Understanding Marketing vs Transactional email content

When you send an email from Force24, either in a single send campaign or in a Journey, you need to choose the right Audience Type for your content. This article explains the two options, Marketing and Transactional, and how to decide which one to use.

How does Force24 treat each Audience Type?

The main difference is how the platform handles a contact's marketing preferences:

• Marketing emails respect each recipient's marketing preferences. If a contact has unsubscribed or opted out of that type of content, Force24 will not send the email to them.
• Transactional emails will still send to contacts who have unsubscribed or opted out.

To stay GDPR compliant, it's important that you only send genuinely transactional content as Transactional.

What counts as transactional content?

Transactional content is strictly functional and essential for the recipient to use your service. Examples include:

• Order confirmations
• Password resets
• Account alerts
• Contractual changes
• Booking confirmations
• Content download requests

These emails aren't considered marketing. They are mandatory communications, so they aren't subject to marketing consent requirements and will send even to contacts who have unsubscribed.

What counts as marketing content?

Marketing content is intended for promotional purposes, such as encouraging purchases, driving engagement or highlighting new features.

Marketing emails require prior consent and must include an unsubscribe option. They will not be sent to contacts who have unsubscribed. If your message contains any promotional content, even subtle references or links that encourage engagement, you should classify it as Marketing.

What if I'm not sure which to choose?

Keep the golden rule in mind when you decide.

If you're ever unsure whether your content should be Marketing or Transactional, ask your account manager or our support team.