A guide to transactional emails

In this article, we discuss how to get the most out of your transactional emails and become better from the get-go in the eyes of the client. You will see examples of really good emails and evaluate the potential of how such emails can improve your business.

Whenever your customer makes a purchase, subscribes to a newsletter, deletes something, or changes something in their account, something happens. They get a transactional email. 

No, it’s not like any other email. It doesn’t have a click-bait subject line, an intro, or offers it’s not even more than a couple of lines. It’s simply created and triggered to inform. Let’s get into how you can send perfect transactional emails. 

What’s a transactional email? 

A transactional email is an email sent to a customer or a client triggered by an action they took on your website or application. Here are examples of transactional emails: 

• Order, shipping or delivery notification
• Account creation or password reset request
• Legal updates
• Account notifications

Because they are triggered by actions and are sent to the same user, such emails typically have high engagement rates. And because they have important information, such emails are usually opened immediately by users as compared to marketing emails. 

Transactional emails are a vital communication channel between you and your customers. These emails help your customers verify that they took the action as intended. You can also use transactional emails to engage with users, suggest similar products based on purchase history and build trust. 

How is it different from a marketing email: 

1. Audience: Transactional emails are only sent to your customers who’ve performed an action or need to be informed. Marketing emails can be sent to anyone, ranging from leads, existing customers and even those who might be interested in your product. 
2. Goal: Transactional emails are meant to inform, and marketing emails are meant to confirm potential leads to customers. 
3. Content: The content in transactional email is straightforward and simple. In the latter, the content can be engaging, visuals can be used and also varies in length. 
4. Frequency: Transactional emails are triggered and only sent when an action has taken place. Marketing emails can be sent whenever required, with drips following after. 

Now let’s see how you can make a transactional email: 

1. 1. Subject lines: keep it concise and straightforward. The email should contain facts and so should the subject line. It’s not a marketing email, and hence the goal here is to inform. 
   2. Sender name and email address: Your sender name should be your company’s and so should the sender’s email. It should trust and confirm that it is indeed from you. 

• Personalization: Use the customer’s name and information to address them. Personalize and automate the information pre-filling so that each time customers take an action, they get an email. 

• Content of the email: don’t play around with words. Put in a clear summary of their actions and the consequences that follow. Include the next steps if needed. For example, an order has been confirmed and here’s how you can track it.

• Brand tone: Ensure the content of your email is in tune with your brand voice. It shouldn’t seem like some other business’s email. Include your brand name or logo in the email. If your brand is format and serious, the content should reflect the same. 

• CTA: Usually transactional emails are meant to inform, but you can include CTA’s like support and follow-ups. Whenever the next steps are needed, ensure you’ve included a CTA. In case no steps are required, it’s a good practice to include Q&A links and plug-in socials. 

• Unsubscribe link: When customers sign up with you, they consent to such emails and updates and hence no unsubscribe link is required! 

Most importantly: Your emails should be automated and must be triggered as soon as the customer does an action. Keeping the customer informed is priority number one. 

Are you worried your transactional emails might land in spam? 

Many times marketing emails can land in spam, so how do you prevent the same happening to transactional emails? 

Here’s a trick: Use a different IP address.

This is a practice common among many businesses because: 

1. Ensure deliverability: Your marketing emails could be flagged as spam, but by using a separate IP, your transactional emails can be safeguarded and will still be delivered to your customers. 
2. Better analysis: you can look into the reporting of the emails in depth by keeping both emails separate, thus resolving issues quicker and tracking email performance better. 
3. Different rules: Transactional and marketing emails have different rules and opt-out options, by keeping the IP separate you can stay compliant with emailing rules. 

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