How are transactional emails different from marketing emails?

Transactional and marketing emails differ in purpose, compliance, and recipient expectations:

Purpose:

Transactional: Fulfill a service need the user initiated. Marketing: Promote products, services, or engagement.

Trigger:

Transactional: User action (purchase, password reset). Marketing: Sender decision or scheduled automation.

Consent:

Transactional: Implied by the initiating action. Marketing: Requires explicit opt-in.

Compliance:

Transactional: Exempt from some requirements (CAN-SPAM unsubscribe). Marketing: Full compliance required.

Content:

Transactional: Primarily informational with limited promotional content. Marketing: Primarily promotional.

The core distinction is who initiates and why. Transactional emails answer. Marketing emails ask.