Transactional Email for SaaS
A complete guide covering transactional email creation, timing and sending for your SaaS
Table of Contents
The #1 feature request in the early days of Loops was by far transactional emails. And it makes sense — outside of marketing emails, transactional emails are a crucial aspect of a SaaS company’s email marketing strategy. A transactional email might even be the first email a customer or potential customer receives from you.
While sometimes overlooked, transactional emails should be leveraged from day 1 as a complement to all other marketing and communication initiatives.
This guide will shed light on the critical role that transactional emails play in the growth of a SaaS business.
We will cover everything from improving customer relationships, reducing customer support workload, boosting brand credibility and awareness, and everything in between.
Read on as we take a deep dive into the world of transactional emails, uncovering the key elements and strategies that will empower your SaaS business to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
But first, what is a transactional email?
A transactional email is an automated and triggered message sent to individual recipients. It is typically sent as a direct response to a specific action or event initiated by the user.
Transactional emails are a 1:1 communication from the company to the user.
For SaaS companies, transactional emails should include notifications such as account activations, password resets, billing updates, product specific notifications, and usage reports.
They are not to be used for promotional purposes. We're serious, it's important :)
When to send transactional emails
Because transactional emails are automatically sent following a specific event one of your users take, timing is everything.
Imagine this… you’ve just signed up for a free trial of a new email app. They say to check your inbox for the next steps in getting started.
You excitedly open your email.
Nothing.
You refresh.
Still nothing.
That’s weird… they said to check my inbox. Surely, it should be here by now?
You go and check spam. It’s not there either.
How long will you continue refreshing your inbox before simply giving up and moving on with your day? Not long.
Chances are, you’ve been stuck in the above loop before. Desperately searching or waiting for an email you were expecting. It’s a frustrating waiting game.
Timeliness is a critical aspect of transactional emails, as sending them immediately after the triggering event enhances their effectiveness and ensures a positive user experience.
Meeting user expectations with immediate emails, such as account verifications or password reset instructions will go a long way in strengthening the relationship with your customers.
Who should I send transactional emails to?
Now that we’ve established that transactional emails should be sent ASAP. Who should be receiving these messages?
Transactional emails should be sent to individual users based on specific actions or events.
We’ve mentioned this before but who exactly falls into this category?
These recipients could include your new users signing up for your service, existing users requiring account verification or password resets, users with billing or subscription updates, users approaching or exceeding usage limits, users with a free trial that is set to expire, and users who have submitted support requests.
By carefully identifying and targeting the appropriate recipients of these messages, your SaaS company can deliver timely, meaningful transactional emails that boost user satisfaction and engagement while significantly reducing customer support requests.
Long story short, your SaaS should leverage the power of transactional emails at various stages of every single one of your user’s journey through your product.
Transactional email best practices
We’ve touched on why transactional emails are a critical component of a SaaS company's customer communication strategy, as they help maintain a strong relationship with users, drive engagement, and improve overall satisfaction. Now let's explore some transactional email best practices to ensure that you are sending effective and timely communications to your users.
1. Use a concise and relevant subject line and preview text
Craft clear and concise subject lines that accurately represent the email's content. This isn’t a marketing email that needs to be overly catchy or sales-y. Your users are likely expecting this email and want to get straight to the point.
2. Use a reputable sender address and domain
Send your transactional emails using a recognizable sender name and a consistent, professional domain that matches your brand identity. Not only will this help establish trust and credibility but this will also help reduce the likelihood of your emails mistakingly being marked as spam by your users.
3. Be consistent
Send emails when your users expect them. If you are sending a congratulatory email for a specific usage milestone in your product, make sure you send similar communications going forward.
Keep the styling of your transactional emails consistent as well so that your users grow familiar with them over time. They should be able to open your message and quickly perform the necessary actions without needing to fumble around.
4. Send emails promptly
As we mentioned above, timeliness is absolutely crucial for transactional emails. Your users expect prompt communication, especially for important updates or confirmations. Ensure your email delivery system is both reliable and fast and that you are sending emails for important events and triggers.
5. Personalize the email
Address your users by their name and tailor the content to their specific needs or actions. This simple personalization helps foster customer loyalty and makes the email more engaging.
6. Stay on brand
While these aren’t marketing emails, that doesn’t mean they need to be boring.
Incorporating your company's usual brand and voice in transactional emails is critical for maintaining overall consistency, reinforcing your brand identity, and building user trust and loyalty.
7. Optimize for mobile devices
With a significant portion of users accessing their emails on mobile devices, it's essential to ensure your transactional emails are responsive and display well on various screen sizes. You never know when and where your recipients will be receiving your communications.
A recent study showed that nearly 49% of emails are opened on a mobile device and that 75% of Gmail users access their account through a mobile device.
These trends towards mobile will only continue to increase, making it necessary that your transactional emails can be read and actioned with ease.
8. Avoid sending from [email protected]
Using a [email protected] address may discourage your users from reaching out or asking necessary follow up questions, as it sends a message that their feedback or inquiries will not be read at this address. By using a reply-to address, you encourage open communication and foster a more positive relationship with your customers.
Some options to consider instead of noreply@ would be emails such as [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].
9. Separate transactional emails from marketing emails
Send your transactional and marketing emails from a different domain or subdomain.
Why?
Marketing or promotional emails have a higher likelihood of being marked as spam or ending up in a user’s junk folder. Keep your transactional emails as separate as possible to ensure that your users are receiving these timely messages when they need them most.
10. Add sending avatar
Add a sending avatar through Gmail or BIMI to add visual trust to your emails. This will help your transactional emails immediately stand out in a crowded inbox.
