Should I separate transactional and marketing emails?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit recommends using separate subdomains, one for marketing and one for transactional, to isolate deliverability issues. This prevents marketing campaigns from impacting the delivery of critical transactional emails.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that separating transactional and marketing emails is crucial for maintaining good sender reputation. By using separate IPs or subdomains, you can protect your transactional email deliverability from any negative impact caused by marketing campaigns.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests separating the subdomain and the IPs so they carry their own reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks notes that they had an eComm client whose volume didn't support 2 IPs (one marketing and one transactional) and had no noticeable issues using one IP for both. They also only sent one marketing email a week with good segmentation and had good list hygiene (both from opt in and engagement).
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog shares that separating transactional and marketing emails allows for better tracking and optimization. Transactional emails, like password resets, require high deliverability, while marketing emails benefit from A/B testing and segmentation. Keeping them separate makes it easier to manage and improve performance.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that segmenting traffic and sending reputations can help. Separating transactional and marketing emails is a must to maintain deliverability best practices.
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog responds that separating transactional and marketing emails helps avoid being marked as spam. Transactional emails have a higher expectation of being delivered, so keeping them distinct from promotional content increases the likelihood they'll reach the inbox.
Email marketer from Quora responds that if your marketing emails have any chance of being marked as spam or having a low engagement rate, you should definitely separate them from your transactional emails. This protects the deliverability of important notifications.
Marketer from Email Geeks states they are a fan of splitting transactional from marketing with separate IPs and sending domains. But if the total send volume can't support 2 IPs then you really need to double down on being a good marketing sender to minimize any negative impacts on the transactional sends. Only suffer when you are not a good sender.
Email marketer from Validity shares that sender reputation is vital for deliverability, and segmenting your email streams (marketing vs. transactional) helps to protect your transactional reputation from any negative impact caused by marketing campaigns.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends separating transactional and marketing email.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow recommends if possible, to use separate dedicated IPs for marketing and transactional emails and keep them completely separate. Keep an eye on IP addresses and sender reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus says that Email list segmentation by email type can boost deliverability. Separate lists for marketing and transactional emails so your important transactional messages do not get caught in spam filters.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spamresource recommends using dedicated IP addresses for marketing and transactional mail. This allows for independent reputation management and better control over deliverability for each email type.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that domain reputation applies to all mail coming from your domain. If marketing mail is of lower quality, it can impact the delivery of transactional messages. Segmenting sending domains protects transactional mail reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks agrees with Kent, stating that separating transactional and marketing emails is a good idea as long as there's enough volume for both. If volume is low it is better to combine them.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that you should always separate your email streams. Marketing and transactional email programs have completely different needs for inbox placement. This helps maintain deliverability and sender reputation.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that exceeding sender limits can impact your ability to send both transactional and marketing emails. Separating email types and adhering to best practices for each can prevent your domain from being flagged and improve overall deliverability within the Outlook ecosystem.
Documentation from Google Workspace explains that Google recommends segmenting different types of email. For example, bulk promotional mail should be separated from transactional emails. This is to ensure the delivery of important email. This can be implemented by sending emails for different purposes from different IP addresses.
Documentation from AWS explains that using separate configurations for transactional and marketing emails within Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) allows you to apply different settings for bounce handling, feedback loop configuration, and dedicated IPs. This provides granular control over each type of email.