All businesses try to increase customer loyalty – it’s one of the most effective ways to succeed. In fact, it’s 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire new customers than keep current ones. So, if you have customers who’ve subscribed to your services or bought a limited-time contract, you want to make sure you retain them.One of the ways to do that is simply good and timely communication: specifically, a renewal reminder email may make all the difference between a loyal customer and one who churns. Sending this email can:
- Pull back customers that were slipping away.
- Nurture customers with automatic subscriptions to make sure they stay and get value from their subscription.
- Remind customers to address any issues they may be having with your products or services, helping to increase customer satisfaction.
- Inform customers that their trial period or contracts have expired/are expiring and provide an easy way to renew.
So, to help you compose this email effectively, we’ve collected some useful tips and crafted seven renewal reminder email templates you can modify or get inspired by.
Tips to write a renewal reminder email:
- Be confident, but not pushy
- Keep it short and sweet
- Choose an effective subject line
- Personalize as much as possible
- Make it a drip campaign
- Ask for feedback if you want
Here’s a breakdown of our 5 tips:
- Be confident, but not pushy. Renewal emails should encourage customers to renew but shouldn’t alienate them by being overly persistent. Keep it cool and lighthearted, but make sure your customers have the CTAs, information, or motivation they need to continue with your company.
- Keep it short and sweet. You don’t have to say much in a renewal reminder email. The word “reminder” itself implies brevity. Customers already know your product or service, and they just need a little push to stay. Be friendly and inviting, but avoid writing lengthy emails about your offering.
- Choose an effective subject line. The thing with subject lines is that you might need to test them to see which works best. But usually, you can at least ensure you select words that resonate with customers and create emotion or a sense of urgency. Here are some examples:
- Your contract is about to expire!
- Your trial period is closing in
- Only X more days left on your account
- Personalize as much as possible. This depends on what type of product or service you offer and also on data protection laws. Usually, it’s possible to send a usage overview for software products (e.g. you’ve sent 350 emails since January) or a purchase summary (e.g. you saved a total of $100 by making purchases during our sale period). Brainstorm ideas that make sense for your company.
- Make it a drip campaign. Instead of sending one renewal reminder email, you can take a methodical approach. Figuring out what resonates most with your customers will help you build a more effective email cadence. The first email could be sent a month before expiration, then two weeks, then a few days. Each email could have an increased sense of urgency or different offerings (e.g. what’s your policy toward early bird discounts?).
- Ask for feedback if you want. This may be a good idea for reminder emails sent after plans have already expired or when customers have canceled their plans. You can add a line in your email akin to “If you have any feedback on how we can improve, please let us know in our survey – it shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes and it’ll be invaluable to us.” You can get inspired by email templates asking customers for feedback.
How to use our renewal reminder email templates
Any words included in brackets are placeholder text – replace them with whatever makes the most sense for your business. In some cases, sentences inside brackets could be removed altogether depending on the type of email you’re sending. When you see these symbols {}, it means you can place a link on that text.Feel free to modify the contract renewal reminder email templates and insert a touch of personality.
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7 Sample Templates
Version 1: Reminder X days before contract/subscription/plan expiration
Hi [Customer name],Thanks for using our [product/service] for the past [year] – we love having you as our customer. Your [contract/subscription/plan] will expire in [X] days, so we thought we’d check in.If you want to continue taking advantage of [our features/platform/products] and retain all your data and preferences, you can easily renew by going to {this page}.[We can also have a call sometime next week, so I can show you our new [products/ functionalities] and answer any questions you have. Feel free to book a time using {this link}].Thank you,[Your name]
Version 2: Reminder after contract/subscription/plan expiration
Hi [Customer name],Thanks for using our [product/service] – we hope we were able to meet your expectations. Just to let you know that your [contract/subscription/plan] expired yesterday and you won’t be able to [log in/use our service] any more.But it’s not too late! You can gain immediate access to your saved data and preferences by renewing from {this link}. If you renew within the next seven days, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our one-time 10% discount for returning customers.In case you have any issues or questions, don’t hesitate to talk to us. You can use our live chat, or email us at success@acme.com.Thank you,[Your name]
Version 3: Reminder of trial period ending
Hi [Customer name],We hope you’ve been enjoying our [product/service] so far! Your trial period will expire in a week, so we thought we’d check in about next steps.If you’d like to continue using our [product/service], [I’d be happy to set you up with an account that meets your needs/you can easily purchase a plan right from {this page}]. Our plans start from [$X] and you can take advantage of a [wide array of features and services/full platform].[If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email and we’ll set up a call or contact us at +123456789.]Take care![Your name]
Version 4: Reminder of automatic renewal
Hi [Customer name],Thanks for using our [product/service] for the past [year]!We wanted to remind you that you’ve chosen the automatic renewal option. You will be billed from your saved credit card details for the annual amount of your plan upon expiration of your contract on [M/D/Y].If you still want to use our [product/service], there’s no further action required!If there’s any issue we can help with, feel free to contact our support team at support@acme.com or +1233456789.Thanks,[The Acme team]
Version 5: Reminder because of inactive account
Hi [Customer name],It looks like you haven’t used [your account/our service] for quite a while now. Our policy is to [deactivate accounts/cancel subscriptions] after [X] days of inactivity.But don’t abandon us just yet!We’ve recently added [some cool features] you can try out. {Log in} and see what’s new. If you need a refresher, here’s our {knowledge base article} you can refer to.If there’s any issue we can help with, please contact our support team at support@acme.com or +1233456789. You can also find us on live chat right from our website.Thanks,[The Acme team]
Version 6: Reminder of limited time offer for renewal
Hi [Customer name],Good news – our company is running a campaign for our customers and offering a 15% discount to anyone who’ll renew their [plan/contract/subscription] within the next week.To take advantage of this offer, you can easily purchase a plan of your choice from {this page} and add the code LOYALCUSTOMER2020.If there’s any issue we can help with, please contact our support team at support@acme.com or +1233456789. You can also find us on live chat right from our website.Thanks,[The Acme team]
Bonus: Version 7: Nurturing a churned customer
Hi [Customer name],Thanks for using our [product/service]. We’re really sad to see you go – but we had a good run.If you have any outstanding questions, feel free to contact us at support@acme.com or +123456789.And, if you ever need a [product/service] like ours in future, we hope we’ll see you again.All the best,[The Acme team]
