Glossary H-Z

HARD COPY A printout of the manuscript.

HEADER Information that appears at the top of every page, within the upper margin) of a document—for instance, the title of a report or page number.

HEADLINE An element of copy above the body that trumpets the important content to come. In any piece, it’s almost always the most frequently read copy.

IMPRINT The name of the publishing company on the title page.

INQUIRER A prospect who has requested more information about a product or service.

INSERT Promotional piece placed in an outgoing package or invoice.

INTEGRATED MARKETING A combination of two or more forms of marketing used to sell a product or service (e.g., a direct-mail campaign combined with a series of radio spots and a Web promotion).

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) An identification number code uniquely assigned to every book and obtained from the R. R. Bowker Company.

JOHNSON BOX The headline in a direct-mail letter often set within a rectangular “box.” It’s the part of the letter that’s most likely to be read.

KICKER A line of copy just above the headline that’s used to create context or “kick” interest for the story.

KNOCKOUT An image, whose background has been erased, removed or “knocked out.”

KNOCKOUT TYPE
Copy set in reverse, such as white on a black background.

LAYOUT 
A rough design, visual or mockup of what an advertisement, brochure or book will look like on the printed page or on screen.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS The national library of the United States, located in Washington D.C.; assigns a book’s CIP data.

LIFT NOTE In a mail package, an additional message, often from the president or a satisfied customer, which complements the main message in the letter and brochure. The tone is usually casual with an eye toward a more personal appeal.

LIST PRICE The sales price printed on your book or the retail sales price.

LOGO Identification mark used by an individual, business or organization as a representation symbol.

MANUSCRIPT The book in typewritten or word-processing form.

MARKETING PLAN A book-selling plan that includes a budget, synopsis, target audience, distribution, promotion, and timeline and how you will create demand. In advertising, it’s part of the overall business plan pricing strategy, sales and distribution plans, and advertising and promotion plans.

MASS MARKET A small-format paperback edition usually sold in airports, grocery stores and drug stores.

MASTHEAD
 A listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.

MATTE FINISH Dull paper finish void of gloss or sheen.

MEDIA
 The platform for your advertising campaign, such as Web, print, radio, T.V., etc.

MEDIA KIT See Press Kit.

MEDIA SCHEDULE 
A list of publications in which an ad will appear, including costs and dates. A 'features schedule' on the other hand,
is a publisher’s list of forthcoming themes in their publication.

NESTING Placing one enclosure within another before inserting them into a mailing envelope.

NEW CUSTOMER ACQUISITION Promotions designed to attract new customers.

NIXIE Mail “returned to sender,” typically because the intended recipient is no longer at the mail’s address, or because of problems with the address itself.

OFFER All of the factors included in the proposition being made to a prospect or customer—including price, quantity, length of subscription or membership, discounts, free gifts, guarantees, etc.

ORPHAN The first line of a paragraph appearing by itself at the bottom of a page as the last line of the page.

OUT OF PRINT A book title no longer maintained in the publisher's catalogue or inventory.

PACKAGE A direct-mail promotion piece. Can refer to an envelope containing several components or a self-mailer.

PACKAGE INSERT Any promotional piece included in a mailed offer. It may be for different products from the same company, or for products and services from other companies.

PACKAGE TEST A test of one or more elements of a promotion piece against another.

PDF
 A computer file format created by Adobe, initially to provide a standard way of storing and editing printed documents. Because documents in .PDF format can easily be seen and printed by users on a variety of computer and platform types, they are very common on the Web.

PERSONALIZATION The use of the prospect’s name, address or other information in the text of a promotion.

PIGGYBACK An offer that hitches a free ride with another offer.

POP-UP A Web page that pops up on top of the page a prospect is viewing, or an illustrative, mechanical device or feature in a book.

POP-UNDER A Web page that appears beneath the page a prospect is viewing and become visible when that page is closed.

POSITIONING The unique place a brand or business occupies in the market or in the mind of its prospects and customers. The simplest way to articulate a position is to think of your brand as the [blank] kind of product/service for [blank] kind of people.

POSITIVE ACCEPTANCE STATEMENT A recitation of the product’s most compelling benefits, often used at the beginning of response- device copy.

PREFACE The introductory portion of the book that usually explains why the book was written, what it is about or how to use it.

PREMIUM A free item offered to a potential buyer.

PRESS KIT Provides reporters, reviewers, bookstore managers and others information on the book. It includes a press release, author biography, book cover, testimonials, etc.

