Summary
Classifying post-webinar follow-up emails, especially those containing promotional content, presents a common dilemma for email marketers. The core challenge lies in navigating the fine line between providing valuable content related to an event and adhering to consent regulations, particularly when considering sending to users who have unsubscribed from marketing communications.
Key findings
- Content Classification: The classification of post-webinar emails depends heavily on their content. If the primary purpose is to deliver information directly related to the webinar, like a recording or slides, it leans towards transactional or relationship-based communication. Any inclusion of sales pitches, product promotions, or calls to action for other services shifts it towards marketing.
- Consent vs. Compliance: While transactional or relationship emails might sometimes bypass standard marketing opt-out rules, promotional content, however minor, generally requires explicit consent. Sending marketing messages to unsubscribed users can lead to compliance issues, particularly under strict regulations like CASL, and negatively impact sender reputation.
- Regulatory Differences: Email regulations like CAN-SPAM (US) and CASL (Canada) have different interpretations of what constitutes transactional versus commercial emails. CASL, for instance, is notably stricter, classifying an email as commercial if it contains any promotional element, regardless of its primary transactional nature.
- Impact on Deliverability: Sending unwanted emails, even those perceived as relationship-based but containing promotional elements, to unsubscribed individuals can increase complaint rates. This negatively impacts your sender reputation and can lead to emails being sent to the spam folder or even your domain being added to a blocklist (or blacklist).
- Timing Matters: The timeliness of the follow-up email is also a factor. Sending a post-webinar email within a reasonable timeframe (e.g., within a week) after the event is expected, but excessively delayed follow-ups might be perceived as irrelevant or promotional, especially if the user has since unsubscribed.
Key considerations
- Content Review: Carefully review all content in post-webinar emails. If it includes anything beyond direct event-related information (e.g., product links, solution blurbs, or invitations to other webinars not explicitly part of the initial registration), it should be classified as marketing.
- Segregation of Email Types: Separate your transactional emails from your marketing emails. Use different sending streams or platforms for each, if possible, to ensure compliance and avoid accidentally sending promotional content to unsubscribed users. This can also help improve your email inbox placement.
- Jurisdictional Compliance: Always consider the strictest applicable email marketing laws. If you have recipients in Canada, CASL's broad definition of commercial electronic messages means most promotional content in a post-webinar email would classify it as marketing, requiring explicit consent. You can find more details on email follow-up strategies on Airmeet's blog.
- Unsubscribed Users: Generally, do not send any email with promotional content to unsubscribed users. Even if a post-webinar email is primarily informative, the inclusion of any promotional blurb converts its classification to marketing, making it non-compliant for those who have opted out. For further guidance, see our article on how to re-engage inactive email subscribers.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often find themselves debating the classification of post-webinar follow-up emails, particularly when there's a desire to include promotional elements. The general consensus leans towards strict interpretation to avoid deliverability and compliance pitfalls, especially concerning unsubscribed audiences. Many emphasize the importance of prioritizing value and direct relevance to the webinar itself over any sales-oriented messaging.
Key opinions
- Relationship vs. Marketing: Many marketers consider post-webinar emails (thank you, recording links) as relationship-based, but acknowledge they can quickly become marketing if sales content is introduced.
- Impact of Promotional Content: Even a small blurb promoting products or services can reclassify an otherwise transactional email as marketing.
- Unsubscribe Policy: The general rule for unsubscribed users is that they should not receive any further marketing communications, regardless of perceived relevance to a past event. Sending to them violates consent.
- Timing and Relevance: Follow-up emails should be sent promptly after the webinar to maintain relevance; delayed sends might feel out of place and increase unsubscribe or complaint rates.
- Legal Advice: When in doubt about classification and compliance, especially across different jurisdictions, consulting with a legal professional is always recommended.
Key considerations
- Clarity of Purpose: Ensure the primary purpose of your follow-up email is clearly educational or informational, providing direct value related to the webinar itself. Avoid diluting this with sales messaging.
- Segmentation: Segment your audience based on their consent status. Unsubscribed users should only receive truly transactional communications, which post-webinar emails with promotional content are not. This helps in managing inactive email subscribers.
- Platform Capabilities: If your email platform's 'Operational Emails' feature allows bypassing unsubscribe lists, understand its legal implications for your specific content and audience. Many platforms distinguish between marketing and transactional emails for this exact reason.
- Consider Alternative Channels: For promotional content that you wish to share with webinar attendees, consider alternative channels for those who have unsubscribed, such as retargeting ads or direct mail, if legally permissible, instead of email. More insights into effective webinar follow-ups can be found on Stripo's blog.
Marketer view
An Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that a post-webinar follow-up email, particularly one that thanks attendees or apologizes for absence and includes a recording link, has a strong scent of a relationship-based email. However, they also caution that sending emails to segments who have already opted out is generally not advisable.
Marketer view
A Marketer from WebinarNinja explains that follow-up emails should provide additional resources that complement the webinar's content. This includes slides, white papers, or relevant blog posts, aiming to add value and continue the conversation rather than immediately pushing sales.
