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Glossary

Direct response marketing glossary: 100+ terms explained

VSL, pre-VSL, upsell, ROAS, back redirect, sales funnels and more. The terms you need to know to work in direct response, organized by topic.

By Pedro Craveiro · · 12 min read

Anyone who enters the direct response market quickly notices it has its own language. A single meeting can include VSL, pre-VSL, upsell, ROAS, back redirect and many other terms. This glossary gathers the terms used every day by people who build, sell and optimize offers, from pages to metrics.

Use the table of contents to jump to the topic you need:

Pages and formats

  • Sales Page: the page that presents the offer and takes the visitor to the purchase.
  • VSL (Video Sales Letter): a sales page where the main argument is a video. Copy and buy buttons usually appear at a specific moment in the video.
  • TSL (Text Sales Letter): a long-form sales page in text, without relying on video.
  • Pre-VSL: an intermediate page, usually in an article or ad format, that warms up the reader and sends them to the VSL.
  • White Page: a "neutral" version of a page used in compliance reviews by platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, native ad networks and in SEO. Note: using a white page to hide the page users actually see from reviewers (known as cloaking) violates platform policies and can get your ad account banned.
  • Search Page: a sales page built for Google Search campaigns, focused on the offer's back end: the skeptical customer who looks up your product on marketplaces before buying, such as Amazon and Walmart if you run in the US, or Mercado Livre and Shopee if you run in Brazil. We cover it in detail in What is PV Search.
  • Checkout: the payment page where the customer enters their details and completes the purchase.
  • Upsell: a complementary offer presented during or right after the purchase to increase order value.
  • Mockups: product images (bottles, boxes, ebooks) used on pages and ads.

Tools and platforms

  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization): practices to rank pages in organic search results.
  • Native Ads: ads that blend into the content of news sites. The best-known networks are Outbrain, Taboola and MGID.
  • Payt, Zicpay (AppMax), MundPay and Cartpanda: platforms used in Brazil to create and manage checkouts.
  • VTurb: a video hosting and management platform focused on VSLs, with a conversion-optimized player and detailed retention metrics.
  • VTurb Embed: the code that places the VSL player on the page.
  • Pixels: code snippets that record user behavior on the site (views, clicks, purchases) and send that data to ad platforms.
  • RedTrack: a campaign tracking and analytics tool with multi-channel attribution, detailed reports and automations to maximize ROI.
  • Scripts: code added to a page to extend functionality, such as countdowns, tracking or interactions.
  • ClickUp: a task and project management platform, widely used to organize team requests.
  • Back Redirect: a technique that sends users to a new page when they press the browser's back button, common on checkout pages to try to recover drop-offs. We cover it in detail in What is Back Redirect and when to use it.

Sales funnels

  • Sales Funnel: a strategic sequence of pages and steps that guides the prospect from first contact to purchase.
  • Top of Funnel (ToF): the stage where you capture attention, usually with educational content.
  • Middle of Funnel (MoF): the stage where the prospect is nurtured and educated about the problem and the solution.
  • Bottom of Funnel (BoF): the stage where conversion, the sale, happens.
  • Lead Magnet: a free resource (ebook, video, mini course) offered in exchange for the lead's contact details.
  • Squeeze Page: a capture page focused on getting an email or phone number.
  • Landing Page: a destination page focused on a single action.
  • Thank You Page: the page shown after conversion. It's also a great place to guide the customer and present the next offer.
  • Bridge Page: an intermediate page that prepares the prospect for the main offer.
  • Tripwire: a low-priced offer designed to turn a prospect into a first-time customer.

Copywriting

  • Copy: persuasive text written to sell or convert.
  • Copywriter: a professional who writes sales copy.
  • Headline: the page's main title, responsible for grabbing attention.
  • Sub-headline: a subtitle that complements and reinforces the headline.
  • Hook: the opening that captures attention in the first few seconds.
  • CTA (Call to Action): a prompt to act, such as buy buttons and links.
  • Social Proof: testimonials, numbers, reviews and certifications that build credibility.
  • Scarcity: limited quantity or spots.
  • Urgency: a time limit that encourages an immediate decision.
  • AIDA: a copy formula based on Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
  • PAS: a copy formula based on Problem, Agitate and Solution.
  • Before & After: showing the transformation the product promises.
  • Objection Handling: parts of the copy that address the customer's doubts and resistance.