11. Allow users to select when they receive emails
While unsubscribe links are not required in transactional emails, allowing your users to tweak some basic communication preferences will go a long way towards building and establishing trust.
Not all of your users will want some of the more fun transactional emails you may be able to send — and that’s ok! Allow them to choose which emails they’d like to opt-in to receiving.
12. Monitor and analyze email performance
Track the usual email marketing metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to assess the effectiveness of your transactional emails. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and refine your email strategy as needed.
Adjust your email design, copy, and delivery settings based on user feedback and performance data to continuously improve your emails.
Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect email. There is always room for improvement.
13. Choose a proven transactional email provider
Choosing a proven email provider to send your transactional emails can make all the difference. What good is sending these important emails if they can’t be delivered in a timely and effective manner?
Make sure that you are choosing an email provider that has experience with transactional emails so that you can confidently know that your messages will be consistently delivered to your users primary inbox.
Transactional emails vs marketing emails
Transactional and marketing emails are equally important in the growth and success of your SaaS company. However, they serve completely different purposes.
Transactional emails are personalized communications following a specific action or event where marketing emails leverage broader, segmented audiences to drive user acquisition, retention, and revenue growth.
Importantly, transactional emails are 1:1 communications while marketing emails are 1:many.
While these two types of emails are different in their approach and overall goals, they should be leveraged in unison to have the greatest impact from an email marketing perspective.
Transactional email examples and templates
There are many things that your SaaS can (and should) be sending transactional emails for. Here are some examples with basic templates that will help set your SaaS up for success.
Welcome or onboarding email
This will likely be the first email your customer or potential customer receives. It’s important to let them know how to get started as quickly as possible — before they lose interest in trying your product.
Subject: Welcome to [Your SaaS Company]!
Hi [User's Name],
Thank you for signing up with [Your SaaS Company]! We're excited to have you on board. To help you get started, we've put together some resources:
[Link to Getting Started Guide]
[Link to Video Tutorial]
[Link to Knowledge Base]
If you have any questions or simply want to introduce yourself, feel free to reply to this email!
Best regards,
[Your SaaS Company]
Password reset
This may be one of the most important transactional emails that you can send in order to reduce the workload of your customer support team. It’s crucial that this email is sent immediately after a stuck user requests it. Keep it short and to the point in order to get them back in the product as soon as possible.
Subject: Password Reset Request for [Your SaaS Company]
Hi [User's Name],
We received a request to reset your password for your [Your SaaS Company] account. To do so, please click the link below:
[Password Reset Link]
If you didn't request a password reset, please ignore this email or contact our support team if you suspect any unauthorized activity.
Best regards,
[Your SaaS Company]
Billing and invoicing
While typically not required, sending monthly invoice confirmations is a great way to increase customer trust and loyalty.
Subject: Your [Your SaaS Company] Invoice #[Invoice Number]
Hi [User's Name],
We hope you're enjoying [Your SaaS Company]! This email is to inform you that we've successfully processed your payment for the [Subscription Plan] plan. Here are the details:
Invoice Number: [Invoice Number]
Amount: [Amount]
Payment Method: [Payment Method]
Billing Period: [Billing Period]
You can view and download your invoice here: [Invoice Link]
If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this email.
Best regards,
[Your SaaS Company]
Free trial expiration reminder
A free trial expiration email may be the last chance you have at converting a trial user into a paying customer. This is a great time and opportunity to remind the recipient of all that you have to offer (there’s a great chance they didn’t get around to trying everything in their trial). For extra brownie points, offer to extend their trial if they reach out with questions or concerns.
Subject: Your [Your SaaS Company] Free Trial Ends in [x] Days
Hi [User's Name],
We hope you've enjoyed your free trial of [Your SaaS Company]! Your trial will expire in [x] days, and we don't want you to miss out on all the features and benefits our paid plans offer.
Upgrade to a paid plan today and continue to enjoy:
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Priority support
To upgrade, simply click the link below and select the plan that suits your needs:
[Upgrade Link]
If you have any questions or need assistance, simply reply to this email.
Best regards,
[Your SaaS Company]
Usage summary
A transactional email that highlights a user’s activity within your product is a great way to show them where they are benefiting from your service. It may also lead them to upgrading to a higher tier if they realize that they are close to hitting their current limits.
Subject: Your [Your SaaS Company] Monthly Usage Summary
Hi [User's Name],
We hope you're enjoying [Your SaaS Company]! As part of our commitment to help you get the most out of our platform, we've prepared a summary of your usage during the past month. Here's an overview of your activity:
Date Range: [Start Date] - [End Date]
Usage Metrics:
Tasks Completed: [Number of Tasks Completed]
Hours Logged: [Number of Hours Logged]
Projects Created: [Number of Projects Created]
Files Uploaded: [Number of Files Uploaded]
Top Features Used:
[Feature 1]: [Usage Percentage or Count]
[Feature 2]: [Usage Percentage or Count]
[Feature 3]: [Usage Percentage or Count]
If you'd like to see a more detailed report, you can access it here: [Detailed Usage Report Link]
Based on your usage, here are some tips to help you optimize your experience with [Your SaaS Company]:
[Tip 1]
[Tip 2]
[Tip 3]
If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email.
Best regards,
[Your SaaS Company]
These templates are just a starting point and can be easily customized to fit your specific company and the various transactional emails you wish to send. Remember to personalize each email, keep the tone consistent with your brand, and provide clear instructions or information.
Send timely transactional emails with Loops
Transactional emails play a pivotal role in maintaining seamless communication between your SaaS company and your users. By following the best practices and strategies outlined above, you can elevate the effectiveness of your transactional emails.
Don't miss the opportunity to elevate your transactional email game — start sending transactional emails with Loops today (100% free to get started!).