{"id":95329,"date":"2024-04-10T13:07:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T17:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=95329"},"modified":"2024-11-05T11:24:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T16:24:10","slug":"commercial-vs-transactional-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/commercial-vs-transactional-emails","title":{"rendered":"Commercial vs. Transactional Emails: 5 Powerful Ways to Optimize Your Message"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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What would your email marketing team do with $650,000?<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re a hundred-strong team or a scrappy team of one, that\u2019s a lot of moolah.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the amount of an FTC settlement against Experian Consumer Services<\/a> for violating CAN-SPAM by confusing transactional and commercial emails. The issue was not that their emails included colorful designs or even that it included information about Experian products.<\/p>\n

It was that they did not allow members to opt-out of their emails.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make the same mistake.<\/p>\n

Your transactional emails aren\u2019t a place for promoting upcoming deals, products, or partnerships\u2014but they don\u2019t have to be boring missives full of legalese, either. Ahead, we\u2019ll talk through the differences between commercial and transactional emails (and how best to optimize them):<\/p>\n

What is a transactional email?<\/h2>\n

Transactional emails are messages that relate to the exchange of goods and services\u2014specifically, ecommerce emails like receipts, shipping confirmations, invoices, password reset requests, support interactions, or legal notices. Basically, if it feels like it\u2019s a \u201cboring\u201d email, it\u2019s probably transactional in nature.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

\u00a0Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The FTC calls these \u201ctransactional or relationship content,\u201d and defines it as an \u201cemail which facilitates an already agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer about an ongoing transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get confused by the word \u201crelationship\u201d in this definition.<\/p>\n

The relationship it refers to is limited in scope. If a customer engages with your support team in a chat, the system automatically sends them a transcript of the conversation. Or if someone books a room at a hotel, they\u2019ll receive a confirmation of that booking alongside any other relevant information to their upcoming stay.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s it\u2014no more emails unless they\u2019re directly related to that specific transaction. This applies to subscriptions and memberships, too.<\/p>\n

The difference between commercial and transactional emails<\/h2>\n

Commercial emails are the bread-and-butter promotional messages you send every day as an email marketer\u2014whether that\u2019s newsletters, deals, product launches or recommendations, giveaways, or invitations.<\/p>\n

The FTC defines it as \u201can email with the primary purpose of promoting a commercial good or service.\u201d Basically, if you\u2019re sending an email with the hopes that someone will make a purchase from you, it\u2019s commercial. (And yes, top-of-funnel content counts.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

What makes transactional email special, besides that it relates specifically to the exchange of goods and services, is that anyone can receive it\u2014whether they\u2019ve subscribed to your emails or not. Legally, transactional emails also do not need to include an unsubscribe link.<\/p>\n

5 ways to optimize transactional emails (+ transactional email examples)<\/h2>\n

But wait! Yes, transactional emails<\/a> don\u2019t require consent\u2026 but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a green light to bombard them with more promotional content.<\/p>\n

Transactional emails must have their primary purpose focus on the specific transaction, so you can\u2019t write a one-sentence email confirmation above a spread for your next product launch.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to optimize your transactional emails to achieve your business goals (without risking a CAN-SPAM violation):<\/p>\n

1. Only include relevant information<\/h3>\n

Think about it more like an 80\/20 rule. The majority of your email must be about the transaction at hand\u2014the notification a product has shipped or the receipt from a recent purchase\u2014but you can include a few other pieces of information.<\/p>\n

For your transactional emails, keep it very, very low-key. Think one or two lines of copy or a single image block at the bottom of your email, and no more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

For example, this booking confirmation has a single block about their mobile app, which is a liiiittle<\/em> bit on the promotional side. However, it makes sense for that stage in the customer journey, as it helps the person get ready to check-in, rather than advertising other properties or upselling on amenities.<\/p>\n

2. Keep transactional emails on-brand<\/h3>\n

Just because it\u2019s transactional doesn\u2019t mean it has to be boring. You can absolutely use color and design for these emails, as long as those designs don\u2019t take away from the primary message of that email.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The most important element of a transactional email is the text, such as the receipt, confirmation, or other number.<\/p>\n

But you don\u2019t have to bury that information in too many images or text. Keep it simple, with a minimalistic version of your branding so that the important information is easy to see at-a-glance. This example above does a great job of using color and imagery without overwhelming the important message.<\/p>\n

