[blowski]

Perhaps that is your response, but it’s not true of everybody. I’ve done a lot of experiments with different types of email, and beautiful emails always get significantly better response rates.

[NoraCodes]

Ah. I think the difference is that when I send emails, I do so to communicate information, rather than to elicit people to buy a product.

[franga2000]

Even when communicating important information, using the company design has been the norm since graphic printing was invented. Even something as transactional as a bank statement or court summon will use the sending organization's logo, fonts and colors.

[yakshaving_jgt]

Are you relying on the user's email client to convert plaintext URIs into interactive hyperlinks in transactional mail?

[NoraCodes]

No. As I said, I'm not advocating for plain text only emails, just simple ones.

[cosmodisk]

Beautiful emails are easy. Emails with well conveyed and informative text- much much harder.

[LastTrain]

So, spam.

[yakshaving_jgt]

Is transactional email spam?

[LastTrain]

Well, that depends. Is it something I need to see? Did I proactively ask for it, or did I neglect to opt out? Etc, etc. If you are having to measure response rate, and it doesn't involve an emergency alert or some such, it is probably spam.

[yakshaving_jgt]

Transactional mail is not marketing mail.

It's typically a notification in response to an action you initiated on some web application.

https://postmarkapp.com/blog/what-is-transactional-email-and...

[LastTrain]

OK. So what, I'm not going to complete my password reset notification because the page isn't beautiful? If you are tracking response rates it is because people aren't expecting an email, because they didn't ask for one (i.e. it isn't a password reset notification). GP is right - I want information I /need/ to be in an email in a succinct format, and I don't want emails I don't need.

[yakshaving_jgt]

1. Yes, normal people who don’t read HN have less trust in a plaintext email.

2. Yes, abandonment will be higher if the user can’t click the password reset link in the email.

[seba_dos1]

How much sense does it make to measure and discuss response rates for transactional mails though?

[blowski]

Low response rates are used as a spam signal by major email providers, whatever the type of email.