How to use transactional emails and SMS messages

Transactional emails and SMS messages are not just about sending information; they are about ensuring seamless and timely communication with your customers. At theMarketer, we’re all about superior deliverability and effective communication, so let’s explore how you can use these powerful features for your organization.

Transactional communication, explained

Transactional emails and SMS messages are automated communications triggered by specific customer or user actions. These are not limited to order-related actions but encompass a wide range of activities, such as confirming the creation of an account, sending one-time passwords or invoices, resetting passwords, updating order status, and more.

Configuring transactional emails and SMS messages

When it comes to sending transactional emails through theMarketer, you have two primary methods: SMTP and API-based.

a. SMTP method

This is the go-to choice for quick setups and immediate email needs. To get started, you'll find your SMTP credentials and call example in the API documentation section.

b. API-based method

Integrating the API with your system allows for a more customized and scalable email solution, offering enhanced reliability and personalization. This is especially beneficial for businesses with a high volume of transactional emails. You can find all necessary details in the API documentation section.

For transactional SMS messages, theMarketer employs an API-only delivery method. To set this up, please refer to the API call example in the API documentation section.

Customizing the transactional emails and SMS messages

You can edit the content, design, and attachments of your transactional emails in the back end of your website or eCommerce platform, depending on the nature of each email.

If you opt for the API-based method, you can also edit the ‘from’ and ‘reply-to’ email addresses. For example, all invoicing-related communications can be sent out from ‘accounting@yourdomain.com’, whereas account-related emails could be delivered via ‘info@yourdomain.com’. Once your domain is validated, all these sender addresses will appear under ‘Settings’ > ’Email Settings’.

Testing and validation

Before going live with your transactional emails and SMS messages, you can use theMarketer's sandbox environment to validate their functionality and effectiveness. For transactional emails, you can pick up to 3 email addresses that would receive an unlimited number of test emails. For SMS messages, you can send up to 20 test texts to up to 3 phone numbers.

Once you’re happy with your transactional emails and SMS messages, click the ‘Go live’ button.

Managing credits

Transactional emails require dedicated credits, which are separate from your regular theMarketer subscription. On the ‘Transactional’ > ’Emails’ dashboard, click ‘+ Add more credit’, then select the credit plan that fits your needs.

You can also click the toggle button at the bottom of the window to enable the auto top-up option and make sure the delivery of your transactional emails won’t be affected by an insufficient credit balance.

When enabled (blue), the system automatically adds the credit value you selected once your balance drops below the amount specified in the dedicated field. For example, if you select the 25 euro plan and type ‘10’, your credit will be automatically topped up with 25 euros as soon as your overall balance drops below 10 euros.

Transactional SMS messages follow similar principles. However, unlike transactional emails, transactional SMS messages use the same credit as you marketing SMS messages.

So you might be required to top up your credit more often, depending on how frequently you send out SMS campaigns. To do so, go to ‘Transactional’ > ’SMS’ dashboard, click ‘+ Add more credit’, then select the credit plan that fits your needs.

Alternatively, you can go to ‘Settings’ > ‘SMS’ and click ‘+ Add credit’, just like you would do for your regular SMS campaigns.

Assessing performance

theMarketer provides detailed reports on delivery status of your transactional communication and email opens, helping you monitor their performance and effectiveness. You can use the drop-down options on the right-hand side to change the time frame for which the results are displayed and hover your cursor over specific data points to get additional information.

In the delivery log section you can see the exact time, date, recipient, delivery status, and content of each transactional communication. For transactional emails, you can also see the sending address and the number of times the email was opened, whereas for transactional SMS messages, you can also see the cost of each individual message.