Robert Skrob

Renewal emails should be very different from promo emails. A year later, the relationship is very different, so your story must be different. Analogy: first date vs. first wedding anniversary.

Customers’ choice to renew is always about what’s coming up in the future, not the past:

• Talk about features/developments coming up in the following months or year
• Gift something along with the renewal

Don’t let Stripe write your renewal emails. Renewal emails are not just about compliance; you need to optimize them for your customers.

Template for your 7-day new subscriber welcome emails sequence:

1. Day 1 - trust: it’s time to deliver what you initially promised in your initial offer. Use the list of key benefits from the product page, and include direct links to each of the items that you promised.

2. Day 2 - team: get users excited about the people that create and deliver your program to your subscribers.

3. Day 3 - main objection: find what is the #1 reason your subscribers quit (e.g. time, money, etc.), and make it the main reason they should keep the subscription.

4. Day 4 - beliefs: preconceived beliefs often prevent subscribers from becoming successful with what you deliver. This email focuses on presenting 3-5 of the most common myths or mistaken ideas so you can correct their thinking.

5. Day 5 - win: think about what’s the single fastest way to experience a victory with what you deliver. Get your subscribers a quick win so they can feel good about your program.

6. Day 6 - simplicity: many subscribers don’t believe they have what it takes to be successful with your product. Make success look attainable, with the quick win from Day 5 being the first step of the journey.

7. Day 7 - proof: this is the time to introduce your new subscribers to your most successful subscribers.

2 big mistakes of email onboarding:

1. Doing nothing, or almost nothing (i.e. just a welcome email)

2. A long series of emails talking about your product (“me me me”)

Having multiple ways to monetize the same subscriber is the key to scaling subscription businesses. Smart subscription businesses create systems that monetize new subscribers and unconverted leads to get more revenue and ROI from their marketing efforts.

Don’t wait 12 months to renew an annual subscription. Within a few weeks, you can offer an early renewal by giving the option to add years. This is often done in the publishing industry.

Don’t let your customers be surprised by a renewal. Communicate clearly about the upcoming charge. It’s the right thing to do for customers and prevents you from getting penalized by Visa or Mastercard.

It’s vital to focus on the time period of the first 7 days, the first 4 weeks and the first 3 months. Those are the biggest opportunities to lower your churn rate.