Membership renewal letters play a very important role for any organization that depends on member renewals. At some point, every paying member will reach a point when their membership expires. It’s up to you to convince them to hit the “renew my membership” button. The tone, length, and timing of a renewal member can make all the difference. Let’s take a look at the key factors that go into crafting a perfect membership renewal letter.
How Should You Address Your Members?
The way you address members will have a big impact on their responses. Here are some principles to keep in mind when you write a membership renewal letter.
Make Sure Everything is Accurate
It’s essential that your data regarding members is accurate and up to date. Misspellings and typos make you look unprofessional and may offend recipients. People may provide updated information, such as name changes. Make sure you’re diligent about keeping your records current.
Be Personable and Friendly
To some extent, it depends on your organization and the demographics of your membership. People of different ages, beliefs, and interests have their own ways of communicating. At the same time, remember to be friendly and not too formal. If your letter is too stuffy and businesslike, you won’t make a personal connection with your reader. Keep in mind that people make decisions for emotional as well as rational reasons. Even if members are interested in your organization and support its goals, it’s also important how you make them feel.
- Use personalization. Whether it’s a physical or digital message, address members by name.
- Show interest in your reader. Even a sentence or two wishing them well and perhaps a reference to the time of year or what’s happening in the world shows that you’re thinking of them.
- Keep it positive. Naturally, your goal is to get people to renew their membership. However, you should also make it clear that it’s their decision and that you understand people have their reasons (e.g. finances, changing interests) not to renew. Avoid trying to make them feel guilty or suggesting that the world is going to end if they don’t renew.
Create a Separate Letter for Lapsed Members
Send a distinct letter to members whose membership has already expired. People may always join again, even if they haven’t paid their dues in some time. However, you don’t want to send the exact same letter to these lapsed members, as it won’t be accurate. It’s fairly simple to edit the letter with a statement such as “We hope you’ll consider rejoining,” as opposed to “Your membership is about to expire.”
Renewal Letter Components
What sections and points do you need to include in your letter? Here are some guidelines.
What is Included in Membership?
Even long-term members may not always be familiar with all the benefits they can access. Your letter is the perfect time to remind them. If there are different tiers of membership, be sure to list the benefits of each. You may entice some members to upgrade.
Discuss Your Activities and Impact
Summarize your accomplishments, activities, and newsworthy events. Don’t be modest. Include any relevant statistics and links to news stories about your organization. You should also discuss your goals and how you intend to make an even bigger difference in the coming months and years. List any upcoming projects.
Include a Clear CTA
The whole purpose of your letter is to motivate people to renew their membership. It should be as simple as possible for them to do so. Provide links or buttons for members to renew. Make sure these are bold and easy to click on. If you’re sending direct mail, including a postage-paid envelope that members can return with their check saves them from having to visit the post office.
Offer Incentives
Aside from the usual member benefits and the satisfaction of supporting your work, you can add additional incentives to renew. These may include:
- Gifts
- Membership discounts.
- Invitations to special events.
Express Your Gratitude
When members do renew, you’ve achieved your goal. However, don’t look at this as the end of your job. You want to retain members for many years to come. When you get a renewal, remember to send out a thank you, whether by email or direct mail. In addition to any perks or incentives you may be offering, don’t forget to express how much you appreciate their participation. This will go a long way in helping you to retain members for the long haul.
Include Your Contact Details
Make it easy for members to contact you in case they have any questions or comments to clarify before renewing. A phone number, email address, or social media details provide them with a choice.
Timing and Format
What about the specifics of how and when to send membership renewal letters?
Timing
The timing of the membership renewal letter is quite important. If you send it too early, members may think they have plenty of time to make up their minds and put the letter aside. On the other hand, you don’t want to send it too close to the deadline. This may make members feel that it’s already too late, so they may as well just let it expire. For more expensive memberships, it’s especially important to give people some notice.
It’s best to send out letters on a rolling basis, based on members’ renewal dates. The costlier the membership dues, the more notice you should provide. It’s a good practice to send at least one follow-up letter for members who don’t respond to the first one. This is still another reason to send the first letter at least a few weeks before the membership expires, giving you enough time to send a second letter if needed.
Digital vs Physical Letters
Should you send members a physical letter, an email, or both? Ideally, it can’t hurt to send both as you have a better chance of getting a response if you reach out on multiple channels. This also depends on your organization and membership. An organization with older members is more likely to get a strong response from physical letters.
Some organizations, especially newer ones, may only use email. If you fit this category, you may want to consider using direct mail as well. In the digital age, direct mail is more of a novelty and may get more attention. The Data and Marketing Association reports that over 42% of direct mail recipients scan or read their mail. By contrast, email open rates have been declining because of saturation and widespread spam.
Plan Your Membership Renewal Letters With Care
Enticing members to renew is essential for the long-term success of your organization. That’s why you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of renewal letters. Take time to get the wording and format just right. Always consider your audience —what kind of language and tone do they prefer? Test your results and tweak your letters, and you should start to see a higher renewal rate.
AMO has Association Management Software (AMS) that makes it easy to automate many tasks associated with renewal letters, such as creating personalized emails and sending follow-up messages. If you’re looking for an AMS that will help you retain more members and manage all aspects of member experience, contact us.