Kartra treats commercial emails and Email Notifications differently when applying a contact's commercial email preferences.
Emails sent through Emails & SMS or Sequences are commercial emails and are subject to the contact's commercial email preferences.
Email Notifications, including transactional messages such as purchase confirmations and invoices, are sent independently of those preferences.
This means that a contact who chooses not to receive commercial emails can still receive applicable Email Notifications.
Commercial emails
Commercial emails are messages sent for marketing or other commercial communication.
In Kartra, this includes:
Emails sent through Emails & SMS
Emails sent through Sequences
Examples include newsletters, promotions, product or service announcements, nurture emails, and marketing follow-ups.
All emails sent through a Sequence are considered commercial emails in Kartra, even when the contact enters the Sequence because of an action they took, such as making a purchase.
For example, a purchase might trigger a Sequence containing follow-up emails. Those emails are still commercial and are subject to the contact's commercial email preferences.
Email Notifications
Email Notifications are messages triggered by specific activities or events in Kartra and are sent independently of a contact's commercial email preferences.
Transactional emails are sent through Email Notifications. Examples include:
Purchase confirmations
Invoices
Payment-related notifications
Membership login details
Password resets
Form confirmation emails
Other notifications associated with activity in a Kartra asset
For example, a customer who chooses not to receive commercial emails can still receive an applicable purchase confirmation or invoice after placing an order.
Why the distinction matters
A contact's commercial email preferences determine whether they can receive commercial Emails and Sequence emails. These preferences do not prevent applicable Email Notifications from being sent.
As a result, the same customer action can result in different types of communication. A purchase confirmation sent through an Email Notification can still be delivered, while commercial follow-up sent through a Sequence remains subject to the contact's commercial email preferences.