# Transactional Email > Writes transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping updates, receipts) with brand voice and upsell opportunities. Use when creating or improving automated emails triggered by customer actions. - Skill: `reaperinvest/transactional-email` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add reaperinvest/transactional-email` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/reaperinvest/transactional-email/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: reaperinvest (https://skillmd.com/u/reaperinvest) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/reaperinvest/transactional-email --- # Transactional Email ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Write transactional emails that reflect your brand voice (not default platform templates) - Create order confirmations, shipping notifications, receipts, and account emails - Add strategic upsell or cross-sell elements to transactional messages - Improve customer experience through better post-purchase communication **DO NOT** use this skill for marketing emails, newsletters, or sales campaigns. This is for triggered, transactional messages. --- ## Core Principle TRANSACTIONAL EMAILS HAVE THE HIGHEST OPEN RATES OF ANY EMAIL TYPE — USE THEM TO DELIVER INFORMATION CLEARLY AND BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP, NOT JUST CONFIRM THE TRANSACTION. --- ## Phase 1: Brief ### Required Inputs | Input | What to Ask | Default | |-------|------------|---------| | **Business type** | "What do you sell? Physical product, digital product, service, SaaS?" | No default — must be provided | | **Emails needed** | "Which transactional emails? Order confirmation, shipping, receipt, account creation, password reset?" | All standard types | | **Brand voice** | "How should these sound?" | Warm, professional, on-brand | | **Upsell opportunity** | "Do you have related products or a next step to suggest post-purchase?" | Yes — related products or content | | **Platform** | "Where do these send from? Shopify, Stripe, custom, etc.?" | Any | **GATE: Confirm scope before writing.** --- ## Phase 2: Outline ### Transactional Email Types ``` 1. Order Confirmation — "We got your order" 2. Payment Receipt — "Here's your receipt" 3. Shipping Notification — "Your order is on the way" 4. Delivery Confirmation — "Your order has arrived" 5. Digital Product Delivery — "Here's your download" 6. Account Creation — "Welcome to your account" 7. Password Reset — "Reset your password" ``` **GATE: Confirm which emails to write.** --- ## Phase 3: Write ### Order Confirmation ``` ## Order Confirmation **Subject:** "Order confirmed — [Order #]" **Preview text:** "Thanks for your purchase! Here's what happens next." **Body:** Hey [Name], Your order is confirmed. Here's a summary: **Order #[Number]** **Date:** [Date] | Item | Qty | Price | |------|-----|-------| | [Product name] | [Qty] | $[Price] | | Shipping | — | $[Price] | | **Total** | — | **$[Total]** | **What happens next:** [Step 1 — e.g., "We're preparing your order now."] [Step 2 — e.g., "You'll get a shipping email with tracking within 24 hours."] **Need help?** Reply to this email or visit [support link]. [Optional upsell section — see below] Thanks for your order, [Brand name] ``` ### Digital Product Delivery ``` ## Digital Product Delivery **Subject:** "Your [product name] is ready to download" **Preview text:** "Access your purchase now — here's your link." **Body:** Hey [Name], Your purchase is ready! Click below to access [product name]: [CTA BUTTON: "Download Now" or "Access Your [Product]"] **What you got:** - [Product name] — [1 sentence description] - [Any bonuses included] **Quick start:** [1-2 sentences on what to do first with the product] **Need help?** Reply to this email — I personally read every message. [Optional: "You might also like..." section] Thanks for your purchase, [Name / Brand] ``` ### Shipping Notification ``` ## Shipping Notification **Subject:** "Your order is on the way — tracking inside" **Preview text:** "Track your package: [carrier] #[tracking number]" **Body:** Hey [Name], Great news — your order has shipped! **Tracking number:** [Number] **Carrier:** [Carrier name] **Estimated delivery:** [Date range] [CTA BUTTON: "Track Your Package"] **What's in the box:** - [Item 1] - [Item 2 if multiple] When it arrives, we'd love to hear what you think. [Link to review page or "reply to this email"] [Sign-off] ``` ### Account Creation ``` ## Account Welcome **Subject:** "Your [Brand] account is ready" **Preview text:** "Here's how to get started." **Body:** Welcome to [Brand], [Name]! Your account is set up and ready to go. Here's how to get started: **Step 1:** [First action — e.g., "Log in and set up your profile"] **Step 2:** [Second action — e.g., "Explore [feature]"] **Step 3:** [Third action — e.g., "Check out our getting started guide"] [CTA BUTTON: "Log In to Your Account"] If you have any questions, our support team is here: [support link or email] Welcome aboard, [Brand name] ``` ### Password Reset ``` ## Password Reset **Subject:** "Reset your password" **Preview text:** "Click below to set a new password." **Body:** Hi [Name], We received a request to reset your password. Click below to create a new one: [CTA BUTTON: "Reset My Password"] This link expires in [X minutes/hours]. If you didn't request this, you can safely ignore this email. Your password will remain unchanged. — [Brand name] ``` ### Upsell Section Template Add to any transactional email where appropriate: ``` ## You Might Also Like [1-2 related products or resources with brief descriptions and links] - **[Product name]** — [One sentence on what it does and why it's relevant] [Link] - **[Product name]** — [One sentence] [Link] ``` Rules for transactional upsells: - Keep it subtle — 1-2 suggestions max - Placed BELOW the transaction details (info first, upsell second) - Relevant to what they just bought - Never more than 20% of the email's content --- ## Phase 4: Polish ### 1. Transactional Email Checklist ``` ## Checklist (per email) - [ ] Subject line clearly states what the email is about - [ ] Critical information (order details, tracking, download link) is above the fold - [ ] Brand voice is consistent with marketing emails (not robotic) - [ ] Next steps are clearly stated - [ ] Support/help option is visible - [ ] Upsell section (if included) is relevant and subtle - [ ] Email works on mobile (single-column, large buttons) - [ ] All dynamic fields ([Name], [Order #]) are correctly mapped - [ ] Reply-to address goes to a monitored inbox - [ ] Legal requirements met (business address, unsubscribe if marketing content included) ``` ### 2. Testing Plan - Send test emails to yourself on desktop and mobile before going live - Verify all dynamic fields populate correctly - Click every link and button to ensure they work - Check that the email lands in Primary inbox (not Promotions or Spam) --- ## Example: Transactional Emails for a Digital Course ``` Order confirmation: "Your enrollment in [Course Name] is confirmed!" - Course name, price, receipt link - "What happens next: Check your email for login details within 5 minutes." Digital delivery: "Your course is live — start with Module 1" - Direct link to course platform - Quick start guide: "Watch the 5-minute orientation video first." - Upsell: "Students who add the workbook complete the course 2x faster." Account creation: "Welcome to the [Course Name] student portal" - Login credentials - First 3 steps to get started - Support channel info ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns - **Robotic default templates** — "Your order #48291 has been processed. Transaction ID: TXN-2024-8819" reads like a system log. Add brand voice. - **No next steps** — telling the customer what happened without telling them what happens NEXT creates anxiety. - **Aggressive upselling** — a transactional email that is 50% upsell feels exploitative. Keep upsells to 20% max. - **No support path** — every transactional email should tell the customer how to get help. - **Broken dynamic fields** — "Hi [FIRST_NAME]" or "[ORDER_TOTAL]" in production is embarrassing. Always test. - **Different voice than marketing** — if your marketing is warm and personal, your transactional emails should not sound like a robot wrote them. --- ## Recovery - **Platform does not allow custom templates:** Customize what you can (subject line, body text). Supplement with a personal follow-up email from your marketing platform. - **No upsell ideas:** Skip the upsell section. Not every transactional email needs one. - **Emails going to spam:** Check that the sending domain is authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Reduce image-to-text ratio. - **Customers reply with issues:** Ensure the reply-to address is monitored. Set up an auto-response acknowledging receipt if response time is over 4 hours. - **Dynamic data not available:** Use conditional logic in the template — show the section only if the data exists.