness, consideration and conversion, or TOFU, MOFU and BOFU.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| awareness | The stage where people first learn you exist | Video works well for awareness. |
| consideration | The stage where people compare options | Case studies help at the consideration stage. |
| conversion | The stage where people take the action you want | The offer should be clear at the conversion stage. |
| conversion funnel | The path from first contact to the action you want, narrowing at each step | Most of the drop-off is at checkout. |
| TOFU | Top of the funnel: people who are just learning about you | Blog posts are TOFU content. |
| MOFU | Middle of the funnel: people who are comparing options | The webinar is MOFU. |
| BOFU | Bottom of the funnel: people ready to decide | A free trial is a BOFU offer. |
| buyer journey | The steps a person goes through before buying | We mapped the buyer journey for each persona. |
| persona | A fictional profile that represents a type of customer | We built three personas from customer interviews. |
| ICP | Ideal customer profile: the type of company or person that fits you best | Our ICP is a software company with 50 to 200 employees. |
| pain point | A specific problem your customer wants solved | The copy should speak to the main pain point. |
| segmentation | Splitting an audience into groups by behavior or profile | Segmentation lets us send a different message to each group. |
| MQL | Marketing qualified lead: a lead marketing considers ready to pass to sales | We hand over an MQL after two visits and a form. |
| SQL | Sales qualified lead: a lead sales accepted as worth a real conversation | Only 30 percent of MQLs become SQLs. |
| go-to-market (GTM) | The plan for how to bring a product to a market and win customers | The go-to-market plan covers pricing, channels and messaging. |
| launch plan | The schedule and tasks for the days before, during and after a launch | The launch plan starts four weeks before the date. |
Measurement basics
When you report to a US client, name the period and the comparison. Say 8 percent MoM, not just up 8 percent. Say the number and what it is compared with.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| attribution model | The rule that decides which touchpoint gets credit for a conversion | Which attribution model does the report use? |
| last click | A model that gives all credit to the final click | Under last click, search looks better than it is. |
| multi-touch attribution | A model that shares credit across several touchpoints | Multi-touch attribution shows what social contributes. |
| incrementality | The extra results caused by your marketing, beyond what would happen anyway | We need a test to prove incrementality. |
| control group | A group that does not get the campaign, used for comparison | The control group saw no ads. |
| baseline | Your starting point before a change | We need a baseline before we start the test. |
| benchmark | A reference value to compare against | How do we compare to the industry benchmark? |
| MoM | Month over month: compared with the previous month | Traffic grew 8 percent MoM. |
| YoY | Year over year: compared with the same period last year | Revenue is up YoY but flat MoM. |
| seasonality | Regular ups and downs that repeat during the year | We account for seasonality in the forecast. |
| lift | The increase in a result because of a change or campaign | The test showed a lift in sign-ups. |
| statistical significance | Enough evidence that a result is probably not chance | The result is not statistically significant yet. |
| sample size | How many people or events are in a test | The sample size is too small to decide. |
| outlier | A value far from the rest that can distort an average | One viral post is an outlier, not a trend. |
| trend | The general direction of a number over time | The trend is up over six months. |
| vanity metric | A number that looks good but does not show real results | Follower count can be a vanity metric. |
| actionable | Useful enough that it tells you what to do next | Is this insight actionable? |
Budget and planning language
ROAS looks only at ad spend. ROI looks at profit after all costs. Say which one you are using before you compare campaigns.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| media plan | A document that shows where, when and how much you will spend | The media plan is in the shared folder. |
| allocation | How a budget is split across channels or periods | The allocation favors search over display. |
| flighting | Running ads in planned periods with pauses between them | We use flighting: two weeks on, one week off. |
| always-on | Ads that run all the time, not only in bursts | An always-on campaign keeps the pipeline steady. |
| burst | A short period of heavy spend | We plan a burst around the launch. |
| forecast | An estimate of future results based on data | The forecast for Q3 assumes a flat budget. |
| pacing | How evenly a budget is spent over time | The pacing is off, we spent half the budget in three days. |
| underspend | Spending less than planned. As a verb: to underspend | We will underspend by 15 percent, so let's reallocate. |