3. Add an opt-in message<\/h3>\n

Depending on the transactional message, someone may be receiving it without actually subscribing to receive your commercial emails. Make it easy for them to hop on to your email list with the option to subscribe in the email or a link to a preferences center.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This back-in-stock email straddles the line between promotional and transactional (if it was truly transactional, the block of trending products should be a little smaller, and you\u2019ll see there is an unsubscribe link).But what stands out is the footer block: \u201cWant early access? Sign up here\u201d. It\u2019s a great way to encourage guests to deepen their relationship with you.<\/p>\n

You can also add a checkbox to subscribe at trigger points on your website, like at checkout or for a back-in-stock email like this one, so that they\u2019re already on your list.<\/p>\n

4. Make your transactional emails personalized<\/h3>\n

Transactional emails should stay true to their place in the customer journey. They\u2019re meant to accomplish a specific task\u2014deliver mission-critical information for a person who may or may not be a subscriber\u2014and only that task.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t zhuzh them up a little bit. A little \u201cfirst name\u201d personalization can\u2019t hurt.But what we\u2019re really talking about is including the important pieces of information they need to know: their order number, shipping confirmation number, reservation number, or other data from the transaction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

You can also include recommended products based on their purchase\u2014if you do so, keep it to one image block at the bottom of the email, like this example.<\/p>\n

5. Keep your email designs minimal<\/h3>\n

Above all, don\u2019t tempt fate by including too much information in a transactional email. If they\u2019ve gotten this far in the journey with you to make a purchase, make a booking, or join a subscription, then they\u2019re already interested in what you have to say.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why your transactional emails should keep it minimalistic, both in design and in content.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This example does a great job of keeping the focus on the email message, clearly stating the order number at the top of the email, and including a link to browse their help forum in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Why context matters for transactional emails<\/h2>\n

The true definition of a transactional email depends on the context. For example, while an abandoned cart email feels like it\u2019s more transactional (it\u2019s triggered by a behavior related to a purchase), because it occurs before the purchase takes place, it\u2019s actually a promotional email.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

But an automated welcome email that relates to account creation or permission? That can be transactional, depending on the product.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean all welcome emails are transactional. Remember, even emails sent to community members or for subscription services, even if it takes place after a purchase, are often considered promotional. This welcome email, for example, is promotional:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n\n

Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s confusing! When in doubt, consider it a commercial email and add an unsubscribe link.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t fear the unsubscribe<\/h2>\n

In the Litmus Community<\/a>, we constantly get threads asking about whether an email needs to have an unsubscribe link<\/a>. These questions are well-intentioned ways of figuring out what\u2019s commercial and what\u2019s transactional. But these email marketers are often asking these questions out of fear, not strategy.<\/p>\n

Yes, technically, you don\u2019t need to include an opt-out link in a transactional email\u2026at least for your U.S.-based subscribers.<\/a><\/p>\n

Legal and geographic technicalities aside, if someone doesn\u2019t want to hear from you, let them go<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much, much better to have folks unsubscribe than hang on to them and have them drag down your engagement\u2014and potentially impact your deliverability. If you weren\u2019t sure of the difference between these types of emails before reading this article, then a normal, non-email-geek certainly won\u2019t. They\u2019re much more likely to mark you as spam than understand why they can\u2019t opt-out.With email clients like Gmail and Yahoo requiring one-click unsubscribes<\/a> now anyway, it\u2019s better to include an unsubscribe link.<\/p>\n

Send better transactional emails with Litmus<\/h2>\n

Transactional emails have a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d reputation, but that\u2019s not always the case. With Litmus, you can rest assured your tried-and-true transactional emails look great no matter where your customer is opening them\u2014so you can breathe easy. See how we can help.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n \t\t<\/div>\n \t<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":95021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[45,10312,10429],"blog_category":[1169,10302,10306,10307],"class_list":["post-95329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-deliverability","tag-email-optimization","tag-transactional-emails","blog_category-community","blog_category-email-deliverability","blog_category-email-marketing-strategy","blog_category-email-personalization"],"yoast_head":"\nCommercial vs. Transactional Emails: 5 Powerful Ways to Optimize Your Message - Litmus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's the difference between commercial and transactional emails? 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