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 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 if violated.

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, 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. 

Remember, 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 emails sent to your email list subscribers.

Marketing emails include:

• Email Broadcasts
• Email Sequences
• And Event Emails

If they are not subscribed, have unsubscribed, or have not approved to be sent marketing emails, they will not receive these types of emails.

Read about Email Campaigns and Event emails on Kajabi and learn to create, edit, and customize your marketing emails. 

What are transactional emails?

Transactional emails on Kajabi include any email built for the purpose of sending a transactional message.

Therefore, 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, a purchase is confirmed, Product access has been granted, and more.

Read How to Edit the Automated Emails Sent by Your Site to edit your system generated emails. 

Notification emails: 

• Product Announcements. Read How to Send a Product Announcement for more details. 

• Send an email in Automations. Read Automations Overview for more details. 

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.