| overspend | Spending more than planned. As a verb: to overspend | We overspent on day one, so we lowered the daily cap. |
| cap | A limit, such as a daily spend cap | Set a daily cap of [amount]. |
| run rate | Current spend or results projected over a longer period | At this run rate, we hit the budget by the 20th. |
| reallocate | To move budget from one place to another | Let's reallocate budget to the best-performing ads. |
| contingency | Money kept aside for surprises | We keep [percent] as contingency. |
| ROI | Return on investment: profit compared with total cost | ROI includes agency fees, not only ad spend. |
| ROAS | Return on ad spend: revenue per dollar spent on ads | ROAS is 4 on this campaign, but ROI is a different story. |
| fiscal year | The 12-month period a company uses for its accounts | Their fiscal year starts in July, so budgets reset then. |
Channel words you will hear everywhere
A quick reference to the terms that cross channels. Each channel has its own guide with more depth.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| ad spend | Money spent on paid ads | Our ad spend was flat in March. |
| CPC | Cost per click: what you pay each time someone clicks an ad | The CPC dropped after we changed the headline. |
| CPM | Cost per mille: the price of 1,000 ad impressions | The CPM is higher on video than on static ads. |
| CTR | Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions | The new creative has a better CTR. |
| CPA | Cost per acquisition: what one sale or sign-up costs you | Our target CPA is lower than last quarter. |
| ROAS | Return on ad spend: revenue earned for each dollar spent on ads | We need to improve ROAS before we scale the budget. |
| bid | The most you offer to pay for a click or an impression | Let's lower the bid on the broad keywords. |
| impression | One time an ad is shown | The ad served 40,000 impressions this week. |
| retargeting | Showing ads to people who already visited your site | Retargeting brought back a lot of cart abandoners. |
| lookalike audience | A new audience the platform builds from people similar to your customers | We tested a lookalike audience based on past buyers. |
| creative | The ad itself: image, video and text | Can you send the new creatives by Friday? |
| creative fatigue | When people see the same ad so often that results drop | We are seeing creative fatigue, so we need fresh ads. |
| A/B test | Comparing two versions to see which performs better | We ran an A/B test on the landing page headline. |
| landing page | The page a visitor reaches after clicking an ad | The landing page loads too slowly on mobile. |
| call to action (CTA) | The line or button that tells people what to do next | The CTA says Book a demo. |
| paid media | Ads and placements you pay for | Paid media drives most of our leads. |
| organic | Results you did not pay for | Organic reach is down this month. |
| pacing | How evenly a budget is spent over time | The pacing is off, we spent half the budget in three days. |
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Search engine optimization: earning visibility in search results | We invest in SEO for long-term traffic. |
| SERP | Search engine results page | We rank third on the SERP for that term. |
| keyword | A word or phrase people type into a search engine | Which keywords are we targeting? |
| keyword difficulty | How hard it is to rank for a keyword | The keyword difficulty is too high for a new site. |
| organic traffic | Visits that come from unpaid search results | Organic traffic grew after the site update. |
| backlink | A link to your site from another site | We earned a backlink from an industry blog. |
| domain authority | A third-party score that estimates how well a site may rank | Their domain authority is higher than ours. |
| meta description | The short summary shown under a title in search results | Please rewrite the meta description to fit 155 characters. |
| on-page SEO | Optimizing the content and code of the page itself | On-page SEO is done, now we need links. |
| content calendar | A schedule of what you will publish and when | The content calendar for Q3 is in the shared drive. |
| pillar page | A long page that covers a broad topic and links to related posts | This pillar page links to ten supporting articles. |
| evergreen content | Content that stays useful over time | Evergreen posts keep bringing traffic months later. |
| long-tail keyword | A longer, more specific search phrase with less competition | We target long-tail keywords to win faster. |
| bounce rate | Share of visits that leave after seeing one page | The bounce rate is high on the pricing page. |
| canonical tag | A tag that tells search engines which version of a page to use | Add a canonical tag to avoid duplicate content. |
| copy | The written text of an ad, page or email | The copy needs one more round of edits. |
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| reach | The number of different people who saw your content | The post had a reach of 12,000. |
| impressions | The total times your content was shown, including repeat views | Impressions are higher than reach because people saw it twice. |
