Setting up email flows for subscription brands
Stop doing the bare minimum when it comes to setting up flows
Good morning frens!
I'm subscribed to at least 1,500 newsletters and have 2 full inboxes of brand emails.
Thing is, most brands are doing the bare minimum when it comes to their email.
Here are 3 ideas you can implement today to your email strategy if you're a subscription brand.
Set up & Integrations
For this, you'll need to set up some integrations
If you're on Shopify you're likely using ReCharge and if you're on WooCommerce and using their default subscription app, then you'll need this PLUGIN to connect your store and Klaviyo.
Once you integrate ReCharge you should get 3 more triggers which we will use:
Expired subscription
Canceled subscription
Started subscription
Flows
Expired subscriptions and canceled subscription are pretty straightforward. I usually create only a couple of transactional emails around it just to acknowledge the change in customers' subscription status.
You can also create reactivation flow for those who canceled their subscription or push them into Winback type of flow.
Started subscription is where the fun begins
You can treat it as a separate post-purchase flow.
One flow for customers who purchased one time and the second flow for customers who subscribed.
The flow structure and content of both flows should essentially be the same except the upsells, cross-sells, down sells.
One thing businesses like is predictable cashflow. You need to make sure to encourage those who purchased only once to subscribe.
All the offers in my post-purchase sequence for one-time purchases are mostly "subscribe and save".
I strongly suggest you have a strong offer when it comes to subscribing. $5 off, $10 off... absolute $ dollar numbers will make an impact.
Besides that, you need to handle all objections when it comes to selling a plan.
I recommend making a block and just saving it so you can just insert it in every single email in just a click.
Here's an example:
Cancel Anytime
Control your delivery - snooze your order
Set your regular billing day
Switch to another product anytime
Brand: Ritual
The same thing is with replenishment flow for one-offs. Figure out how long it takes a customer to consume your product. Hit them up a couple of days before and offer to restock. Make sure to push the 'subscribe and never worry about running out of stock' button.
Subscriber churn prevention
2 types of churn:
accidental/technical
intentional
By technical I mean when a customer's card expires or they spent their entire paycheck on Gumroad courses (couldn't be me).
Churn Buster is pretty good for this. It recovers all the failed payments for eCommerce and integrates with ReCharge. Also works great if you're running a SaaS.
Intentional - subscription cancellation.
We can take some steps to ensure this doesn't happen (or better say delay it). For this, you should know your average subscription duration. Usually, it's somewhere between 3-6 months for physical products.
Find out when it happens and hit customers with emails that explain all the benefits they have by being subscribed. The store I worked with has a loyalty program and with every delivery, the customer is stacking points. After 3 months they have enough to save an additional $6 on their delivery.
Besides that, tell them about mix&match, how they can update their order if they don't like their product or try something else from your product line.
Types of emails I like to send for this:
"Make your next box even better!"
"Keep up your progress"
"You have some points available"
"We're amazed with your progress"
"Using momentum to stay healthy"
"Curious what other products can do for you"
Keep in mind those are not necessary revenue-generating flows but do wonders when it comes to lengthening the duration of the subscription. If you have 1000 subscribers at $50/mo, an extra month would mean an extra $50k.
It's also important to keep the community strong. Members within the community will encourage each other and show off their progress. Leverage their progress, reviews, and testimonials in your future promotions.