3 Proven Steps to Sending a Better Email Renewal Series

It’s that time again...well, isn’t it always that time? You know what I mean — the time to ask your members to renew! 

How you go about this is as important as the ask itself. Crafting a strategy for member renewal may be one of the most important things you do all year. For the most effective renewal series, this is a process that requires careful consideration.  

While physical renewal mail provides greater real estate for more complicated messaging, the digital blueprint has the benefit of offering direct, quick and easy action to renew. Here at CDP, we have spent years sending, testing and collecting data on renewal emails. In fact, we send over 600,000 (and growing!) unique renewal emails every year. Working in conjunction with our partner stations has allowed us to really dig deep —we have learned a lot along the way and are excited to share.  

The most effective e-renewal campaigns do three things very well: 

  1. They are appropriately sent on a timeline leading up to (and after) the donors’ renewal date. 

  2. Messaging is based on where the donor is in their member cycle. 

  3. They look and feel like an email the donor will want to engage with. 

In this blog post, we will review how these three areas come together to help your donors understand, in a timely manner, what their money goes towards. Because renewals are a series, you have multiple opportunities to reach your donor and remind them to contribute to the station’s public media mission. In other words, they help to answer the question, “Why should I, as a donor, renew?”  

Let’s dive in. 

Timing 

The two key questions to ask when considering the timing of your renewal series are, “How many times do we remind the donor?” and “At what point should they be reminded?” There is no reason to send a reminder two months after their donation saying that it is time to renew. Rather, this is a time when your donors are most emotionally open to donating again. Consider sending an add gift email instead. You don’t want to waste that magic time with renewal emails!   

So, what does our research say? 

The best time to start reminding donors to renew their membership is 5 months before their renewal date.  

*A note on add gift emails: some stations may find that sending a renewal email 5 months before the renewal date collides with add gift emails and messaging. However, here at CDP, we have the data to show that this 5-month prior email has one of the higher engagement rates and reported revenues. This is why we suggest starting the renewal process this early. As a bonus, starting the renewal cycle at this time helps to save costs on mail. 

Between that first email send and the renewal date, we recommend following up three more times: 

  1. 5 months from expiration 

  2. 2-4 months from expiration 

  3. The day before expiration 

Starting 5 months before expiration might seem like it interferes with an add-gift window. However, our research shows that sending this first email before you begin mailing allows for reducing the expense of a physical mail send, while also encouraging an early renewal. 

And if the donor does not renew in time? We recommend following up 1–2 times, as lapsed-donor emails often have a higher combined overall engagement rate and revenue value than renewals sent prior to the renewal date, based on our research. 

An illustrative timeline of the various email renewal series touchpoints.

We find that it can take a couple touches over a span of time to remind folks why their donation matters and that it becomes more impactful as we move closer to their renewal date.  

What is most important is that the email sends surround the renewal date of the donor. This way, as the renewal date gets closer, this allows the messaging to become more urgent.  

Sending to Targeted Audience 

Consider, for a moment, your CRM. Begin to think about how much data and information it holds — about your donors. Everything from their names and preferred contact information to giving and email preference histories, interests, and demographics are conveniently stored in your donor profiles.  

While you may be tempted to use donor interests to enhance your email, we do not recommend this practice. It is best to stay focused on the renewal email itself by highlighting the larger impact of the organization.  

Donor interests can very easily be incorporated into other types of campaigns: e-solicitations, add gift emails, etc. Renewal emails serve as a tool to remind donors of the importance of their donations and how those donations have a wider impact. So, when you are looking into who should receive your renewal emails, make sure it applies to just that audience and layer in the interest categories later on.  

Email Look and Feel  

Step one is to get the donor to open the email. Done. Step two, the email needs to persuade them to click, donate and renew. To do this, ask yourself the following questions: 

  • Does the overall look and feel of the email point you in one direction? 

  • Does it articulate the donor impact? Does it inspire through education and inform donors WHY their gift matters? 

  • Does it feel personal? Have you thanked your donor? (Too much is never too much!) 

Each renewal email can follow a simple flow for content: 
 

An example of a renewal email format.

First, open your email with a personal statement, mention the donor impact and, of course, thank them! Next, provide an ask with a reminder of how their impact makes a difference. A vital step in encouraging donors to contribute is by creating a connection that appeals to the donor’s emotional connection to public media. 

One of the day-one rules of email marketing is to make your messages personal and targeted, such as using the donor’s full name or geographic region. Even by something as simple as saying, “Hello, [first name],” you can help boost donor retention. When donors feel like your organization knows them personally, they’re much more likely to feel that you appreciate their support and will be more willing to donate. 

The single most impactful thing you can do in your renewal emails is include an obvious CTA, or call-to-action, button. When it comes to a CTA, place it in a predictable location and make it stand out. Use actionable words and keep it simple. For instance, if you want people to contribute, don’t just include a link to your donation form. Instead, link some text and place an obvious button before the close of the email. 

In Summary 

So, after all this, it is (again) that time to ask your members to renew. By sending timely renewals, having the email messaging be dependent on the donor cycle and ensuring the email is clear and concise, you are better suited to encourage your members to renew. And in doing so, you can remind them that their donation has an impact and contributes to a part of your overall mission.  

If you are already sending a digital renewal series and want to take it further, we recommend following the outline above. And if you are not (yet) sending renewals digitally, you can contact cdp@cdpcommunity.org to have this taken care of for your station with the automation experts at CDP. Let us help you take your renewals to the next level.  

Rachel Appleman