NOTE: This article is for customers with the "classic" Admin interface (horizontal top-navigation bar).



If your interface is different, view the New Admin Experience version of this article.

Transactional Messages are email messages that are the direct result of a business transaction, such as a receipt or a shipment status update. Due to their nature -- and the implied agreed-upon communications between the two parties -- transactional messages are exempt from international regulations that require recipients be given the ability to unsubscribe from unwanted messages.

Higher Logic provides the following articles as part of our commitment to international data-protection and rights-of-privacy regulations.

• Canada: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation
• European Union: GDPR Resources and EU Data Protection
• United States: CAN-SPAM and Anti-Spam Requirements and CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business

Default design for templates

Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Enterprise (Thrive Marketing Enterprise) templates are configured, by default, to be non-transactional -- that is, their design assumes that an Unsubscribe link is required. Therefore, you'll have to actively indicate (check a box) that the template is transactional and does not require an unsubscribe option.

IMPORTANT: This design was chosen to make it easier for our customers to remain compliant.

Create a Transactional Template

This section describes how to create a transactional template that your organization can use to send transactional messages.

1. Access the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Messages > Assets > Templates.

3. On the resulting page, click Create New.
4. In the pop-up:

• Complete the Name and Description fields (required),
• Check the box to lock the theme (optional), and
• Check the Transactional Template box to make this a transactional template.

5. Click Create.
6. Publish the template so that it’s available in your account.

NOTE: You can switch templates between being transactional and non-transactional until a message uses the template; then, it is locked. You can change the transactional status of an existing template via the Properties button.

Notes

Messages that are created based on a transactional template will not have an Unsubscribe link in the footer.

It can be helpful to have descriptive text in the footer of transactional templates about why the message does not have/require an Unsubscribe link. This could prevent recipients marking the message as spam.

Transactional messages can be included in any Message Category.

Use a Transactional Template

When selecting a template for a message, your transactional templates are not stored with your account's custom templates under Your Templates. Instead, they are in their own area: Transactional.

NOTE: You can limit who in your account has access to transactional templates. Learn how to set Template Permissions.

Transactional Messages

You don't, technically, create transactional messages. Rather, you set templates as transactional, and then any messages that are built on any one of those templates inherit that transactional property from the template.

When sending a transactional message, you’ll be prompted to check a box indicating your acknowledgement of the content being transactional.

Transactional messages will be sent to recipients who are:

• Unsubscribed from the Message Category
• Unsubscribed from all
• Auto suppressed due to inactivity

Transactional messages will not be sent to recipients with other unsubscribe and suppression types.