| engagement rate | Interactions divided by reach or followers (say which one) | Our engagement rate is up on video posts. |
| UGC | User-generated content: posts made by your customers or fans | We reshare UGC with permission. |
| influencer | A person with an audience who promotes brands | We are shortlisting influencers in the fitness niche. |
| handle | Your username, like @thefluencyhouse | What is the brand's Instagram handle? |
| tag | To mention an account in a post so it gets notified | Please tag the client in the story. |
| story | A short post that disappears after 24 hours | We post three stories a day during the launch. |
| reel | A short vertical video on Instagram | The reel got more shares than any post this year. |
| caption | The text that goes with a post | Can you shorten the caption to two lines? |
| hashtag | A word after # that groups posts by topic | We use one branded hashtag per campaign. |
| community management | Replying to and moderating a brand's audience online | Community management is included in the retainer. |
| social listening | Tracking what people say about a brand online | Social listening flagged a spike in complaints. |
| organic post | A post you did not pay to promote | The organic post outperformed the paid one. |
| boost | To pay to promote an existing post | Let's boost the top-performing reel. |
| follower count | How many accounts follow a profile | Follower count matters less than engagement. |
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| open rate | Share of recipients who opened an email | The open rate dropped after we changed the subject line. |
| click rate | Share of recipients who clicked a link | The click rate is strongest on the second link. |
| deliverability | How likely your emails are to reach the inbox, not spam | We need to fix deliverability before the next send. |
| subject line | The headline of an email | Let's A/B test two subject lines. |
| bounce | An email that could not be delivered | We removed the hard bounces from the list. |
| unsubscribe | When a person opts out of your emails | The unsubscribe rate is low. |
| drip campaign | A series of emails sent automatically over time | New leads enter a five-email drip campaign. |
| nurture | To build a relationship with leads until they are ready to buy | We nurture leads with a monthly newsletter. |
| segmentation | Splitting a list into groups by behavior or profile | Segmentation raised our click rate. |
| lead | A person who showed interest in what you sell | We got 200 new leads from the webinar. |
| CRM | Customer relationship management: the tool where you track contacts and deals | Please log every call in the CRM. |
| churn | Customers who stop buying or cancel | Churn is higher in the first month. |
| LTV | Lifetime value: total revenue expected from one customer | Their LTV is three times their CAC. |
| CAC | Customer acquisition cost: what it costs to win one customer | We need to lower CAC without cutting quality. |
| opt-in | When a person agrees to receive your messages | The form has a clear opt-in checkbox. |
| lead magnet | A free resource offered in exchange for contact details | The checklist is our best lead magnet. |
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| conversion | A visitor completing the action you want, like buying or signing up | We track a conversion when someone books a call. |
| conversion rate | Share of visitors who convert | The conversion rate doubled on mobile. |
| funnel | The steps people take from first contact to purchase | Most people drop off at the second step of the funnel. |
| attribution | Deciding which channel or ad gets credit for a conversion | Attribution is tricky when people see several ads. |
| last click | An attribution model that gives all credit to the final click | Under last click, search looks better than it is. |
| KPI | Key performance indicator: a number that shows if you are on track | Our main KPI this quarter is qualified leads. |
| metric | Any number you measure | Let's pick three metrics and stick to them. |
| benchmark | A reference value to compare against | How do we compare to the industry benchmark? |
| baseline | Your starting point before a change | We need a baseline before we start the test. |
| MoM | Month over month: compared with the previous month | Traffic grew 8 percent MoM. |
| YoY | Year over year: compared with the same period last year | Revenue is up YoY but flat MoM. |
| QoQ | Quarter over quarter: compared with the previous quarter | Leads are down QoQ. |
| dashboard | One screen that shows your key numbers | I'll share a live dashboard with your team. |
| UTM | A tag added to a link so analytics shows where a visit came from | Please add UTMs to every link in the newsletter. |
| cohort | A group of users who share a trait, like the month they signed up | The January cohort retains better. |
| vanity metric | A number that looks good but does not show real results | Follower count can be a vanity metric. |
US market and compliance terms
These are short definitions to help you follow the conversation. Rules change and depend on the client and the state, so confirm details with the client's legal team.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Black Friday | The Friday after Thanksgiving, the start of the big holiday sales weekend | Black Friday budgets are locked in October. |
