Can I send a webinar recording to someone who unsubscribed from my marketing emails?

You can generally send a webinar recording to someone who unsubscribed from marketing emails only if the email is purely transactional or relationship-based. This means it contains the recording and perhaps a thank you, but absolutely no new promotional content, calls to action, or sales pitches. The presence of any promotional material typically reclassifies the email as marketing, making it impermissible to send to unsubscribed users under most anti-spam laws.

What makes a post-webinar email promotional instead of transactional?

A post-webinar email becomes promotional if its primary purpose shifts from providing information about a past event to encouraging a new commercial transaction or promoting products/services. This includes adding links to other products, upcoming webinars, related whitepapers that serve as lead magnets, or any marketing blurbs about your company's solutions. Even a small amount of promotional content can change its classification, especially under stricter regulations like CASL.

How do CAN-SPAM and CASL differ in classifying post-webinar follow-ups?

CAN-SPAM (US) is more lenient, classifying emails by their primary purpose and allowing some promotional content within a transactional email if the transactional part is dominant. CASL (Canada) is much stricter; it considers an email a Commercial Electronic Message (CEM) if it contains any promotional content, requiring explicit consent to send. This difference is critical when deciding whether to send post-webinar follow-ups with mixed content.

What are the risks of sending promotional post-webinar emails to unsubscribed users?

Sending promotional post-webinar emails to unsubscribed users carries significant risks, including legal penalties for violating anti-spam laws, increased spam complaints, a damaged sender reputation, and potentially landing your IP address or domain on an email blocklist (or blacklist). These issues can severely impact your overall email deliverability, causing future emails to land in spam folders.

Should I use separate email subdomains for my post-webinar follow-ups?

Yes, using separate email subdomains for transactional and promotional emails is a recommended best practice. This helps isolate the sender reputation of your essential transactional emails from the potentially higher spam complaint rates associated with marketing campaigns. If your marketing emails encounter deliverability issues, your critical transactional communications are less likely to be affected, ensuring they consistently reach the inbox.

How to classify post-webinar follow-up emails with promotional content and send them to unsubscribed users? - Compliance - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

I often encounter questions about the nature of post-webinar follow-up emails, especially when they contain both informational and promotional elements. It's a tricky balance: on one hand, you want to provide valuable content like a recording or summary, but on the other, there's a natural inclination to leverage this interaction for further engagement and sales. The core challenge lies in correctly classifying these emails and understanding if they can be sent to users who have previously unsubscribed from your marketing communications. This classification determines your legal obligations and significantly impacts your email deliverability and sender reputation.

Classifying your webinar follow-up emails

A key distinction in email marketing is whether an email is transactional (or relationship-based) versus promotional (or commercial). A transactional email facilitates or completes a previously agreed-upon commercial transaction or provides an update about an ongoing commercial relationship. Promotional emails, conversely, advertise or promote a commercial product or service. Post-webinar emails often blur these lines. If an email solely contains a "thank you for attending" message and a link to the webinar recording, it generally leans towards a relationship or transactional classification, as it's directly related to an event the recipient registered for or attended.

However, as soon as you introduce elements that encourage further commercial activity, the classification shifts. For instance, including links to other products, services, or a general "learn more about our solution" landing page pushes the email into the promotional category. Even a subtle blurb about how the webinar fits into your company's broader offerings can be enough to reclassify the email as commercial. The intent behind the email, and whether its primary purpose is to advertise or promote, is what truly matters, regardless of how much transactional content it also contains.

Different regulations, such as CAN-SPAM in the United States and CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation), have varying definitions. While CAN-SPAM is generally more lenient, allowing a certain percentage of promotional content within a transactional email, CASL is much stricter. Under CASL, if an email contains any promotional content, it is considered a Commercial Electronic Message (CEM) and requires explicit consent.

Understanding email classifications

Transactional: Delivers content directly related to a prior agreement or action, such as a webinar recording or a "thank you for attending" message, without any new promotional offers.
Relationship: Builds on an existing business relationship, providing relevant information without explicit marketing pitches. Similar to transactional, but broader in scope.
Promotional (Commercial): Primarily aims to advertise or promote products, services, or events, often including calls to action for sales or lead generation.

Navigating regulations for unsubscribed users

The ability to send emails to unsubscribed users hinges entirely on the email's classification. If an email is purely transactional or relationship-based and contains no promotional content, most regulations, including CAN-SPAM, permit sending it even to those who have opted out of marketing communications. This is because these emails are considered essential for the recipient's experience or ongoing relationship with your business. For instance, an email confirming a purchase, a password reset, or a security alert falls into this category.

However, once a post-webinar email includes promotional content, it typically loses its "transactional" shield. If a user has unsubscribed from your marketing list, sending them an email that contains promotional material, even alongside a webinar recording, can lead to compliance issues. This is especially true under strict regulations like CASL, where the mere presence of promotional content makes it a CEM, requiring prior consent. Ignoring unsubscribe requests can result in legal penalties, damage to your sender reputation, and increased spam complaints, which can land your domain or IP on a blocklist (or blacklist).