What the experts say
Experts in email deliverability and compliance often highlight the critical distinctions in email classification, particularly under varying regulatory frameworks like CAN-SPAM and CASL. They stress that the presence of any promotional element, even minor ones, can shift an email's classification from transactional to marketing, with significant implications for consent requirements and deliverability to unsubscribed users. The emphasis is on strict adherence to consent for any commercial content.
Key opinions
- Jurisdictional Specificity: The classification of emails as transactional, relationship, or marketing differs significantly based on regional regulations (e.g., CAN-SPAM in the US versus CASL in Canada).
- CASL's Strictness: Under CASL, any promotional content, regardless of its placement or proportion within an email, generally renders the entire message as marketing, requiring prior consent.
- CAN-SPAM's 80/20 Rule: For US recipients under CAN-SPAM, the 80/20 rule (less than 20% promotional content) is a general guideline for an email to be considered transactional, with transactional content being most prominent.
- Promotional Content Redefines: Including a call to action or a blurb pushing a product or service converts an otherwise informational email into a commercial one, especially under stricter laws.
Key considerations
- Clear Email Purpose: Define the primary purpose of your email clearly. If it's primarily about delivering a webinar recording or resource, keep it strictly informational. If it includes any sales message, treat it as marketing and require consent.
- Geographic Audience: Always consider the geographic location of your recipients and comply with the most stringent applicable regulations. For Canadian audiences, any promotional aspect requires explicit consent.
- Compliance for Unsubscribed: Do not send any form of marketing email to unsubscribed users. Compliance is paramount to maintaining a healthy sender reputation and avoiding blacklists (or blocklists). See our article on why you might keep receiving emails after unsubscribing.
- Consult Legal Counsel: If there's any ambiguity regarding email classification and legal compliance, especially when dealing with global audiences or complex content, always seek legal advice. Additional insights can be found from Spam Resource.
Expert view
An Email expert from Email Geeks asks about the geographic location of recipients, noting that email regulations, particularly CAN-SPAM and CASL, have different definitions for transactional versus relationship-based emails, which is crucial for compliance.
Expert view
An Email expert from Spam Resource discusses common unprofessional email marketing tactics and appropriate responses to spam. This emphasizes the importance of understanding and avoiding practices that lead to negative sender reputation and compliance issues.
What the documentation says
Official documentation and regulatory guidelines (such as those for CAN-SPAM and CASL) provide the foundational definitions for classifying email types. These documents clearly distinguish between transactional/relationship emails and commercial/marketing emails based on their primary purpose and content. Crucially, they emphasize that even minor promotional elements can trigger commercial classification, requiring explicit consent and prohibiting sends to unsubscribed users.
Key findings
- Primary Purpose Rule: Both CAN-SPAM and CASL rely on the 'primary purpose' rule to classify emails. If the main goal is commercial advertisement or promotion of a product or service, it's a commercial email.
- Transactional Definition: Transactional or relationship messages facilitate a transaction, provide an update about an existing relationship, or convey important information (e.g., product updates, security alerts). They generally do not require consent for sending.
- Commercial Content Impact: The inclusion of any commercial content can change a transactional email into a commercial one, especially under stricter legislation like CASL. The placement or amount of promotional content is less relevant than its mere presence.
- Opt-out Requirements: Commercial emails are subject to strict opt-out requirements, meaning recipients must have a clear and easy way to unsubscribe. If a user has unsubscribed, they should not receive commercial emails.
Key considerations
- Adherence to Definitions: Rigorously adhere to the definitions of transactional and commercial emails as laid out in the relevant legal documentation for your target audience. For most post-webinar emails with promotional content, they will likely fall under commercial classification.
- Strict Consent for Promotional Content: If your post-webinar email includes any marketing or promotional elements (e.g., links to product pages, mentions of other services), it must be treated as a commercial email. This means it can only be sent to users who have explicitly opted in to receive such communications, and never to those who have unsubscribed. This relates directly to how emails are classified.
- Separate Email Streams: Consider maintaining separate email streams or platforms for purely transactional (e.g., webinar registration confirmations, password resets) and commercial messages. This helps prevent accidental non-compliance. Learn more about CAN-SPAM compliance for businesses.
- Review Opt-out Lists: Regularly review and honor opt-out lists across all your email sending platforms. Sending commercial content to unsubscribed individuals can not only lead to legal penalties but also severe damage to your sender reputation, potentially leading to being placed on a blocklist or blacklist.
Technical article
Documentation from the FTC regarding the CAN-SPAM Act states that the primary purpose of an email determines whether it is transactional or commercial. An email is transactional if it facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates an existing commercial relationship, without containing promotional content as its main objective.
Technical article
Documentation from the CRTC on CASL indicates that a commercial electronic message is one whose purpose, or one of whose purposes, is to encourage participation in a commercial activity. This broad definition means even a small promotional element can classify an email as commercial.
Related resources
12 resources
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