| Cyber Monday | The Monday after that weekend, focused on online deals | Cyber Monday emails go out at 6 am ET. |
| Q4 | The fourth quarter, October to December for most companies. The busiest ad season | Ad costs usually rise in Q4, so plan early. |
| back to school | The late summer shopping season before classes start | The back to school campaign starts in July. |
| Super Bowl | The US football final, known for expensive and much-discussed ads | A Super Bowl ad is out of budget for most brands. |
| #ad / disclosure | In the US, the FTC expects a clear label when a post is paid or gifted | Add #ad at the start of the caption, not hidden at the end. |
| FTC | Federal Trade Commission: the US agency that oversees advertising and consumer protection | The FTC guidelines apply to influencer posts. |
| CAN-SPAM | The US law for commercial email: honest subject lines, a physical address and a working unsubscribe | Every email needs an unsubscribe link for CAN-SPAM. |
| opt-in | When a person agrees to receive your messages | The form has a clear opt-in checkbox. |
| CCPA | California Consumer Privacy Act: gives California residents rights over their personal data | Ask the client's legal team how CCPA affects the form. |
| legal review | A check by lawyers before something goes public | Claims go through legal review first. |
Phrasal verbs and idioms of marketing talk
US teams use these in every call. You do not need to use them all, but you need to understand them.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| move the needle | To make a real difference in the results | A new logo won't move the needle. Better offers will. |
| low-hanging fruit | Easy wins you can get first | Let's start with the low-hanging fruit on the site. |
| double down | To commit even more to something that works | Video is working, so let's double down. |
| sunset a campaign | To end a campaign on purpose and in an orderly way | We will sunset the old campaign in May. |
| ramp up | To increase gradually | We'll ramp up spend once the ads pass review. |
| scale back | To reduce | Let's scale back the budget in August. |
| dial up / dial down | To increase or decrease something by degrees | We can dial up the urgency in the subject line. |
| cut through the noise | To get noticed among many messages | Our creative needs to cut through the noise. |
| circle back | To return to a topic later | Let's circle back on pricing next week. |
| touch base | To make brief contact to update each other | Can we touch base on Thursday? |
| loop in | To add someone to a conversation | I'll loop in our designer. |
| drill down | To look at more detail | Let's drill down by country. |
| roll out | To release something step by step | We roll out the new ads in two markets first. |
| push back | To disagree or ask for a delay | The client pushed back on the timeline. |
| table something | In the US, to postpone it. In the UK it can mean the opposite | Let's table the pricing question until Monday. |
| ballpark figure | A rough estimate | Can you give me a ballpark figure for the shoot? |
| on the same page | In agreement and sharing the same understanding | Let's make sure we're all on the same page. |
| bandwidth | Time and capacity to take on more work | We don't have the bandwidth for a new account this month. |
| back to the drawing board | Start again with a new plan | The test failed, so it's back to the drawing board. |
| take it offline | To discuss it outside the meeting | Let's take that offline and keep the call on track. |
| hit the ground running | To start fast and with no delay | We want to hit the ground running in January. |
| wrap up | To finish | Let's wrap up the report by Friday. |
Pronunciation of hard terms
Say acronyms letter by letter. Capital letters in the second column show where to put the stress. Vowel letters in English are not the Spanish vowels: E is ee, I is eye.
| Term | Say it like | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | ROH-az | Two syllables. Say the first like row in row a boat. |
| CTR | see-tee-AR | C is see, T is tee, R is ar. Stress the last letter. |
| SaaS | SASS | Rhymes with pass. Software as a service. |
| SEO | ess-ee-OH | Three letters. Stress the O. |
| KPI | kay-pee-EYE | K is kay. I is eye, not ee. |
| B2B | bee-too-BEE | The 2 is two. Not bee-to-bee. |
| B2C | bee-too-SEE | Same as B2B, ending in see. |
| CPM | see-pee-EM | Three letters. Stress the last one. |
| CRO | see-ar-OH | Conversion rate optimization. Say the letters. |
| SQL | ess-kyoo-EL | In marketing, a sales qualified lead. Not the database word. |
| CAC | KAK or see-ay-SEE | Both are common. Pick one and stay consistent. |
| LTV | el-tee-VEE | Lifetime value. Say the letters. |
| analytics | an-uh-LIT-iks | Stress the second syllable. |
| data | DAY-tuh or DAT-uh | Both are fine in the US. |
| queue / cue | KYOO | Same sound. Cue is a signal, queue is a line. |
A kickoff call, line by line
Read it aloud, then cover one side and play one role. Notice how the account manager sets an agenda, confirms next steps and protects the scope.
