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Transactional emails are opened at up to eight times the rate as promotional emails. They offer a huge opportunity for marketers—one that many are missing out on.

Transaction-related emails differ from promotional emails because they’re triggered by the customer’s buying behavior. This means that transactional email marketing offers marketers the unique opportunity to improve customer service, deepen customer engagement, and win repeat sales. 

The New Transactional Email 

Instead of sending your customers boring, plain-text emails to confirm they’ve successfully signed up for your service or renewed a contract, use those communications as ways of reinforcing your company’s value.

According to Experian, the new transactional emails are “branded, relevant and engaging HTML messages” that “take full advantage of the high level of customer interest and brand engagement that naturally follows a purchase.” 

Making Your Transactional Emails More Like Your Promotional Ones

Take a second and picture your promotional emails. It’s very likely that they include wonderfully crafted copy, beautiful visuals, and multiple calls to action (CTAs). Ultimately, promotional emails beg for attention.

Not think about your transactional emails: they’re functional and plain, but their open and click-through rates are higher than their promotional counterparts. Ultimately, transactional emails are all about value, and that’s why people open them in the first place!

That’s why it’s incredibly important to start including elements of your promotional emails into your transactional ones. By spending time on the copy and design of your transactional emails and incorporating additional content, images, information, and CTAs, you’ll see your recipient’s engagement skyrocket. 

5 Things to Include in Your Transactional Emails 

Here are some elements you should include in order to make your transactional emails more engaging and effective.

1. Social Icons

If someone has just made a purchase from you, make sure you include social icons that link to your social media profiles in your follow up email. Customers are more likely to engage with a brand on social after purchasing from them. Furthermore, they’re more likely to recommend brands after engaging on social media with them.

2. Your Face and Contact Info

Make your emails more personal. By including your picture, name and contact information, you’ll immediately create a connection with the customer.

3. Bullet Points

Just like with landing pages, bullet points are a simple way to make your content easier to read. What’s more, bullets are great tools to use if you need to explain something, like how to install your tool or what value an additional service provides. 

4. Social Proof

Including a testimonial from a credible expert or a satisfied customer will add credibility to your service. You can also use social proof by displaying how many people follow you on social media or have shared a specific article from your blog. 

5. Free Stuff

Include links to free eBooks, tip sheets, white papers, and other gated assets in your transactional emails. This will immediately provide value to the recipient and will give him/her a reason to revisit your email and your website! 

Conclusion

Transactional email marketing is a HUGE opportunity that many marketers are missing out on. According to a study by Experian, transactional emails far exceed bulk mail averages when it comes to open rates, click through rates, transaction rates and revenue per email.

Use this aspect of email marketing to further enforce your branding, thank your customers, and enhance the overall customer experience. After all, the whole point of email marketing is to make it as inviting and easy as possible for your customers to stay engaged with your company.