Learn the difference between Marketing Emails and Transactional Emails to create appropriate emails for your recipients.
Understanding the difference between Marketing Emails and Transactional Emails is critical for complying with commercial email laws like the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In this article:
- Why is it important to know the difference?
- What are marketing emails?
- What are transactional emails?
Why is it important to know the difference?
Understanding the difference between your Marketing and Transactional emails is necessary for complying with commercial email laws and avoiding hefty penalties for violating them.
According to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, transactional emails are exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.
The main differentiating factor is the primary purpose of the email:
- Commercial content – promotes or advertises a commercial product or service, including content from a website with a commercial or marketing purpose.
- Transactional or relationship content – facilitates an agreed-upon transaction, or updates or notifies customers about an ongoing transaction.
If the message contains commercial or marketing content, its primary purpose is commercial and it must comply with the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act.
If it contains only transactional or relationship content, its primary purpose is transactional or relationship.
In that case, it may not contain false or misleading routing information but is otherwise exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.
Read more about what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has to say about the CAN-SPAM Act in their CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.
This information is provided as a resource, but it is not to be used as legal advice.
We encourage you to consult legal counsel in your area to learn how various anti-spam regulations and laws may apply to your organization.
Now, let's define what Marketing Emails and Transactional Emails mean on Kajabi.
What are marketing emails?
Marketing emails on Kajabi are promotional emails sent to your email list subscribers.
Marketing emails include:
If your contacts are not subscribed, have unsubscribed, or have not approved their receipt of your marketing emails, they will not receive these types of emails.
Learn more about how your customers can update their email preferences.
What are transactional emails?
Transactional emails on Kajabi include any email built for the purpose of sending a transactional message.
Transactional emails should not contain any marketing or commercial content in order to comply with commercial email laws like the CAN-SPAM Act.
Looking to change your transactional email sender information? Learn more
Transactional emails on Kajabi include:
System Generated Emails found under your Settings (referred to as Email Templates):
System Generated Emails are emails sent out regardless of whether or not your users are subscribed to your marketing emails as they alert them to an action that has occurred within the app.
For example, if a purchase is confirmed, Product access has been granted, and more.
Read How to Edit the Auto-Generated Email Templates Sent by Your Site to edit your system-generated emails.
Notification emails:
- Send an email in Automations. Read Automations Overview for more details.
Still have questions? Let us know your question below to have it added to the list or reach out to Support if you need additional assistance. Thanks for being the best part of Kajabi!
Disclaimer: This article is not legal advice for your company to use in complying with commercial email laws like the CAN-SPAM Act or the GDPR. Instead, it provides background information to help you better understand these laws and how it applies to your Kajabi account. We insist that you consult legal counsel in your area to learn how various anti-spam regulations and laws may apply to your organization. In a nutshell, you may not rely on this as legal advice or as a recommendation of any particular legal understanding.