| Speaker | Line |
|---|---|
| Dana (client) | Thanks for joining. I know we're all busy, so let's dive in. |
| Lucía (account manager) | Thanks, Dana. Quick agenda: goals, scope, timeline and next steps. Does that work? |
| Dana | Perfect. Our main goal is qualified leads, not just traffic. |
| Tomás (strategist) | Got it. Can you share your ICP and the current lead numbers so we can set a baseline? |
| Dana | Sure. I'll send both today. We also need the launch by the end of the quarter. |
| Lucía | That's tight but doable. Two rounds of revisions per deliverable, and we need sign-off within two business days. |
| Dana | Two days is a stretch. Legal reviews everything first. |
| Lucía | Understood. Let's build the legal review into the timeline, and we'll flag any risk early. |
| Tomás | One more thing: what does success look like at the end of the first month? |
| Dana | Honestly, we don't have a clear number yet. Can we circle back on that? |
| Tomás | Of course. I'll draft a proposal with a few KPI options for you to react to. |
| Lucía | Last point: anything outside the scope of work goes through a change order. Is that okay? |
| Dana | That's fine. Who is my point of contact for day-to-day questions? |
| Lucía | That's me. I'll send the recap and the timeline by end of day. |
Say it in a sentence
Twenty core terms, each in one sentence you can reuse in a call. Change the details and make it yours.
| The term | Say it in a sentence |
|---|---|
| retainer: a fixed monthly fee | We work on a monthly retainer, so you don't get a new quote each time. |
| scope creep: extra requests that keep growing the job | To avoid scope creep, we log every new request as a change order. |
| kickoff: the first meeting | At the kickoff we agree on goals, roles and dates. |
| sign-off: the final approval | We can't publish without your sign-off. |
| turnaround: the time to finish | Our turnaround for a new landing page is five business days. |
| positioning: your place in the market | Our positioning is premium but friendly. |
| value proposition: the main benefit you promise | The value proposition is clear: save time on reporting. |
| ICP: the ideal customer profile | Our ICP is a mid-size online store. |
| funnel: the path to a purchase | We lose most people at the second step of the funnel. |
| baseline: the starting point | Last month's numbers are our baseline. |
| benchmark: a reference to compare with | We use [source] as a benchmark for open rate. |
| incrementality: the extra results caused by the ads | We want to test incrementality with a holdout group. |
| statistical significance: enough evidence that it isn't chance | We'll wait for statistical significance before picking a winner. |
| pacing: how evenly the budget is spent | Pacing looks healthy, we're at 48 percent by mid-month. |
| flighting: ads in planned periods | We're flighting the ads around the two sale weeks. |
| ROAS: revenue per dollar of ad spend | Our ROAS dropped from 4 to 3 after we scaled. |
| move the needle: make a real difference | Ten more followers won't move the needle. |
| double down: commit more to what works | Let's double down on the reels that performed. |
| sunset: end on purpose | We're going to sunset the old promo page. |
| post-campaign report: the results summary after the end | The post-campaign report includes results, learnings and next steps. |
Spanish speaker traps in marketing
These words look familiar and change meaning in a brief or a report. See also the general list in Business English.
| Word | Sounds like | It really means |
|---|---|---|
| campaign | campaña | A planned set of marketing activities. Watch the spelling: c-a-m-p-a-i-g-n. Campana is a bell |
| actually | actualmente (now) | in fact. For now, say currently |
| eventually | eventualmente (possibly) | in the end. For possibly, say possibly or occasionally |
| target | objetivo | a number to hit or the group you aim at. For a general aim, say goal or objective |
| audience | audiencia | the people you reach. The target audience is the group you want to reach |
| conversion | conversión (a change) | in marketing, a completed action such as a purchase or a sign-up |
| media | media (a word) | channels and outlets. Paid media means ads you pay for |
| brand | marca | a company's identity. Say brand, not mark. A mark is a grade or a sign |
| publicity | publicidad | free attention from the press. For paid publicidad, say advertising or ads |
| promotion | promoción | a sales offer or a push to sell. It also means a step up at work |
| pitch | tono (pitch in music) | a presentation to win a client or sell an idea |
| copy | copia | the text of an ad or page. For a copy of a file, say copy of the file |
| competence | competencia (rivals) | ability. For rivals, say competition or competitors |
| lead | líder | a contact interested in buying. For a leader, say leader |
| agenda | agenda (a planner) | the list of topics for a meeting. For a planner, say planner or calendar |
| argument | argumento (a reason) | a fight or a disagreement. For a reason, say point or case. It can also mean a case you make |
| assist | asistir (attend) | to help. For attending a meeting, say attend |
| actual | actual (current) | real. For current, say current |
| sensible | sensible (sensitive) | reasonable. For sensitive, say sensitive |
| resume | resumen (summary) | to restart. For a summary, say summary. In the US, a resume is a CV |
| spot | spot (a TV ad) | a place or a short ad. A TV spot is a short commercial |
| record | récord (best result) | a written log, or the best result ever. As a verb, to record is to capture audio or video |
| exit | éxito (success) | a way out. For success, say success. Not exito |
| library | librería (bookstore) | a place to borrow books. For a bookstore, say bookstore |
| realize | realizar (carry out) | to understand something suddenly. For carry out, say carry out or do |
And some sentence patterns that sound Spanish in English.