PRESS RELEASE A public-relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments.

PROOF PRINTS A piece of evidence, such as a statistic, endorse- ment or physical description that substantiates your marketing pitch.

PROOFREADER Checks the manuscript to make certain that the copy is correct and verified before final printing.

PROSPECT A potential buyer for a product or service who has yet to make a purchase.

P.S. (Postscript) An additional message after the formal closing of a letter. The P.S. is second only to the Johnson box in readership and usually restates the offer and/or a key benefit, often with an additional appeal to urgency.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS While demographics describe objective facts about customers such as age, educational level, marital status, etc., psychographics describe preferences, interests, hobbies and buying patterns.

PUBLICATION DATE The date set, usually after actual printing of the book, which is announced to let the target audience know when the book will be available.

PUBLICITY A marketing technique using free advertising outlets such as press releases.

PUBLISHER The person or company responsible for the entire process of producing books. This includes overseeing the writing, editing, design, production, printing and marketing of the book.

RESOLUTION The amount of detail visible in any display or copy. Most computer system output devices produce images from a matrix of small dots. Resolution then depends on the size and number of dots per unit length or area.

RESPONSE RATE Number of responses received as a percentage of the total number of advertising impressions or
pieces mailed.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) Total net profit of a promotion divided by the cost of the promotion. An ROI of 100% indicates that the mailer broke even.

REVIEW A critical evaluation of a book.

REVIEW COPY A free copy given away to be reviewed.

RGB (Red, Green, Blue) The computer's native color space, which is the color system for capturing and displaying images on
the Web.

ROLLOUT After testing a campaign, to continue it. Rollouts are typically larger than the test mailing and include promotion to larger list segments or entire list universes.

ROYALTIES Percentage of the sales price earned by the author on sold copies, generally charged against the advance until it is earned out. Or a fee generally paid to give incentives to copywriters, based on number of direct-mail packages mailed.

SALES LETTER The most customized
form of direct-mail marketing, in which
an advertiser sends a letter to a potential customer.

SANS SERIF Characters which do not have serifs or “feet.” Sans is French for “without.”

SCANNABLE TEXT Text that can be read by picking out words and phrases, and doesn't have to be read word by word. Links, subheadings and lists can help create scannable text.

SELF-MAILER Any promotion that is mailed without a carrier envelope.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) The process of increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high in the search results of a search engine, improving the chances that the site will be found by the search engine.

SERIF The short cross lines or “feet” at the end of characters. These are intended to make letters more easily recognized.

SIDEBAR A vertical piece of copy alongside an article or brochure, usually with its own headline and often within a tinted panel. Often used to present features, benefits or a mini case study.

SPINE The binding on the side of a book.

STEP UP Special premiums used to get
a mail order buyer to increase his unit
of purchase.

STYLESHEET A list of standard type styles that can be applied to paragraphs in a publication. This feature of DTP allows consistent layout and presentation.

SUBHEADS
 Miniature headlines, in smaller type than the main headline, used to break up the monotony of long strings of text and to communicate the major points of your story at a glance.

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS Additional rights, such as foreign, audio, serial to publish a book in a different form.

SWIPE FILE A collection of successful promotions, ads and sales letters you use
to get ideas from. Swipe files are a great way to study the copy techniques and approaches that are working in your particular market.

TAG LINE A brief, static phrase intended
to accompany the brand name/logo on a variety of marketing materials. A good tag line encapsulates the brand’s distinct quality or the company’s unique selling proposition (USP), or both.

TARGET MARKET A defined segment of the market that is the strategic focus of a business or a marketing plan.

TEASER In direct mail, the brief bit of copy on the outer envelope. It has just one important job: To get the recipient to open the envelope. If the teaser fails, everything else is moot.

TOKEN An involvement device, usually a removable sticker or perforated order card. Prospects are directed to move the token from its original location in the promotion to the order device to signify they want to buy.

TRIM The final dimension of a book, ad, brochure or any other print collateral after the printer or bindery has cut it to size.

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) A promise a company can fulfill that distinguishes it from its competitors.

WHOLESALER A central order location that allows bookstores and libraries to order multiple titles from multiple publishers.

WIDOW The last line of a paragraph that appears alone at the top of the next page.

WORD-OF-MOUTH Advertising generated by satisfied or interested readers or customers who tell others about your book or your products/services. It's the best!