In the world of online communication and international email regulations, it is important to know the difference between transactional and marketing emails.

This will help you to understand how you can follow international laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR.

Why should I know the difference?

Understanding the difference between marketing and transactional emails is necessary for complying with the latest email regulation laws and avoiding huge fines in case of violation.

The two big regulations that stipulate commercial emails and the rules for sending these are: the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR.
We won't go over too many details but to sum it up, they go over two types of emails:

Commercial emails – promotes or advertises a commercial product or service, including content from a website.

Transactional emails – account updates, ongoing transactions, account creation/modification, etc.

Note: The information provided is not legal advice, but a resource. We recommend consulting with a legal expert if you have further questions.

What are transactional emails?

Transactional emails on Podia are any email built for the purpose of sending a transactional message.

These are system-generated emails and include:

Billing information
Confirmation email after a successful purchase
Email follow-up after a failed payment
Podia messenger notifications
Password resets
Community notifications
Delay course section notifications
Subscription plan trial expiration date reminders
Webinar registrations and reminders
Product downloads and access reminders
Certificates
Affiliate emails
Email opt-in confirmation

Note: these cannot be edited at this time.

What are marketing emails?

Marketing emails on Podia are any emails you send to your list of subscribers. These include:

If your customer hasn't opted to receive marketing emails or has unsubscribed, they will not receive these types of emails.

Note that your customers will be easily able to subscribe/unsubscribe from your marketing emails at any time.

FAQs

One of the buttons in an automated email isn't appearing. How can I adjust it so that the button is visible?

If your Accent 1 color is set to white, buttons and links in transactional emails may not be visible against the email’s white background. To fix this, choose a different Accent 1 color.

The color of buttons in Podia’s transactional emails is based on your site’s Accent 1 color. If you’d like to change the button color in those emails, update the Accent 1 color in your site settings. This change will also apply to buttons in the product viewer.

Keep in mind that changing your Accent 1 color may affect your site’s appearance, so you may also want to update your Section themes to keep everything looking consistent. 😊

How can I change button colors in transactional emails?

These colors are determined by your site's Accent 1 color.

If you want to update these button colors, simply modify the Accent 1 color in your site settings. This change will be reflected in the button colors of transactional emails and the product viewer.

For example, if the buttons in your transactional emails aren’t visible, it may be because your Accent 1 color is set to white, causing the buttons to blend into the email’s white background.

What are "transactional" and "marketing" emails?