| Sounds Spanish | Say instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I have a doubt. | I have a question. | Doubt means you are not sure something is true. |
| Can you explain me the brief? | Can you explain the brief to me? | Explain takes the thing first, then to me. |
| We need to discuss about the budget. | We need to discuss the budget. | Discuss has no about. |
| It depends of the budget. | It depends on the budget. | Depend goes with on. |
| We have many informations. | We have a lot of information. | Information is uncountable. No plural. |
| Can you give me a feedback? | Can you give me some feedback? | Feedback is uncountable too. Same for advice and research. |
| The ad is actually running. | The ad is currently running. | Actually means in fact. |
| I'm agree with the plan. | I agree with the plan. | Agree is a verb. No am. |
| Let's make a meeting. | Let's set up a meeting. | You hold or set up a meeting. You do not make it. |
| The client is very exigent. | The client is very demanding. | Exigent is rare and formal. Use demanding. |
| We are in the deadline. | We are up against a deadline. | In the deadline sounds like inside it. |
| I'll send it in the next days. | I'll send it in the next few days. | Add few. Or say by Friday. |
Questions
- What is the difference between reach and impressions?
- Reach counts different people who saw your content. Impressions count every time it was shown, so one person can add several impressions.
- What is the difference between CPC and CPM?
- CPC is what you pay per click. CPM is what you pay per 1,000 impressions, whether or not anyone clicks.
- What does ROAS mean and how is it different from ROI?
- ROAS is revenue earned for each dollar spent on ads. ROI looks at profit after all costs, not only ad spend.
- What is a retainer in an agency?
- A fixed monthly fee that keeps a team available for an agreed scope of work.
- What does scope creep mean?
- When extra requests keep adding to the work without changing the agreement, the price or the deadline.
- What is a change order?
- A written agreement to add work, with the new cost or deadline. It is the usual answer to scope creep.
- What is the difference between an SOW and an MSA?
- An MSA is the main contract with the general terms. An SOW describes the work for one project or period.
- What is an approval round?
- One cycle where the client gives feedback and the agency makes changes. Proposals usually say how many rounds are included.
- What is the difference between a persona and an ICP?
- A persona describes a type of person. An ICP describes the type of company or customer that fits you best.
- What is the difference between TOFU, MOFU and BOFU?
- They are the top, middle and bottom of the funnel: people who are learning, people who are comparing and people who are ready to decide.
- What is incrementality?
- The extra results your marketing caused, beyond what would have happened anyway. You usually test it with a control group.
- What is the difference between flighting and always-on?
- Flighting runs ads in planned periods with pauses. Always-on runs all the time at a steady level.
- Do I say MoM and YoY out loud?
- Yes. Say them as letters, M-O-M and Y-O-Y, or in full: month over month, year over year.
- How do I say ROAS and SaaS?
- ROAS is ROH-az. SaaS is SASS, like pass.
- Is campaign spelled like campaña?
- No. In English it is campaign, with a g. Campana is a Spanish word for a bell.
- Should I keep the English terms in a report for a US client?
- Yes. Use the standard terms (CTR, CAC, ROAS) and define an unusual one the first time it appears.
- Is this for a Cambridge or other certificate?
- No. It is vocabulary for marketing work. For a certificate, see Exam Prep.
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