Eight emails covering the whole life of a subscription. They are the difference between a customer who feels looked after and one who feels ambushed.
When they are sent
They are sent by a check that runs once a day and handles expiring access, renewals and failed charges. You do not have to schedule anything.
Before something happens
Expiry warning (one-time package). Sent a few days before a one-time package runs out.
This is the most commercially valuable email you have. It reaches someone who already paid you once, at the exact moment they are deciding whether to do it again. Do not switch it off.
Renewal heads-up (recurring). Sent a few days before an automatic renewal.
Nobody enjoys an unexpected charge. This one prevents the email that starts “I did not know I was still being billed”.
SEPA pre-notification. Sent five days before each direct debit charge.
This is legally required when you collect by SEPA Direct Debit. The plugin says so on the page, and it is not optional.
It is also good for you. A customer who was told about a charge does not phone their bank about it, and a customer who knows a payment is coming makes sure the money is there.
When something happens
Renewal collected successfully. The charge worked. A quiet, reassuring message.
Package expired. Sent on the day a one-time package ends. Their listings have been hidden, and this is where you tell them how to bring them back.
When something goes wrong
Recurring charge failed. The direct debit did not go through, and the customer is now in the grace period.
Write this one kindly. Most failed renewals are an expired card, not a customer trying to escape. Tell them what happened, tell them it will be retried, and tell them how to fix it.
Subscription terminated. The grace period ended without a successful charge, and access has stopped.
Even here, be decent about it. Tell them nothing has been deleted and that buying again brings everything back. That is true, and it is the email that turns a lapsed customer into a returning one.
When someone leaves
Subscription cancelled immediately. They cancelled and their access ended straight away.
Subscription reactivated. They came back, or fixed their payment method. Welcome them properly.
The one to write first
The Recurring charge failed email.
It is sent to a customer at the exact moment your relationship could go either way. A cold, automated message pushes them out. A human one keeps them.