Many email marketing platforms (ESPs) enforce these rules by preventing you from sending "marketing" emails to unsubscribed users. While some offer an "operational email" bypass, activating it requires careful consideration and a clear understanding of your legal obligations. Misusing this feature can expose you to significant risks. It is a best practice to keep your transactional and marketing emails distinctly separate, often using different sending domains or subdomains, to avoid confusion and ensure compliance. This separation helps preserve the integrity of your transactional stream and ensures your essential communications reach the inbox. You can learn more about this by reading about whether you should use separate subdomains for transactional and promotional emails.

Compliance differences: CAN-SPAM vs. CASL

CAN-SPAM (US)

Primary purpose: Emails are classified by their primary purpose. If the main goal is commercial, it's marketing. If it's transactional, it's transactional.
Mixed content: Allows for some promotional content within a transactional email, provided the transactional content is the primary focus and appears first. A general guideline is that promotional content should be less than 20% of the email.
Unsubscribe: Requires a clear and conspicuous unsubscribe mechanism for all commercial emails. Transactional emails are exempt from this requirement.

CASL (Canada)

Strict definition: Any email with a commercial intent, even if it contains transactional elements, is considered a Commercial Electronic Message (CEM).
Consent required: Requires explicit consent for sending CEMs, with very limited exceptions.
Unsubscribe: All CEMs must include an unsubscribe mechanism. Sending any CEM to an unsubscribed user, regardless of mixed content, is a violation.

Best practices for post-webinar deliverability

To maintain strong email deliverability, especially when dealing with post-webinar communications, it is crucial to prioritize subscriber consent and respect opt-out preferences. Even if a post-webinar email could be technically classified as transactional under some interpretations, the presence of any promotional content makes it risky to send to unsubscribed users. The safer approach is to treat such emails as marketing if they contain even a hint of promotional messaging. This helps avoid spam complaints and being added to email blocklists (or blacklists).

Segment your audience meticulously: Differentiate between attendees, registrants who didn't attend, and those who unsubscribed. Tailor your follow-up based on their status and consent.
Prioritize content: For unsubscribed users, if you must send a follow-up, ensure it contains only the recording and perhaps a thank you. Remove any calls to action, product links, or promotional blurbs.
Provide clear unsubscribe options: For all marketing or mixed-content emails, ensure a prominent and easy-to-use unsubscribe link is present. This is a legal requirement under CAN-SPAM and is good practice for all commercial emails, even for those under RFC 8058 for one-click unsubscribe.
Monitor engagement: Keep a close eye on your open rates, click-through rates, and, most importantly, unsubscribe rates and spam complaints for all your email campaigns. High complaint rates can quickly tank your sender reputation. For more insights into these metrics, consider understanding your Google Postmaster Tools spam rate dashboard.
Maintain domain hygiene: Regularly clean your email lists of unengaged subscribers or invalid addresses. This proactive approach helps protect your sender reputation. If you need assistance, there are guides on how to improve domain reputation using Google Postmaster Tools.

Scenario	Content Example	Classification	Send to Unsubscribed?	Compliance Impact
Purely informational	Thanks for attending, here's the recording link.	Transactional/Relationship	Yes (generally)	Low risk, high deliverability.
Informational + related resources	Recording link + link to blog posts on the same topic.	Transactional/Relationship with caution	Depends on jurisdiction; safer to avoid if resources are 'salesy'.	Moderate risk if resources are interpreted as promotional.
Informational + promotional blurbs	Recording link + blurb about company solutions or products.	Promotional	No (high risk)	High risk of complaints, blocklisting, and legal issues.
Promotional (missed webinar)	Sorry you missed it, here's the recording. Learn more about our product!	Promotional	No (high risk)	Very high risk, direct violation of unsubscribe preferences.

Concluding thoughts

Classifying post-webinar follow-up emails accurately is critical for maintaining email deliverability and ensuring compliance. While the desire to nurture leads and promote products is strong, it must be balanced with legal requirements and respect for subscriber preferences. If your post-webinar email contains any elements that could be perceived as promotional, it's best to classify it as such and only send it to opted-in subscribers. For those who have unsubscribed, strictly limit communications to purely transactional or essential relationship-based content.

Prioritizing a positive recipient experience over short-term promotional gains will protect your sender reputation in the long run. Continual monitoring of your email metrics and staying informed about evolving email regulations are essential for a healthy email program.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Separate transactional and marketing email streams to avoid deliverability issues.

Always include a clear unsubscribe link in all marketing or mixed-content emails.

Regularly review and update your email classification rules based on changing regulations.

For international audiences, comply with the strictest applicable anti-spam laws.

Common pitfalls

Overlooking the "80/20 rule" and pushing too much promotional content into transactional emails.

Relying solely on a webinar platform's classification without understanding legal implications.

Sending promotional follow-ups to unsubscribed users, risking legal action and blocklists.

Not segmenting your audience and sending generic follow-ups to all registrants.

Expert tips

Maintain distinct sending practices and even subdomains for transactional versus promotional email streams to isolate reputation.

Always segment your audience based on their engagement and consent status to tailor follow-up communications appropriately.

When in doubt about email classification and compliance, especially across different jurisdictions, consult with legal professionals.

Closely monitor unsubscribe rates and spam complaints as key indicators of email content classification and audience relevance.

Marketer view

A post-webinar email with just a recording and a thank-you is often considered relationship-based, but adding any promotional material changes its classification.

August 29, 2019 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

The timing of post-webinar emails is crucial; sending follow-ups significantly after the event can make the content feel irrelevant.

August 29, 2019 - Email Geeks