Marketing email vs. transactional email
Flexmail supports two distinct types of email: marketing email and transactional email. They serve different purposes, operate under different rules, and are sent through separate infrastructure. Understanding the difference helps you use each correctly.
Transactional email
Transactional emails are triggered by a specific action taken by the recipient. They are one-to-one messages sent automatically in response to something the user did. Examples:
- Order confirmation
- Account registration or activation
- Password reset
- Reservation confirmation or reminder
- Invoice or payment receipt
- Comment or activity notification
- Data or account change confirmation
These emails are critical for your business and your customer's experience. A missing order confirmation or a password reset landing in spam immediately undermines trust. Transactional emails need to arrive fast and reliably, every time.
Marketing email
Marketing emails originate from a business decision, not a user action. They are typically sent to multiple recipients at once with the goal of engagement, sales, or information. Examples:
- Newsletters
- Promotional offers and discounts
- Product launches and announcements
- Event invitations
- Customer surveys
- Marketing automation sequences
Marketing emails require opt-in consent under GDPR and must always include an unsubscribe link. They are sent through the Flexmail marketing interface, not the transactional API.
Key differences
|
|
Marketing email | Transactional email |
| Initiated by | Your organisation | A recipient's action |
| Recipients | Multiple at once | Always one per message |
| GDPR consent | Required, opt-in mandatory | Not applicable |
| Unsubscribe link | Mandatory | Not required |
| Primary goal | Engagement and conversion | Speed and deliverability |
| Sent via | Flexmail marketing interface | Flexmail transactional API |
Why Flexmail keeps them separate
Flexmail sends marketing and transactional email through completely separate infrastructure, including separate IP ranges. This follows best practices recommended by major inbox providers like
Gmail.
If marketing and transactional emails share the same sending infrastructure, a temporary reputation issue with your marketing sending, caused by a spike in spam complaints or a high bounce rate, can delay your transactional emails. A customer waiting for a password reset should never be affected by last week's newsletter performance.
By keeping them fully separated, Flexmail protects the deliverability and speed of your transactional emails regardless of your marketing email activity.
Can I use the transactional API for marketing emails?
No. The transactional API only accepts messages sent to a single recipient, triggered by a user action. It does not support bulk sending. Marketing emails must be sent through the Flexmail marketing interface.
Support tip If you're unsure whether a specific email should be sent as transactional or marketing, ask: did the recipient's action trigger this specific email? If yes, it's transactional. If you're deciding to send it based on a marketing goal, it's marketing.
GDPR considerations
GDPR Transactional emails are not subject to GDPR opt-in requirements because they are sent in direct response to an action the recipient took. However, they must genuinely be triggered by a user action, you cannot send promotional content via the transactional API and claim it's transactional. Misuse of transactional infrastructure for marketing sends violates both Flexmail's terms of service and GDPR.
Next steps
• See 'Getting started with the transactional API' to set up your account and send your first transactional email.