Blog Central

Why your transactional emails matter

Written by Natalie | March 21, 2023

Last week was about the Welcome Email. This week is about the second most opened message in your arsenal: the acknowledgement email. They can be invoices, receipts, webinar confirmations or a simple ‘thank you for xx.’ They get opened for the simple reason that transactions matter and people care about our finances.

The great thing about these emails is that you have to send them. You don’t get a choice if you want to comply with business rules, get people to your event or just be polite. So, they get written even if you don’t feel like it. However, that does not mean they are pretty or even useful. Most companies put in the bare minimum and tick it off the ‘done’ list.

So, what should you put in your transactional emails, aside from the receipt and your signature?

Well, here’s a few ideas:

  • A one month off discount voucher
  • A referral request
  • A relevant up-sell (add in these templates for xxx)
  • A ‘how to’ video
  • Your FAQ link
  • Your helpdesk link
  • Your competition link
  • You Facebook/Slack/Instagram group
  • That link to your newsletter freebie (and sign-up form).

The last is the most overlooked. Because the email is transactional rather than marketing, you will be reaching people who are not on your mailing list. Now, you do need permission (under GDPR) to contact them, so why not make it easy? On top of that, if you are changing your freebie  – as you should do on a regular basis – your newsletter fans will be just as interested as your new subscribers. It’s not enough to earn attention. You have to keep it.

So – what will you add to your next transaction?