Traffic and paid media

  • Paid Traffic: visitors who arrive through ads.
  • Organic Traffic: visitors who arrive naturally, through SEO or social media.
  • CTR (Click Through Rate): clicks divided by impressions.
  • CPM: cost per thousand impressions.
  • CPC: cost per click.
  • CPA: cost per acquisition or conversion.
  • ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): revenue generated for each dollar spent on ads.
  • ROI (Return on Investment): return on the total investment, considering all costs.
  • Impressions: the number of times an ad was shown.
  • Reach: the number of unique people who saw the ad.
  • Frequency: how many times, on average, the same person saw the ad.
  • Lookalike Audience: an audience similar to an existing customer base.
  • Custom Audience: a tailored audience, such as a customer list or site visitors.
  • Retargeting / Remarketing: ads shown to people who already visited the site or engaged with the brand.
  • Conversion Pixel: code that records conversions and feeds campaign optimization.

Conversion and optimization

  • Conversion: the desired action taken by the user, such as a purchase or sign-up.
  • Conversion Rate: the percentage of visitors who convert.
  • A/B Test: comparing two versions of a page or element to find which performs better.
  • Split Test: a test where traffic is split between different versions, often entire pages.
  • Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors who leave without interacting.
  • Time on Page: how long the user stays on the page.
  • Session Duration: the total length of the visit to the site.
  • Pageviews: the number of page views.
  • Unique Visitors: distinct visitors.
  • Heat Map: a visualization showing where users click and how far they scroll.

E-commerce and sales

  • AOV (Average Order Value): the average value of an order.
  • LTV (Lifetime Value): the total value a customer generates over the relationship with the company.
  • Churn Rate: the rate at which customers cancel or leave, common in subscriptions.
  • Cart Abandonment: when a customer starts a purchase and doesn't finish it.
  • Downsell: a lower-priced offer shown after the customer declines the main one.
  • Cross-sell: selling complementary products.
  • Bundle: a package of multiple products, usually discounted.
  • OTO (One-Time Offer): an offer available only at that moment.
  • Order Bump: an extra offer shown on the checkout itself, accepted with one click.
  • Payment Gateway: the service that processes the store's payments.
  • Merchant Account: an account used to accept card payments.

Analytics and metrics

  • KPI (Key Performance Indicator): a key metric used to measure performance.
  • Cohort Analysis: analyzing groups of customers who share a trait, such as the month of their first purchase.
  • Funnel Analysis: analyzing how users move through each funnel step to find where they drop off.
  • Attribution Window: the period in which a conversion is credited to an ad.
  • View-Through Conversion: a conversion from someone who saw the ad but didn't click.
  • Assisted Conversion: a conversion where a channel took part in the journey without being the last touch.
  • Micro-Conversion: small actions that signal interest, such as a sign-up or download.
  • Macro-Conversion: the business's main conversion, usually the sale.
  • Engagement Rate: the rate of engagement with content or ads.
  • Quality Score: Google Ads' quality rating, which affects ad cost and position.

DotCom Secrets concepts

Terms popularized by Russell Brunson in DotCom Secrets and Expert Secrets, widely used by people who build funnels.

  • Value Ladder: a sequence of products with increasing prices that takes customers from an entry offer to the most expensive ones.
  • Perfect Webinar: a webinar structure designed to sell at the end of the presentation.
  • Expert Secrets: the concept (and book) about positioning yourself as an expert and building authority.
  • Traffic Temperature: cold traffic doesn't know the brand, warm traffic has had some contact, and hot traffic is already a customer or engaged lead.
  • Invisible Funnel: a funnel where content (usually a webinar) is offered with no upfront charge, and the customer only pays if they liked it.
  • Funnel Hacking: studying funnels that already work to understand and adapt what drives results.
  • Hook, Story, Offer: a three-part communication structure.
  • Dream Customer: the ideal customer avatar for the offer.
  • Blue Ocean / Red Ocean: a blue ocean is a market with little competition; a red ocean is a saturated market. The terms come from the book Blue Ocean Strategy and are common in the funnel world.

Industry jargon and slang

  • Convert: turn a visitor into a customer.
  • Scale: increase sales volume and spend while keeping efficiency.
  • Burn ("burnar" in Brazil): spend money on traffic fast, usually without return.
  • Profitable: generating a positive return.
  • Break-even: the point where revenue exactly covers costs.
  • Winner: an ad or campaign that performs well.
  • Loser: an ad or campaign that doesn't perform.
  • Scale Up: increase spend on a winning campaign.
  • Scale Down: reduce spend on a poor campaign.
  • Optimize: adjust the campaign or page to improve performance.

Missing a term? This glossary is updated regularly. And if you need pages, funnels or a membership area that speak this language, get in touch.

Your offer deserves pages that match it.

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