Cyberimpact offers two distinct services for sending emails: email marketing and the SMTP Relay. This article explains the difference between the two and helps you choose the service best suited to your needs.
At a glance
| Email marketing | SMTP Relay | |
|---|---|---|
| What type of send? | Mass campaigns, newsletters | Automated transactional emails |
| Who triggers the send? | You, manually or via automation | Your application or software |
| Contact management | Contact list in Cyberimpact | None — your recipients come from your system |
| Unsubscribe link | Required | Not available |
| Mandatory footer | Yes | No |
| CASL compliance | Built-in compliance tools (unsubscribe, consent management) | Client's responsibility |
| Tracking | Detailed statistics: open rate, clicks, unsubscribes… | Delivery statuses and bounces (last 30 days) |
| Required setup | Domain authentication recommended | Domain authentication required + SMTP settings in your application |
| Plan | Plan based on the number of unique contacts per month — free plan up to 250 contacts/month | Separate plan based on the volume of emails you want to send per month — free plan up to 1,000 emails/month |
Email marketing — for your campaigns
Cyberimpact's email marketing is designed for sending communications to your contact lists: newsletters, promotions, announcements, automated campaigns. You create your emails directly in the Cyberimpact interface, manage your contact lists, and track performance (opens, clicks, unsubscribes).
Ideal for:
- Newsletters and regular communications to your subscribers
- Promotional campaigns and announcements
- Automated welcome or follow-up sequences
The SMTP Relay — for your automated emails
The SMTP Relay is designed for emails automatically generated by your systems — order confirmations, notifications, password resets, invoices. Your application connects to Cyberimpact's server via a standard protocol (SMTP) and hands off the sending.
Ideal for:
- Order confirmations from your online store
- Automatic notifications from your CRM or internal application
- Password resets
- Automatically generated invoices and receipts
- Contact forms on your website
Can both be used at the same time?
Yes. The two services are complementary and independent. You can use email marketing for your campaigns and the SMTP Relay for your transactional emails with the same Cyberimpact account.
Please note:
- Domain authentication is configured separately for each service — you will need to authenticate your domain in each one.
- A Cyberimpact account is required to access the SMTP Relay. The free plan is sufficient to get started.
Tips and tricks
Sending mass emails with personalized content?
If your goal is to send campaigns to a contact list with personalized content, Cyberimpact email marketing is the right tool. It includes contact management, visual templates, and performance tracking. The SMTP Relay is designed for transactional emails triggered automatically by your application, one at a time.
Does the SMTP Relay include an email editor?
No. The SMTP Relay does not include a visual editor. Email content is entirely managed by your application or your developer. Cyberimpact only handles routing and delivery tracking.
The SMTP Relay offers dual DMARC alignment
Unlike email marketing where the return address belongs to Cyberimpact, the SMTP Relay customizes the return address with your own domain. This enables SPF alignment in addition to DKIM alignment, strengthening your DMARC posture.
Note: this SPF alignment only works if your DMARC policy is configured in relaxed mode. In strict mode, only DKIM alignment will apply — which is still sufficient to satisfy DMARC.
CASL compliance and the SMTP Relay
The SMTP Relay is designed for transactional emails — confirmations, notifications, invoices — which generally do not require explicit consent. If you are considering sending commercial or promotional emails, Cyberimpact email marketing is the appropriate tool, as it includes the compliance mechanisms required by Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
See also: