For many associations, the onset of the festive season can also mean that it’s renewal season. You’re probably busy planning how to tackle those all-important emails to your members asking them to sign up for another 12 months’ membership. But at such a busy time of year, and with so many competing priorities, how do you make your renewal emails cut through the noise and convince your members that they should continue to belong?
Tip 1: Think carefully about the subject line!
Everyone’s inbox is bursting these days. The subject line is a vital tool to ensure your email is actually opened, let alone actioned. The stock-standard ‘Your membership renewal is due’ is not exactly the most compelling piece of communication. Instead, push the boundaries a bit so your email gets noticed.
Make it personal: Use the person’s first name, and consider using an icon or emoji in the subject line to visually aid cut-through.
Make it interesting: Try to make the subject line relevant but also attention-grabbing. Spark their curiosity and entice them to want to read your email.
Run some tests: Send two or three different subject lines to sections of your membership base and see which has the best conversion rate.
Tip 2: Focus on what’s in it for your member
Think of these renewal emails as the perfect opportunity to remind your members about the benefits of belonging. Make the email less about just paying the renewal fee by the due date, and more about what your association is doing for them, their career and the sector.
Shout loudly: Include a summary of all your association’s achievements on behalf of its membership base in the past year.
Make it about each member: Personally thank them for what they have accessed through your association in the past year, such as events or meetings they’ve attended or courses they’ve participated in
Tell them what’s coming up: Include some exciting snippets about what you are planning on delivering in the next 12 months.
Tip 3: Assess your membership options
How closely do your membership offerings align with your members’ life and career stages? It’s not uncommon for people to need a membership hiatus for parental or long-service leave, or another type of career break. But this doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to lose them forever.
Be flexible: Consider offering on-hold periods for members who can’t commit at renewal time for another 12 months.
Make them an offer: If a renewal lapses, consider offering a special discount, or even a monthly payment plan.
There will always be some people who won’t respond to emails, and that’s where we can help. Optimum Contact can step in with a targeted, personalised phone call campaign to secure membership renewals on the spot.
Talk to us to find out how we can improve your conversion rate today.
